Policy / Support the Equal Campus Access Act

Support the Equal Campus Access Act

Southern Baptists recognize the importance of religious liberty, which guarantees to all Americans the freedom to believe and the freedom to live out those beliefs in the public square. Stretching back generations, Southern Baptists have a rich heritage of affirming the importance of and fighting to maintain protections for religious liberty for people of all faiths. The Baptist Faith & Message states “a free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.”

From the Baptist Student Union to Campus Crusade for Christ, from Intervarsity to the Jewish Law Students Association, religious groups on college campuses across America provide an invaluable space for religious students to gather, practice their faith, serve their fellow students, and explore new ideas and belief systems. These groups represent a microcosm of the vibrant landscape of religious freedom and expression that our nation’s founding documents protect and celebrate.

Furthermore, they are the centers of service and fellowship for campus life, often bringing students together across demographic boundaries to create more diverse communities than nearly any other campus organization. Faith-based organizations cross socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and geographic boundaries. Often, they are one of the only places where you will find student athletes gathering with theater majors and student government leaders, united by their common beliefs or mutual curiosity.

Faith-based student groups should not be subject to discrimination on college campuses for requiring their leaders and members to adhere to their core religious beliefs. However, increasingly, religious student groups are facing discrimination from schools by losing access to resources and campus spaces.

The ERLC will advocate for Congress to pass the Equal Campus Access Act, a bill that would amend the Higher Education Act to deny funding to schools that discriminate against religious student groups by denying them access to resources that are available to other student groups. As the bill states, this ensures that “such groups will be allowed to meet on campuses nationwide, providing authentic faith communities where students can find belonging, and enabling them to freely discuss, live out and share their religious ideas and values.”