The Christian Union (CU) at Exeter University hit national headlines recently by becoming the first ever CU to take legal action against its student association. The committee of the group filed papers against the Student Guild at the university on January 5, claiming that the university has denied them freedom of speech, belief and association.
The legal action comes after the 50-year-old CU was suspended from the official list of student societies on campus, had its Student Union bank account frozen, and was banned from free use of Student Guild premises and advertising facilities. Exeter Student Guild claims that the CU’s constitution and activities do not conform to its Equal Opportunities Policies, which have been introduced only recently.
Mainstream Christianity?
Initially the Guild had forced the CU to change its name to the ‘Evangelical Christian Union’, alleging that the group was not broadly representative of mainstream Christian belief. When the CU argued that it stood for widely held orthodox Christian positions, the Guild demanded that it amend its constitution, accept the name change and disaffiliate from UCCF on threat of expulsion. The CU disputed the Guild’s ruling and served a Letter Before Action on the University’s Registrar, advising that proceedings would commence unless the Exeter Christian Union was fully re-instated as a student society by the Guild with full rights and was allowed to call itself the Christian Union.
