BYU removes ‘homosexual behavior’ section from Honor Code

Posted: Feb 19, 2020 / 05:59 PM MST

Updated: Feb 19, 2020 / 11:36 PM MST

PROVO, Utah (ABC4 News) – Brigham Young University is clarifying a recent change to its Honor Code Wednesday.

It appears the university removed a section of the Honor Code regarding “homosexual behavior” causing many to wonder what the change means.

*The section was completely removed from the current version of the Church Educational System Honor Code Related Policies page on BYU’s website.*

BYU officials sought to correct any “miscommunication” by releasing a statement on Twitter Wednesday.

“Even though we have removed the more prescriptive language, the principles of the Honor Code remain the same,” said BYU in a tweet Wednesday.

The Honor Code Office will handle questions that arise on a case by case basis. For example, since dating means different things to different people, the Honor Code Office will work with students individually.
— BYU (@BYU) February 19, 2020

The Honor Codes still indicates that faculty, administration, staff, and students should “live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman.”

The update to the Honor Code comes as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released a new general handbook with nine rewritten chapters.