Leave the church, lose your BYU degree

Admitted

Their own church publications admit these facts. You can make this point from LDS sources alone.

What the policy says

BYU asks every student for a yearly sign-off from a church leader. It calls that an ecclesiastical endorsement.

BYU's own written policy says the sign-off is pulled at once if a student is cut off from the church, put under formal discipline, or simply resigns.

What that costs a student

Good standing under the Honor Code. The right to stay enrolled.

A job on campus. A room on campus.

And the degree itself, even if all the course work is done.

The shape of the problem

A student who stops believing halfway through a degree faces being thrown out. Or years of hiding it.

A student who was never a member may attend, at a higher fee. So a member who leaves is treated worse than someone never baptised.

FreeBYU took the matter to the accrediting bodies and lost. A narrow appeal route was added in 2015 and 2016.

Their answer, at full strength

BYU is a private religious school, paid for in large part by tithing. Latter-day Saint students pay a much lower fee, and the faith community makes up the rest.

The deal is stated up front. Stay in good standing with the church that funds you.

Students agree to that when they enrol. BYU notes that the accrediting bodies and the American Bar Association have upheld its right to set religious terms.

An appeal route now exists for a student who resigns. And every student needs the yearly sign-off, member or not.

How strong is this argument?

They admit this themselves; the rule is in BYU's own papers. So do not argue about the facts.

The real question is what to call it. A private school setting religious terms, or a penalty for changing your mind.

Ask it as a question, not as a charge.

What to say

"What happens to a BYU student who stops believing in their third year?"

Downtown Provo, Utah, the city built around Brigham Young University and its campus

The Provo City Center Temple; an ecclesiastical endorsement is a condition of enrolment nearby

How they answer this — at its strongest

A private school may set its own terms, and tithing pays most of the cost.

BYU says it is a private religious school, paid for in large part by tithing. Latter-day Saint students pay a much lower fee, and the faith community makes up the rest.

The deal is stated up front. Stay in good standing with the church that funds you. Students agree to it when they enrol.

BYU notes that the accrediting bodies and the American Bar Association have upheld its right to set religious terms. An appeal route now exists for students who resign. And every student needs the yearly sign-off, including those who are not members. They just do not need to be members.

The verdict

They admit this: the rule is in BYU's own papers, so argue about the name.

The policy is set out word for word in BYU's own papers. Leaving the church pulls the sign-off, and pulling the sign-off ends the right to stay enrolled. So the facts come from the school itself.

What is really in dispute is what to call it. A private school setting religious terms, or a penalty for changing your mind.