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Azusa Pacific University, an evangelical Christian institution that last fall notably removed its ban on same-sex relationships only to reverse course a few weeks later, has once again flip-flopped to allow gay relationships on the California campus.
At the direction of the university’s Board of Trustees, the institution will update its student handbook, striking language in it that barred LGBTQ relationships, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.
“APU is an open-enrollment institution, which does not require students to be Christian to attend, and the handbook conveys our commitment to treating everyone with Christ-like care and civility,” Mark Stanton said in a statement to the newspaper. “Our values are unchanged and the APU community remains unequivocally biblical in our Christian evangelical identity.”
After news media reported in late September that Azusa Pacific had removed the ban, pundits harshly criticized the move. This led to the trustees releasing a public statement saying they had never voted on the ban and so it would be reinstated.
Advocates had again called for the ban to be lifted and for administrators and trustees to clarify the university’s position on same-sex relationships.
