Seattle Pacific University

For some Christian families, politics are revamping the college decision process, swaying them away from Christian colleges marked “too liberal” or “too conservative.” John Fea, professor of American history at Messiah College, believes there’s a widening rift in the Christian college landscape.

The private school associated with the Free Methodist Church was the site of daily protests for more than a month earlier this summer as students challenged a school policy that prohibited the hiring of LGBTQ people.

Instead of shaking hands with their school’s interim president when receiving diplomas Sunday, about 50 Seattle Pacific University graduates handed him a rainbow flag instead. For some, the commencement ceremony was an opportunity to object to the Christian school’s policy against hiring LGBTQ employees.

The faculty of Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school, has taken a vote of no confidence in its board of trustees after members of the board declined to change its policy prohibiting the hiring of LGBTQ people.