What's the Big Deal About Fundamentalist Colleges and Universities?

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Because I've had a lot of free time lately, I've been doing some research about fundamental Christian schools for an amateur writing project I've been putting together for quite some time. What I don't understand is why people spend their hard-earned money to affiliate themselves or their children with unaccredited religious colleges and universities. Although college officials may try to get people to believe otherwise, accreditation is actually a very important feature in higher education. Graduates of unaccredited colleges and universities have a much harder time getting into graduate or professional schools. Moreover, some fundamentalist schools are very strict, imposing severe restrictions on how students are allowed to live their lives. In many schools, students must attend daily on-campus chapel services and observe strict curfews and provide detailed itineraries of where they're going when they leave campus. They must also refrain from listening to most music, watching all but G-rated movies, going to theatres or restaurants with live entertainment, and dancing. At an age when many young people are yearning to be free of parental restraints, these students choose to attend colleges that would have them forfeit many of the privileges that come with adulthood.

In order to help myself understand and answer some of my own questions, as well as find out how what happens to people after they experience such a system of higher education, I've been acting like a fly on the wall on a few spots on the web. The three schools I've looked at the most are Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, Hyles Anderson College in Hammond, Indiana, and Pensacola Christian College , in Pensacola, Florida. Bob Jones University, Hyles Anderson College, and Pensacola Christian College seem to be three of the "biggies" in the world of fundamentalist Christian higher education. However, BJU and PCC have been criticized for not being more forthcoming about what prospective students can expect their lifestyles to be like, should they decide to attend. Hyles Anderson, to its credit, does publish a pamphlet and webpage that warns prospective students of what they can expect when they arrive on campus. Of course, in my research, I have also come across stories of students who were "groomed" to attend fundamentalist colleges by their parents and hometown churches. These students have known that they were destined to go to BJU or Pensacola since they were youngsters. One underlying theme that I have run across, though, is that quite a few former students are embittered by their college experiences. They resented being treated like children, especially when they were subjected to what many would consider unduly harsh rules and punishments.

To supplement my research and get some "true accounts" from people who have been there, I have been studying a couple of "counter sites" for both institutions. Nobojo's site had served as an excellent resource but is now unfortunately offline. You can still check out the Student Voice website to read about the kooky shenanigans going on at a fundamentalist Christian college. It makes for some very interesting reading.

I find it amazing that in a time when people talk so much about Islamic fundamentalists and what seems like extremism surrounding that religion, not much is said about Christian fundamentalism. Some people swear that living by literal interpretations of the Bible is the only way to heaven, while others think that the Bible is not to be taken literally, or even to be believed in at all. The wonderful thing about living in America, however, is that we're all free to believe what we want about religion, without fear of persecution. Let me also add that while personally, I don't agree with the personal restrictions that these schools impose upon their students, I do support diversity in education. The fact that schools like BJU and PCC are still around in 2007 is a great thing, because prospective students can still choose whether or not to attend. After all, if they don't want to live by what could be considered oppressive rules, they can always go to college somewhere else.

Bill and I also enjoy checking out the Recovery from Mormonism site, mostly for the intriguing forum discussions posted by the members of that site, although we wouldn't necessarily consider the Latter Day Saints to be the same as "fundies". Go to this site for more stories about Mormonism.

Other religious schools I've looked at:

Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minnesota

Tennessee Temple University in Chatanooga, Tennessee

Clearwater Christian College in St. Petersburg, Florida

Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio

Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia

Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia.