Exploring the intersection of sex, consent and chastity at BYU, Wheaton College, Liberty University and other Christian schools – Deseret News
While this is not the point of the story, it is interesting to note that this LDS publication numbers BYU among the nation’s Christian colleges alongside Wheaton and Liberty University. The story is pertinent on its own merit none-the-less. KSchaal
SALT LAKE CITY — Consent is having a moment right now, and Christian schools that oppose premarital sex are part of the conversation.Amid a society-wide effort to address sexual assault and encourage healthy relationships — fueled, in part, by the #MeToo movement — leaders of schools like Wheaton College and Brigham Young University are talking more openly and directly about how people you care about deserve to be treated.They’re leading a push to integrate positive, faith-based guidance about sex into violence prevention efforts.“Talking about what abusive relationships and assault look like is so important, but I also think it’s important to counterbalance that with a discussion of what healthy relationships look like,” said Tiffany Turley, BYU’s Title IX coordinator.
Many administrators at the hundreds of religiously affiliated colleges in the U.S. remain hopeful that students will wait until after marriage to have sex, and they often help enforce conduct codes that set that expectation. However, increasingly, they no longer believe advocating for chastity requires delaying conversations about healthy sexual encounters.
“A concern we hear from time to time is whether Wheaton is doing this because of the law or … because of a biblical conviction. The answer is yes. It’s both,” said Paul Chelsen, vice president for student development at Wheaton, a prominent evangelical Christian school.Rather than feeling constrained by campus morality guidelines, leaders like Chelsen and Turley say conversations about consent are easier when the people involved share common values and beliefs.
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