Sir, Christian unions in universities have always been committed to evangelism “Student to sue over Christian rights at colleges” (Nov 18). Jesus didn’t say, “Keep quiet and go to ground”, but rather, “Go into every possible place and share the good news”. Beliefs about sexual orientation and chastity are only part of a world view. Far more significant in most young Christians’ lives are concerns about justice, poverty and addiction.

Young Christians are also unlikely to be propping up the bar all day or popping pills all night. Those who want to banish them and immobilise their vigour are unsure of their own position and so resort to the ultimate censorship: the denial of free speech. These are exciting days in which to be a Christian.

ROBERT DE BERRY
Vicar of St Mark’s
London SE11

Sir, The real issue lies in the tendency of conservative evangelical Christian groups, such as the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), to hijack, hold to ransom and then monopolise the title “Christian Union”. It is a common ruse; a tactic adopted by other conservative evangelical groups who also like to monopolise words such as “evangelical”, “orthodoxy”, “biblical”, “mainstream” and “Gospel”, as witnessed within the current debates in the Anglican Communion over issues of sexuality, and the ordination of women.

Student unions countrywide are perfectly entitled to request a Christian union to be, in terms of doctrinal and theological outlook, wholly non-partisan. A genuine Christian union should be expected to be inclusive of all Christian students, evangelical or non-evangelical. It should create an environment where Christians and curious non-believers have the right to explore and celebrate faith in an atmosphere of safety and respect, where opinions are valued and can be expressed openly, recognising the variety of Christian traditions, backgrounds and beliefs held, and which welcomes and celebrates this diversity. It should not hold exclusively to any one Christian tradition having an exclusive claim on truth, but should recognise that we all have viewpoints which together enhance our understanding of the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps student union bodies should follow the lead of the Guild of Students from Exeter University. In a referendum held during October, they prevented conservative evangelicals from changing the name of their group, the Evangelical Christian Union, to the title of Christian Union, as they felt it would continue the systematic silencing and discrimination against Christians who are not evangelical. By adopting this strategy of insisting on public transparency of groups rather than freezing them out, student unions could allow UCCF-affiliated groups to maintain their doctrinal integrity and admittance to membership in accordance with their interpretation of Christianity.

Meanwhile, students who are Christians can then make a genuinely informed choice about which group best represents them.

STEVEN JARVIS
Ludlow, Shropshire

Sir, The term “university” embodies the ideal of finding “unity in diversity”. Do the universities see the irony of accusing Christianity of intolerance while being intolerant of Christianity?

The situation possibly arises from the attempt to associate Christianity with extremist Islam, so that extremist Islam can be similarly suppressed without accusations of “Islamophobia”.

Suppressing any belief system that disagrees with current popular philosophy is a dangerous tactic that threatens the very core of our free society. We need to be clear: the suppression of violent ideologies will protect our society, but the suppression of diverse beliefs will destroy it.

TOBY COSH
Bedford

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