Christian university holds to its r@cism

When Faith and Segregation Aligned: A Christian University's Defiant Stand Against Integration

When does religious conviction become a shield for discrimination? This question cuts to the heart of American religious history, and it remains urgently relevant today. The story of Bob Jones University's explicit choice to maintain racial segregation, even at the cost of federal tax-exempt status, reveals how institutional power, theological claims, and social injustice can intertwine in ways that demand honest examination. Understanding this episode matters not only for historians, but for anyone seeking to comprehend how religious institutions have navigated, or resisted, moral reckoning with racism in America.

A University Built on Racial Theology

Bob Jones University, founded in 1927 in Florida before relocating to South Carolina, became one of the most prominent fundamentalist Christian institutions in America. For decades, the university maintained an explicit policy prohibiting interracial dating and enrollment of Black students. This was not incidental to the institution's mission, it was theological. University leadership framed racial separation as a matter of religious principle, grounded in their interpretation of scripture and Christian doctrine.

The policy persisted even as American law and broader Christian conscience shifted during the Civil Rights era. While many religious institutions wrestled openly with integration, BJU doubled down.

The Tax Exemption Crisis and the University's Choice