Tennessee Christian Colleges Are No Safe Haven From Woke Ideology

Image Credit: Trevecca Nazarene University / CC

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This week, The Tennessee Conservative reported on the woke ideology that has seemingly pervaded the mental health care space, by exposing one of the companies that is still contracted to provide mental health care services to the children of Jefferson County Schools via a contract the company has with the school district. 

Allied Behavioral Health Solutions, based on now scrubbed information from their website and social media, is objectively supportive of LGBTQ+ and social justice agendas, and require their counselors to be as well.

According to a recent study, as much as 80% of those who identified themselves as licensed mental health professionals also identify as liberal, leaving about 20% identifying as Conservative.

Because of the progressivism that has ever so slowly seeped into the mental health space, we are seeing an invasion of this ideology even on private Christian college campuses. Even here in deep red Tennessee, Christian campuses are going woke, and there are some examples in Middle Tennessee.

Last month, the TLPCA, or the Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselors Association, sponsored its annual Counseling and Therapy Summit at Trevecca Nazarene University. As with any university, the campus hosts events throughout the summer. However, this event was not the sort that you would typically find on what is known to be a conservative Christian college campus. 

According to reports, this year’s event included 47 breakout sessions, some with eye opening titles like “Bark! The Kink and Culture of Human Puppy Play.” The program from the event promotes the session as an opportunity to understand ““the potential therapeutic benefit of BDSM kink expression, and” identify “reasons a person might be inclined to participate” in puppy play, and familiarize themselves with “resources for further investigation into the phenomenon of puppy play.”

Another session was titled ““Legi-SLAY-tion: Supporting Transgender and Gender Expansive Communities in Counseling” whose purpose was to explain to those attending “state legislation impacting transgender and gender-expansive people in Tennessee” and “identify trans-affirmative counseling practices for working with transgender and gender-expansive people in Tennessee.”

Materials for some of the sessions are absent from the TLPCA website. For example, the “Puppy Play” workshop materials are not available to view. However, the rest of what is available can be found here. 

The Tennessee Conservative reached out to Peggy Cooning via email asking if the college had any understanding that the campus would be hosting a conference with such activities, and if so what was their explanation for hosting such an event since those activities do not coincide with the beliefs of the church. No response was received as of the date of publication. 

A review of the school’s website reveals that in 2021 they added an Office of Excellence and Reconciliation. The goals being “providing diversity training for faculty and employees, assisting campus leaders in implementing diversity initiatives and advising departments and teams throughout Trevecca’s campus”. It continues,” Our efforts also involve strengthening education programs to promote racial understanding and harmony, confronting racism through repentance, reconciliation and biblical justice.”  

Based on this information, conclusions could be drawn that the woke agenda that has long consumed public colleges and universities and has also embedded itself in faith-based institutions as well. 

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.