Students say Brigham Young University is policing this behavior even more than its parent church does.
Brigham Young University administrators have put an explicit ban on âsame-sex romantic behaviorâ in the schoolâs Honor Code, and students say it goes farther than the Mormon Churchâs policy on same-sex relationships.
In 2020, BYU deleted a ban on âhomosexual behaviorâ from the Honor Code, leading some LGBTQ+ students to celebrate. But soon afterward, the Church Educational System, which governs all the BYU campuses, clarified that the deletion didnât mean âsame-sex romantic behaviorâ was acceptable. Last month, it added the language prohibiting âsame-sex romantic behaviorâ to the code.
âThough the ban had never really lost its effect, for some students the official restoration of it still felt like a gut punch,â Religion News Service reports.
The Honor Code tells BYU students to live âa chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from sexual relations outside marriage between a man and a woman.â With the new language, it notes that âliving a chaste and virtuous life also includes abstaining from same-sex romantic behavior.â
BYU is affiliated with the Mormon Church (officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), which opposes same-sex relationships. The church wonât perform same-sex marriages and expects the faithful to refrain from sexual activity with members of the same gender. It also opposes gender transition, and church leaders have said that LGBTQ+ activism comes from Satan.
But some BYU students say certain LDS congregations look the other way when a member is dating someone of the same sex, while the college is policing dating relationships.
âDepending on where you are, who your religious leaders are, you can actually date people of the same sex with very little church repercussions,â BYU student Gracee Purcell, president of the RaYnbow Collective, a group for the collegeâs queer students and alumni, told Religion News Service. âAt BYU, that usually gray line within the church is a hard line. Anything that they deem homosexual behavior, or same-sex romantic behavior, is not allowed.â
That âromantic behaviorâ could include dating, holding hands, or kissing. If a student engages in any of these, âas in years past, each situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis to help each student feel the love of the Savior and to encourage them to live their gospel covenants and university/college commitments,â says a list of BYUâs answers to frequently asked questions.
LGBTQ+ groups for BYU students and alums opposed the prohibition but said at least the school is being up front about its attitudes. âIâm just glad people can now finally see explicitly whatâs happening,â Evelyn Telford, a vice president of Understanding Sexuality, Gender & Allyship, told the news service. âThereâs no way to get around it that they are openly being discriminatory to queer students.â But it will make queer students feel more isolated and under scrutiny by others, she said.
The LGBTQ+ groups will continue doing their work, and the RaYnbow Collective will hold its annual off-campus Back-to-School Pride event in Provo, Utah, September 16. Provo is home to BYUâs main campus, and the school also has campuses in Idaho and Hawaii. Ensign College in Salt Lake City is governed by the Church Educational System as well.
Despite BYUâs anti-LGBTQ+ policies, queer students come to the university because of academics, family connections, or other reasons, Telford said. And some may not recognize theyâre queer until theyâre in college. That was the case with her, she said.
âItâs such a personal decision to be at BYU, and your sexuality shouldnât mean you donât deserve a place there,â she told Religion News Service.
Purcell added, âThe lack of representation and the increase in religious and societal pressures wonât stop queer students from coming. But it will hurt them.â
Accrediting agencies in the US are privately operated, too. Thereâs a layer of independent oversight between the Department of Education and the schools themselves.
Whether thatâs good or bad is far beyond my knowledge, but thatâs how itâs legal. Itâs just one private organization giving a thumbs up to another private organization.