UPDATE: Baylor Rescinds $640K Grant Aimed At Fostering 'LGBT' Acceptance by Churches

Baylor University has rescinded the nearly $650,000 grant it received from a progressive foundation that was to be used to help foster LGBTQ "inclusion and belonging in the church," the school's president announced.

In a statement released Wednesday, Baylor University's President Linda A. Livingstone said the grant awarded to the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I) has been voluntarily rescinded. 

She explained that although the grant supported the center's academic research "aimed at exploring inclusion and belonging in the church, with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals," there were growing concerns about "activities that followed as part of the grant."

Livingstone specifically pointed out elements of "advocacy" that were "inconsistent with Baylor’s institutional policies."

"Please be assured that Baylor’s institutional beliefs and policies remain unchanged. Our commitment to our Christian mission and our historic Baptist identity continues to guide our approach to academics, student life, and spiritual formation. We affirm the biblical understanding of human sexuality as a gift from God, expressed through purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman," she wrote. 

EARLIER REPORT: 

Baylor University announced it had received the grant from a progressive foundation to help foster LGBTQ "inclusion and belonging in the church," and many accused the Christian university of aligning with values that contradict the Bible.

According to a press release from the university's Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the hefty grant was awarded to the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation gave $643,401 to researchers to help them "better understand the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations to nurture institutional courage and foster change."

The grant was intended to fund a major study entitled, "Courage from the Margins: Inclusion and Belonging Practices for LGBTQIA+ and Women in Congregations." Researchers would have been tasked with recruiting two groups of 25 individuals from across the country (ages 18-24) to participate in confidential interviews, focus groups, and surveys to share about their experiences within their congregations.  

The resulting information would have been used to develop "trauma-sensitive training resources" for churches. 

"This grant will focus on the lived experiences of emerging adults. It will assist us in filling out the bigger picture of congregations' practices that result in an environment of belonging," Dr. Gaynor Yancey, C3I director and the Lake Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Congregational and Community Health, explained in the press statement. "Through our research, we want to expand our picture of what congregations do and do not do in their caring practices with all people about their experiences of belonging." 

"Wolves in Shepherds' Clothing"?

Critics argued that the work and research were deeply problematic.  

For one, they cited that the Waco, Texas school describes itself as a Christian university that is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). However, they contended that the school is slowly shedding its faith-based foundation by now prioritizing LGBTQ voices.

In writing for the Washington Times, Everett Piper, the former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, described the institution as "wolves in shepherds' clothing."

"Any church, organization or university that is more interested in being 'inclusive' of sin than in preaching and teaching that we need to confess it is not biblical and — yes, I'm going to say it — is not Christian," he wrote. "Do not send your kids to such a school. Wolves in sheep's clothing are dangerous, but wolves in shepherds' clothing are downright deadly."

The university's acceptance of the grant was also met with backlash online. 

"This is illuminating and sad and not at all surprising," wrote the Rev. Denny Burk, associate pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. "Baylor has been moving away from Christian faithfulness for decades now. But it's still sad to watch another nail in the coffin of a once great Christian university."

Rev. Matt Kennedy, the senior pastor at Church of the Good Shepherd, wrote, "It's much better to send your child to a secular university, hostile to the faith, than to a 'Christian' university like Baylor. Better the wolf with bared fangs than the wolf disguised as a shepherd."

It’s much better to send your child to a secular university, hostile to the faith, than to a “Christian” university like Baylor. Better the wolf with bared fangs than the wolf disguised as a shepherd.

— Matt Kennedy (@lambeth981) July 3, 2025

NYT journalist, Megan Basham, outlined in a thread on X that the university's acceptance of the grant from a progressive foundation was many years in the making. 

So now that the progressive Baugh Foundation has granted Baylor nearly 3 quarters of a million dollars to promote LGBTQ inclusivity, it’s worth looking at why Baylor would take this step sure to anger MANY Christian families who send their kids to school there.

Fact is, they… pic.twitter.com/VDDQu95Eaj

— Megan Basham (@megbasham) July 3, 2025

She reported that in 2024 Baylor created a program with a purpose to "reform congregations specifically in regards to LGBTQ ideology."

"So they are teaching Christian students who want to go work in those congregations how to be LGBTQ inclusive," Basham wrote, adding the program flew under the radar that year, but has now expanded to promoting LGBT inclusion on campus. 

"We must also learn the lesson that the one who pays the piper calls the tune. When you rely on these big foundations, they eventually get to tell you what your priorities are," Basham wrote. "And their priorities are almost never biblical faithfulness."

A spokesperson from Baylor University previously told CBN News in a statement that the school's "beliefs, policies, or statements have not changed." 

"Our commitment to our Christian mission and identity remains steadfast, and we continue to uphold the biblical values that have long shaped our University’s foundation," the spokesperson explained. 

"In particular, Baylor affirms the biblical understanding of human sexuality as a gift from God. Christian churches across the ages and around the world have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm. This conviction continues to guide our institutional policies and our approach to student life, academics and spiritual formation," the statement continued. 

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***