Baylor University, a private Christian institution in Waco, Texas, has received more than $643,000 for a study titled “Courage from the Margins: Inclusion and Belonging Practices for LGBTQIA+ and Women in Congregations.”
The Center for Church & Community Impact (C3I), which is part of Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, announced the award on June 30. Researchers plan to conduct confidential interviews, focus groups, and surveys of two groups of 25 young adults (ages 18 to 24) from across America.
The goal, according to the center, is to “better understand the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women in congregations to nurture institutional courage and foster change.” C3I said it will use research results to develop “trauma-informed training resources” for churches.
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The grant is from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, which “supports progressive, inclusive, nonprofit organizations that reflect the love of Christ.” It does so “by providing assistance to those in need, enriching the lives of children and youth, keeping faith communities informed and engaged, and guarding the wall of separation between church and state.”
Baylor University Study Will Help Churches Be ‘More Just & Welcoming’
In an announcement about the grant, C3I Director Gaynor Yancey said the project “will focus on the lived experiences of emerging adults” and “assist us in filling out the bigger picture of congregations’ practices that result in an environment of belonging.”
Yancey added, “This is about our hearts, for sure, and how we act on God’s softening of our hearts toward those who live life in the margins and shadows, rarely experiencing a sense of belonging.”
“Congregations are uniquely positioned in community life to be those places of care,” she said.
C3I works to “nudge faith-based organizations to be proactive in establishing institutional courage.” The center indicated that the “Courage from the Margins” project will guide congregations to develop “greater cultural sensitivity and humility, trauma-informed approaches to ministry, concrete steps toward genuine inclusion, and environments where all members can thrive.”
Jon Singletary, dean of Baylor’s Garland School, said the grant allows C3I to “deepen its work at the intersection of faith, justice, and community and is both timely and essential.”
Despite having the “potential to be spaces of healing and belonging,” Singletary added, congregations “too often…become sources of exclusion and harm. This grant equips us to listen deeply, study carefully, and partner faithfully with churches seeking to become more just and welcoming communities.”
Critics Say Baylor’s Study Isn’t Biblical
News of the grant and study sparked controversy online, due to Baylor’s ties to Texas Baptists. Some conservative commentators criticized the research as woke and unbiblical. “Baylor is apostate, but @TexasBaptists maintains affiliation with it,” Texas Pastor Mike Miller wrote on X.
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