A New Kind of Orthodoxy at Villanova University

Villanova University has decided to pressure its faculty, staff, and students into complying with a view of gender identity out of step with its Catholic mission. The decision undermines both Villanova’s purpose as a university and its desire to create an inclusive community in which everyone is treated with respect.

In an email to faculty on August 11, the university administration announced a Gender Inclusive Practices Guide, which states that “gender inclusivity is fundamental to Villanova’s mission” and cites the school’s diversity statement. No mention is made of its Catholic and Augustinian identity.

The best-practices guide envisions a transformative impact on campus, recommending that faculty “normalize an inclusive approach to gender.” It suggests as an example that people not say “ladies and gentlemen.” Presumably, St. Paul’s “brothers and sisters” is out, too.

The guide also recommends adding a “gender inclusion statement” to syllabi and suggests that faculty “consider making gender inclusivity an explicit component of your department’s and your classes’ DEI work and mission.” It would seem that Pope Francis was right when he said that contemporary “gender theory” is a kind of “ideological colonization.”

A university should be a place where faculty and students are free to exchange ideas, follow arguments where they lead, and pursue truth together. Instead, these new best practices envision a campus dominated by progressive orthodoxy. They contribute to a growing culture of self-censorship and mutual distrust in which community members are encouraged to surveil and report one another for thought crimes.

The guide also includes an imperative to “address misgendering” and instructs faculty and staff to “politely intervene when misgendering occurs, whether that person is present or not.” These directions are presented as friendly recommendations, but they are backed by a nondiscrimination policy that includes “gender identity and expression” among its “protected characteristics.” Put two and two together, and one can discern a more forceful message: kindly follow these suggested guidelines—or else!

No one should be bullied or harassed on campus. People should not be pressured to say things they do not believe. Yet, Villanova’s guide seems designed to do exactly that. It does not envision the possibility of reasonable disagreement, and it assumes that everyone should affirm a particular understanding of gender identity. In so doing, it signals that disagreement is wrongheaded and unwelcome. Dissenters should conform or remain silent.

Would Pope Francis, who has also called this kind of gender theory “dangerous,” be allowed to express his views at Villanova? Can Catholic professors and students state their views in a discussion of Genesis, which reads, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”? Are they likely to try? Who would risk honestly exploring controversial questions of gender and gender identity under these conditions?

The university presents its new stance on gender identity as an act of humanity and compassion, but the process it has chosen reveals an embrace of power in service to ideology. Rather than allowing the members of its campus community to find their own way on these issues, the university is attempting to compel behavior and belief by bureaucratic fiat. It is a betrayal of its purpose as a university. It is not a path to inclusive community, either.

When reached for comment, the university trumpeted its Augustinian values of truth, unity, and love, saying that it “seeks to be a welcoming and inclusive community that respects members of all backgrounds and faiths.” Sadly, Villanova is becoming a place where many Catholics and independent thinkers hide their views, hoping to weather the storm of progressive ideology hovering over the campus.

Villanova’s actions will generate only a false sense of unity since they undermine the freedom of its community members to pursue the truth. It would be much better to trust Villanovans to treat one another with respect while encouraging them to engage in free and open dialogue.