University cancels Lent as ‘too Christian’

LSE calendar overhauled with each term given a new secular name in order to be more ‘international’

Lent has been cancelled by a university as it removes Christian term names. The London School of Economics has overhauled titles of its traditional terms to be more “international”. Until now, the yearly structure at the university, founded in 1895, was the Michaelmas term, the Christmas break, Lent term, Easter break, summer term and summer holidays. This largely mirrors the calendar at universities such as Cambridge and Oxford, as well as schools such as Eton.

‘This ludicrous decision by the LSE is more virtue-signalling nonsense that creates exclusion in the name of inclusivity’

LENT has been cancelled by a university as it removes Christian term names.

The London School of Economics (LSE) has overhauled titles of its traditional terms to be more “international”.

Until now, the yearly structure at the university, founded in 1895, was the Michaelmas term, the Christmas break, Lent term, Easter break, summer term and finally the summer holidays.

This largely mirrors the calendar at universities such as Cambridge, Oxford and Durham, as well as at private schools such as Eton.

But from next year at LSE, Michaelmas will be renamed “autumn term”, Christmas break will be renamed “winter break”, Lent term “winter term” and Easter break “spring break”.

LSE said that “these new names use more accessible and widely recognised terminology, and better reflect the international nature of our community and our broader global engagement”.

The decision by LSE chiefs follows consultations and discussions which took place last term, but it has not gone unnoticed that the three name changes are Christian festivals.

Now, critics have rounded on the decision, saying it panders to the “church of woke” and is the latest attack on Christians on Britain’s top campuses.

Simon Calvert, deputy director at the Christian Institute, said: “We have been warning for years that Christians are being pushed from the public square, yet the problem is getting worse.

“Christians and those with traditional views often find themselves silenced or bullied. It’s particularly ironic when this happens at institutions that were originally founded on Christian principles and with endowments from Christian benefactors.

“So, this ludicrous decision by the LSE to rebrand traditional academic terms, by scrapping references to calendar of the established Church, is more virtue-signalling nonsense that creates exclusion in the name of inclusivity.”

Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “If this was an effort to secularise the LSE I’d be sympathetic. But in reality it reflects the fact that the LSE, like most British universities, is in thrall to a new religious cult – the church of woke – that is far more dogmatic than Christianity.”

LSE is also changing the titles of its five most senior bosses to remove the word “director” and replace it with “president and vice-chancellor”, so that international partners can “clearly understand” its leadership posts.

The new term names will be adopted in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Campus chiefs across Britain have faced increasing criticism for parting with tradition, especially the Christian links upon which many of them were founded. Last month, the University of Brighton advised staff not to say “Christmas” and instead call it the “winter closure period” as the festive title is too “Christian-centric”.

Lecturers were also urged in an inclusive language guide to say “a majority-christian country” rather than “a Christian country”.

In 2021, Worcester College, at Oxford University, apologised to students for hosting a Christian Concern training camp and cancelled a second booking after student complaints.

Christians now account for less than half of England and Wales’ population for the first time in census history, at 46.2 per cent of the population in 2021 – 13.1 per cent down on the figure a decade earlier.