Tag: religious freedom

Privilege, Justice, and Religious Freedom

David S. Cunningham examines the tension between public and private higher education institutions in the context of state and federal legislative control. He argues that while private institutions may face less direct oversight, federal grants present significant risks. Religiously affiliated schools may navigate these challenges differently, emphasizing their commitment to social justice and religious freedom.

David S. Cunningham

As certain core commitments of higher education have come under attack in recent years, I have been paying attention to the potential differences between the public and private spheres. Public institutions in states like Florida and Texas may have little choice but to surrender to the will of the state legislature, which sets budgets and has the power to dictate many of the details as to how its state institutions are run. Legislative control of private institutions is less obvious, but it can still happen—whether directly (as in states like Iowa, which control scholarship programs that can be used at the state’s private institutions) or indirectly (wherein private institutions can be shut out of certain corridors of power if they are seen as unfriendly to a state’s government).

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Called to Advocacy

Amanda Tyler’s advice to college students: “Think intentionally, deliberatively, and if its your practice spiritually, about your next move but worry less about the chessboard. I couldn’t have played out all these moves to get to this place, and yet it feels like the perfect place for me.”

Amanda Tyler is the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, which is headquartered on Capitol Hill and advocates for religious freedom for all. “From a very early age, I felt a calling to law and politics – I wanted to be a public servant in some way,” she shared during a recent conversation captured in the latest episode on the NetVUE podcast series, Callings. The episode is called “The Next Move.”

In 2019, Amanda was named “Baptist of the Year” for her leadership in the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. We talked about this aspect of her work during our conversation, and she described how we are called to walk a line between fidelity to the past and stewardship for the future. (Amanda was recently interviewed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” on the topic of Christian Nationalism).

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