Memorial Union Chapel

We, the undersigned students, faculty, and staff at Iowa State University, express our strong support of renovating the Browsing Library Chapel in the Memorial Union. The chapel contains a prominent wooden cross, four pews engraved with a cross on both ends, and a stained glass panel with Christian and Jewish religious images.

Although the chapel was part of the Memorial Union when ISU acquired it in 2003, maintenance of the chapel constitutes an endorsement of, and preference for, Christianity and Judaism by Iowa State University. These are only two of thousands of religious traditions that exist.

This preference for Christianity and Judaism violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids publicly funded institutions from preferring or endorsing one religion over another, or religion over irreligion.

Our petition is not motivated by hostility toward religion, but rather by the principle that government institutions should not prefer or endorse one or a few religions over others. Furthermore, Iowa State University strives for diversity and inclusiveness, but maintaining the chapel is discriminatory and insensitive to many students who hold other religious or non-religious views.

Accordingly, we propose that the chapel be converted into a neutral reflection room that can be inclusive of ISU's diverse student population. This involves going beyond having a curtain that can be drawn to hide the cross and stained glass. We propose removal of all items that evoke a particular religion, which include the cross, the pews, the religious motifs in the stained glass, and the word chapel in any sign or reference to the room. Renovating the space as a reflection room where students may worship if they wish maintains the original intent of the architect W.T. Proudfoot while honoring ISU's commitment to diversity.