
Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and is a union of several different schools. Union University is highly ranked as one of the nation's top Christian universities. The university has a primary faith and is committed to providing a Christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to the Church and society. The university's Statement of Faith outlines its beliefs, including the Scriptures, God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, humankind, salvation, the Church, and last things. Union University's president, David S. Dockery, has emphasized the importance of maintaining the university's Christian identity and preventing secularization.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Type of University | Private Baptist university |
Location | Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville |
Affiliation | Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention) |
Union of Schools | West Tennessee College, Southwestern Baptist University, Union University of Murfreesboro, and Hall-Moody Junior College of Martin, Tennessee |
Year Established | 1875 |
Student Population | 2,718 |
Student to Faculty Ratio | 8:1 |
Campus Housing Ranking | Third in the nation |
Number of Campus Organisations | 90 |
Sports Offered | NCAA DII sports, baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer |
Religious Studies | Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Asian Religions, ancient Mediterranean religions, and religion, culture and society |
Core Values | Excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, and future-directed |
What You'll Learn
- Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee
- The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention
- Union University is known for its intolerance of LGBTQ+ persons
- The university has a code of conduct that prohibits homosexual behaviour and advocacy
- Union University is highly ranked as one of the nation's top Christian universities
Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee
Union University is highly ranked as one of the nation's top Christian universities. It offers over 100 programs of study that integrate top-tier academics with Christian faith. The university's mission is to provide Christ-centred education that promotes excellence and character development in service to the Church and society. It aims to equip students to think Christianly and serve faithfully, guided by its core values: excellence-driven, Christ-centred, people-focused, and future-directed.
The university's statement of faith underscores its commitment to Christian orthodoxy and evangelical convictions. While not "distinctively baptistic", the statement aligns with affirmations found in Baptist confessions and common convictions shared with other orthodox Christians. Union University strives to cultivate a holistic orthodoxy with a high view of Scripture and strong commitments to the early church's Trinitarian and Christological consensus.
Union University's identity as a Baptist institution is shaped by its relationship with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and its denominational loyalty. It offers a grace-filled community that encourages value-based thinking, fostering a strong Christian worldview among its students. The university's approach to ministry is inclusive, partnering with staff and faculty to encourage each student's individual walk with God.
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The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention
Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention).
The Tennessee Baptist Convention is a union of several different schools: West Tennessee College, formerly known as Jackson Male Academy; Union University of Murfreesboro; Southwestern Baptist University; and Hall-Moody Junior College of Martin, Tennessee. The university was established in 1875 through the consolidation of Southwestern Baptist College at Murfreesboro and West Tennessee College at Jackson.
Union University's affiliation with the Tennessee Baptist Convention is reflected in its academic community, which is committed to equipping individuals to think and act as Christians in their service to the Church and society. The university's core values are excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, and future-directed. These values shape the university's identity and academic programs, with a focus on providing a Christian liberal arts-based education enhanced by professional and graduate programs.
The university's commitment to its faith is evident in its desire to help students develop a grace-filled, conviction-based community of learning. This includes encouraging students to apply their Christian faith to all areas of life, including their chosen fields or occupations. Union University strives to create an environment where faculty and staff are actively involved with students both inside and outside the classroom, fostering a caring and grace-filled community.
Union University's affiliation with the Tennessee Baptist Convention guides its academic mission and faith-based approach to education, shaping the institution's identity and core values.
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Union University is known for its intolerance of LGBTQ+ persons
Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention) and is known for its intolerance of LGBTQ+ persons.
Union University has a code of conduct that prohibits, among other things, homosexual behaviour and advocacy, as well as premarital sex and alcohol. Former students have said that the anti-gay policies are enforced much more strictly than others. While heterosexual students received small fines for violations, homosexual students were given the choice between conversion therapy or expulsion.
In 2008, Union University denied access to the Soulforce Equality Ride, an effort to fight discrimination against gay people. Students were warned to have no contact with the group, and one student who approached them was subsequently investigated. Soulforce participants were arrested for trespassing.
In 2015, Union withdrew from the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities after two council colleges changed their policies to allow the hiring of faculty members in same-sex marriages. Four members of the university faculty signed the 2017 Nashville Statement, an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles that was perceived by some as expressing homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny.
In 2020, the school rescinded an admissions offer to a gay graduate-level nursing student, Alex Duron, after investigating his sexual orientation. Duron subsequently joined an unsuccessful lawsuit, Elizabeth Hunter, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, seeking to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ students at publicly funded religious colleges and universities.
Union University's president, Dub Oliver, defended the school's actions by pointing to the college's religious exemption from the prohibitions on discrimination in Title IX, which it had applied for and received from the U.S. Department of Education. He also pointed to the college's statement of principles, which all students agree to follow. This statement includes the belief that "God created only two genders and He fashioned each one of us as either male or female. Sexual relationships are designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between a man and a woman."
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The university has a code of conduct that prohibits homosexual behaviour and advocacy
Union University is a private Baptist university in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention) and is a union of several different schools: West Tennessee College, Southwestern Baptist University, Union University of Murfreesboro, and Hall-Moody Junior College of Martin, Tennessee.
The university has a strong Christian identity and purpose, aiming to provide a Christ-centred education and develop a grace-filled community of learning. The university's statement of faith includes a high view of Scripture and strong commitments to the "Trinitarian and Christological consensus of the early church".
Union University's code of conduct prohibits homosexual behaviour and advocacy, premarital sex, and alcohol consumption. The university has been criticised for its enforcement of these policies, particularly regarding LGBT persons. Former students have reported that anti-gay policies were enforced more strictly than other rules, with heterosexual students receiving small fines for violations, while homosexual students were given the choice between conversion therapy or expulsion. In 2008, the university denied access to the Soulforce Equality Ride, an initiative to fight discrimination against gay people, and students were warned against any contact with the group.
The university's stance on LGBT issues has led to other controversies. In 2015, Union withdrew from the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities after two member colleges changed their policies to allow the hiring of faculty members in same-sex marriages. In 2020, the university rescinded an admissions offer to a gay graduate-level nursing student, Alex Duron, after investigating his sexual orientation. The university's president, Dub Oliver, defended this decision by citing the college's religious exemption from Title IX's prohibitions on discrimination and its statement of principles, which all students agree to follow.
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Union University is highly ranked as one of the nation's top Christian universities
Union University is an academic community that equips students to think Christianly and serve faithfully, in line with its core values. These values include being excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, and future-directed. The university offers a grace-filled community that encourages value-based thinking, providing students with a strong Christian worldview that prepares them for their chosen fields or occupations.
The university's commitment to academic excellence and its affiliation with the churches of Jesus Christ shape its identity and understanding of being Baptist by tradition and evangelical by conviction. Union University seeks to provide a Christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to the Church and society. It aims to help students develop a mature reflection of what the Christian faith means for every field of study, fostering a grace-filled convictional community of learning.
Union University's statement of faith, while not infallible, serves as a safeguard and an identity marker of its orthodox and evangelical convictions. It demonstrates the university's connectedness with the primary emphases of historic Christianity, including a high view of Scripture and strong commitments to the early church's Trinitarian and Christological consensus. The statement is designed to prevent the secularisation that has occurred in some once-Christian universities and to tie Union University firmly to its Christian roots.
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