Carson-Newman University, a private Southern Baptist college in Tennessee, can now legally discriminate students on the basis of their lifestyle and sexual choices. All to protect its Christian values.

According to Dr. O’Brien’s interview with Local8, the request was filed under the advice of the college attorney to “reaffirm” the “religious principles” of the private university in the face of a “changing world”. A world that is trying to become less of a discriminating hell for minorities. In the letter addressed to the Department of Education, the president included “sexual orientation, gender identity (including but not limited to transgendered status), marital status, past and present practices regarding marriage, sex outside marriage, pregnancy, and abortion” as “student and employee characteristics” to be taken in consideration for admission and employment.

LGBTQ rights have increasingly improved in the U.S. in the past years with the endorsement of laws such as the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act” of 2010 and the legalisation of same-sex marriage across the whole country in June 2015, but there is still a long way to go for equality. Despite reassurances from the college that no students will be actively discriminated against, it’s a completely backwards attitude and hopefully one which gets reversed ASAP.