10th January 2007

There has been widespread media reporting about a series of campus disputes regarding the admittance of local Christian union societies into membership of their students’ union. As far as I am aware, there are only 4 specific disputes across the university sector with evangelical and theologically conservative local Christian groups. In each of those cases there are specific issues in dispute between the local Christian Union and their Students’ Union.

These do not affect other Christian groups on campus. That is, these disputes are not with Christian groups in general, many of which are affiliated to their local student bodies, and the disputes do not represent a general attack on Christianity in our universities.

As a general principle, students’ unions should be inclusive. The government has been keen to ensure that the parties concerned resolve these disputes. It believes that legitimate faith groups should be affiliated with their students’ union, provided that they are operating within the law and the students’ union framework.

The disputes vary, but the essence is that, in order for university societies to be able to affiliate to their campus student union, and gain the benefits of affiliation, they have to comply with an open membership requirement. There have also been associated difficulties on individual campuses with Christian groups not complying with the requirement that affiliated groups operate democratically, and in one other case an issue about religious teaching and homosexuality.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has been working with the Christian think-tank Ekklesia to provide an analysis of the disputes, and suggest a way forward. Nationally the NUS is committed to helping student unions and Christian unions resolve this problem. Ekklesia is recommending internal moderation at each of the campuses involved, possibly through the university chaplaincy, so as to avoid recourse to the law.

Because there are different issues in each case, it is important that these disputes are settled locally and, one hopes, without full recourse to the law. Ekklesia has proposed a helpful suggestion, and it is hoped that the parties concerned can resolve their disputes through mediation.

The Education Act 1994 requires university governing bodies to take such steps as are reasonably practicable, to ensure the student union operates in a fair and democratic manner. The government expects them to do so – in these cases, or in any others. Equally, it is important that universities maintain and support freedom of speech within the law.