- Joined
- Apr 2, 2023
I was catching up on the thread last night and the discussion about Christian schools/culture/Section 8 really caught my attention. I am one and grew up in the Bible Belt (not Minnesota lol); maybe I can maybe offer a different perspective. Christianity is more nuanced than it ever gets credit for, and you have 50+ different flavors to choose from, even in the same denomination. I didn't go to a religious school or uni, but I know many that did. FWIW, I'm not Catholic.
On one hand, I know someone whose parents went to a Church of Christ-run school and got married at 16 and 17 (to escape abusive homes). They were immediately forbidden from participating in any extracurriculars; her mother was kicked off the cheerleading squad and father from the football team. There was also a recent incident (from this same school I think) where a girl who had a kid out of wedlock in high school was kept from getting her diploma. The former would've been in the late 70s FWIW.
On the other, I know of a similar incident to the first that occurred at a secular public school. There's been a lot of teen moms (and at least one marriage in high school, a Mormon I believe) at my old alumnus (again not a religious one) and none of them were kept from anything, and got their diplomas provided they didn't drop out...so you can't say its a Bible Belt culture thing either. One must also consider that it's not the school board that's doing it, but specific individuals with power (like the cheer coach) in the school. I have a good friend who is a super senior at a Christian university; she got married last year. She has not been prevented from participating in anything academic or extracurricular. I have some other pals that go to Christian unis who aren't married and don't plan on it until after they graduate. They aren't there for Mrs. degrees lol.
On the other, I know of a similar incident to the first that occurred at a secular public school. There's been a lot of teen moms (and at least one marriage in high school, a Mormon I believe) at my old alumnus (again not a religious one) and none of them were kept from anything, and got their diplomas provided they didn't drop out...so you can't say its a Bible Belt culture thing either. One must also consider that it's not the school board that's doing it, but specific individuals with power (like the cheer coach) in the school. I have a good friend who is a super senior at a Christian university; she got married last year. She has not been prevented from participating in anything academic or extracurricular. I have some other pals that go to Christian unis who aren't married and don't plan on it until after they graduate. They aren't there for Mrs. degrees lol.
So I can believe what Nick has claimed, but I'm not sure how overall believable it is. Lots of universities have dorms and off-campus apartments they own. I absolutely cannot see any university kicking a married couple out for being married, though I can see where they wouldn't necessarily want couples with babies and kids cohabitating with 19 year old freshmen in the same on-campus building. I honestly have to wonder if there were other reasons why they couldn't live on campus. And maybe it's not that they couldn't but they wouldn't. A lie by omission. Big think.
