(Liberty Counsel) A recent study by a pro-life research group has revealed that nearly 10 percent of colleges and universities affiliated with Christian churches, which publicly claim a historical Christian faith in their founding, have maintained a relationship with the abortion industry or have publicly expressed support for abortion.
The study, conducted by Students for Life of America’s (SFLA) Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement, stated the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 forced Christian colleges into a “decision year” regarding taking an official stance on abortion. The results showed that 76 out of the 767 Christian colleges investigated “across the spectrum of the Christian faith” were “willing to compromise biblical values” by supporting abortion, a 10 percent increase from 69 schools found in a similar study in 2021.
According to the study, this research is part of the SFLA’s Christian Schools Project to raise public awareness of relationships with the abortion lobby within Christian academia and to encourage these schools to cut ties with the “industry of death” and restore Christian values.
The researchers determined the 76 schools committed a combined total of 185 “infractions.” The study defined “infractions” as specific actions taken by school administrations that support abortion, including publicizing abortion providers as a “health resource,” hosting abortion vendor events on campus, advertising abortion provider careers, internships, or volunteer opportunities, and publishing support for abortion in general on the school’s website.
The most common infraction was listing Planned Parenthood as a “health resource,” which accounted for 45 percent of all infractions. Listing Planned Parenthood as a “school accredited” internship or as a volunteer opportunity combined for 31 percent. While hosting abortion events accounted for 16 percent, the final eight percent were “general abortion support statements,” such as condemning the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn a perceived national right to abortion.
The study employed a grading scale and assigned grades from an “A+” to an “F” depending on their number of infractions and commitment to being pro-life. Christian schools with no infractions and a relationship with a local pro-life pregnancy center earned an “A+”, while schools with no infractions but no proof of a relationship with a local pro-life pregnancy center earned an “A” grade. Schools with four or more infractions earned an “F” grade.
Notably, a combined 90 percent of Christian schools received top marks with 44 schools receiving an “A+” for no infractions and promoting local “life-affirming” pregnancy centers, while 653 schools earned an “A” grade by not promoting abortion or having a relationship with the abortion industry. However, 16 schools received an “F” grade while the remaining 54 schools received “B,” “C,” or “D” grades. The schools that received an “F” grade were American University; Augsburg University; Carroll University; Davidson College; Drew University; Duke University; Emory University; Macalester College; Muhlenberg College; Oklahoma City University; Rhodes College; Roanoke College; Southern Methodist University Grad School; St. Olaf College; Virginia Wesleyan University; and Wittenberg University.
With the 10 percent increase in schools committing infractions, the researchers stated it was the 2022 Dobbs decision reversing Roe that pulled Christian higher education schools that kept silently “in the middle” of the abortion issue “out of their silence” to take a stance.
The study stated, “Thus, 2022 also became a decision year for Christian schools: to apply or not to apply God’s truth on the value of life. In 2021, the conclusion of our Christian school outreach found 69 schools in total having infractions by the end of that year. However, following the Dobbs decision in 2022, schools with infractions skyrocketed…up to 76.”
The researchers contacted each school by phone or email to inform them about their infractions and requested them to change their abortion stance. However, some Christian institutions “doubled down” on their support for the abortion industry.
Moravian University in Pennsylvania, which received a “D” grade, stated in an email that they would continue to support Planned Parenthood “because it is important for [their students] to best understand the world they are entering.”
Earlham College in Indiana wrote that it did not have a unified stance on abortion but sees it “as a matter of individual conscience.”
Institution representatives at Trinity University in Texas and Chaminade University of Honolulu “hung up mid-conversation” with the researchers as they discussed the Christian Schools Project.
The researchers also noted several other key findings, including:
- 87 percent of Planned Parenthood’s 563 facilities are located within five miles of a college campus.
- The denominations with the most infractions were Methodist (22 percent), Presbyterian (20 percent), Catholic (18 percent), and Lutheran (16 percent).
- 42 Christian schools made improvements towards valuing unborn life since 2021.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Dobbs decision has indeed forced people and institutions alike to take a stance on unborn life. This small percentage yet significant number of schools are compromising the biblical values from which their institutions were formed and are misleading thousands of their students, donors, and supporters. Christian colleges that abandon or compromise their foundational principles will become irrelevant. Without a distinct Christian mission there is no incentive to attend these schools.”
