Overview

• Baylor University returned the $643,000 grant awarded by the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation intended to research women’s and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in church settings.
• President Linda Livingstone said concerns arose not from the academic research itself but from subsequent advocacy activities that conflicted with Baylor’s Statement on Human Sexuality.
• Baylor’s Statement on Human Sexuality asserts biblical norms of purity in singleness and fidelity in heterosexual marriage and views homosexual behavior as a deviation.
• In her announcement, Livingstone reaffirmed the university’s commitment to its Christian mission and to fostering a caring environment for LGBTQIA+ students.
• On July 10, the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation expressed disappointment, attributing the grant reversal to an externally driven pressure campaign.