A recent article from the Salt Lake Tribune showcases how the Mormon church education commissioner Clark Gilbert has implemented stringent measures to ensure that faculty members across church-affiliated institutions, including Brigham Young University and BYU-Idaho, align with the church’s teachings. Professors are now facing many hardships. Their social media posts are being audited, many are being fired for showing LGBTQ+ and feminist support, or for experiencing doubts in their Mormon beliefs. Some professors are being terminated simply because their spouse stopped believing in the church. Top scholars no longer want to apply to BYU and many professors are seeking employment elsewhere. These changes have led many to argue that this approach suppresses academic freedom and creates an environment of fear among BYU faculty members, who may feel pressured to conform to specific interpretations of Mormon church doctrinal teachings to maintain their position.
Join us today as we talk in-depth about these controversies and the recent news article from the Salt Lake Tribune titled “Dark Days: BYU professors are running scared as premier LDS school steps backwards.” According to the US and World News Report, BYU ranked #61 in 2017 and then dropped to #109 in 2024 out of 436 National Universities, but are these new changes going to drop the university’s ranking? Join the livestream to share your own personal experiences in this regard!
Link to the original article: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/05/byu-blue-why-these-are-dark-days/
One Response
This is also what happened to me in the spring of 2022. I was applying be a full time seminary teacher here in salt lake county & had passed every part of the process (over a year long- including student teaching at 2 high schools, & months of training classes provided by the church to potential teachers). I had passed every part of the process & finally arrived at my GA interview at the church office building (yes my husband was required to attended). After this interview, I was rejected with no explanation to why. Not a fit. The interview in April of 2022 was odd & included the exact questions about family and heavenly mother & the family proclamation. I felt from the moment it happened that it must have been my sympathetic answers to the lgbt questions but never had any validation for that feeling. I was also told I could not even sub as a seminary teacher after this experience. A 14 month application process over in a moment with no explanation. This isn’t just a BYU thing – seminary & institute teachers are held to the same policies too. Sad for the many lgbt youth who are suicidal in our state. Very very sad.