Baylor University has returned a $643,000 research grant intended to study the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women in church communities, citing concerns over advocacy activities linked to the project that conflict with the school’s religious policies.
The Waco, Texas-based Baptist university had announced the grant just nine days earlier, highlighting plans for its Center for Church and Community Impact to use the funds to examine exclusion in faith spaces. The grant was awarded by the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, which supports progressive, faith-based causes.
In a statement released Wednesday, Baylor President Linda Livingstone said the university’s concerns were “not centered on the research itself, but rather on the activities that followed as part of the grant.” She added, “Specifically, the work extended into advocacy for perspectives on human sexuality that are inconsistent with Baylor’s institutional policies.”
Livingstone characterized the decision to return the grant as “the appropriate course of action and in the best interests of the university,” while reaffirming Baylor’s commitment to being “a loving and caring community for all—including our LGBTQIA+ students.”
The university’s official Statement on Human Sexuality affirms what it describes as a “biblical understanding” of sexuality, promoting “purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman.” It explicitly rejects homosexual behavior and heterosexual sex outside of marriage.
The original announcement of the grant, published on June 30 and later removed from Baylor’s website, stated the funding would help “nurture institutional courage and foster change” by addressing the “disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations.”
In a strongly worded response, the Baugh Foundation expressed disappointment over the university’s reversal.
“This was an opportunity to answer the Christian call to care for the marginalized by creating resources and providing important research for faith communities,” the foundation said in a statement to NBC News. “Our hearts break for the professors, research fellows, and especially the students, who will receive this message from Baylor, loud and clear.”
The foundation added it hopes Baylor’s move will be “a catalyst for reflection,” and encourage other institutions to “take up the important work that Baylor has abandoned.”
The controversy underscores ongoing tensions between academic freedom, religious doctrine, and the pursuit of inclusive research in faith-based institutions.
