Attention religion-beat journalists: What we have here is a chance to use the hot-button word “fundamentalist” in way that is consistent with years of guidance from the Associated Press Stylebook.
Honest. Give it a try.
I am referring to news coverage of a rather mysterious power struggle at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. At this point, there has been next to zero national coverage of this inside-baseball conflict, perhaps because it’s a fight between conservative Christians that does not appear to involve the words “Donald Trump.”
But there has been quite a bit of coverage at the regional level and in “Christian market” news, because this is a powerful and symbolic institution in the Bible Belt. You can see some major-league buzz words in the overture of the main story at The State: “SC Christian university president resigns, cites problems with governing board.” This is long, but essential:
The president of Bob Jones University has resigned amid long-simmering disagreements with the chairman of the board and grandson of the university’s founder over the discretion of the fundamentalist Christian school in Greenville.
Steve Pettit was named president in 2014, the first non-Jones family member to hold the job since the school was founded by Bob Jones Sr. in 1927. He was succeeded by Bob Jones Jr., Bob Jones III and then his great-grandson, Stephen Jones. Bob Jones IV elected not to work at the school.
In a four-page letter to the board, Pettit said board chair John Lewis had created disunity on the board, held a meeting without telling staff and was not taking seriously a comment made by a board member that “female students’ clothing and female student athlete uniforms accentuate their ‘boobs and butts.’”
Pettit said he had heard the board member took photos of women without their permission. He said he did not know if the information was true, but by law should have been turned over to the Title IX coordinator for investigation.
Ah, a Title IX fight. For those who have followed Bob Jones trends, that would lead straight into the crucial issue of whether this school will play ball with government agencies or outside educational authorities of any kind.
A big word here is “separatism,” along with “ultra-separatism” (click here for background). The key is the degree to which true “fundamentalists” would work with mere evangelicals who have associated, in any way, with liberal and modern trends in Christian faith. Suffice it to say that, at one point, Bob Jones Sr. was arguing that evangelist Billy Graham was one of the world’s most dangerous men, as well as anti-American and anti-Christian.
At this point, is it appropriate to use the term “fundamentalist” when describing Bob Jones University, as a whole? Good question.
As a reminder, here (“Define ‘fundamentalist,’ please”) is what the AP bible has to say on the f-word, itself:
"fundamentalist: The word gained usage in an early 20th century fundamentalist-modernist controversy within Protestantism. ... However, fundamentalist has to a large extent taken on pejorative connotations except when applied to groups that stress strict, literal interpretations of Scripture and separation from other Christians. In general, do not use fundamentalist unless a group applies the word to itself."
The history of the term “fundamentalist” actually leads into a maze of conflicts inside churches that modern readers would call “mainline” — including Presbyterians and Reformed Anglicans. This was a fight at Princeton University, for example, as opposed to the hollers of Southern Appalachia.
But here is a bit of historical background from TeachingHistory.org:
Fundamentalism, in the narrowest meaning of the term, was a movement that began in the late 19th- and early 20th-century within American Protestant circles to defend the "fundamentals of belief" against the corrosive effects of liberalism that had grown within the ranks of Protestantism itself. Liberalism, manifested in critical approaches to the Bible that relied on purely natural assumptions, or that framed Christianity as a purely natural or human phenomenon that could be explained scientifically, presented a challenge to traditional belief.
A multi-volume group of essays edited by Reuben Torrey, and published in 1910 under the title, The Fundamentals, was financed and distributed by Presbyterian laymen Lyman and Milton Stewart and was an attempt to arrest the drift of Protestant belief. Its influence was large and was the source of the labeling of conservatives as "fundamentalists."
What does the university say today?
That’s an essential question when covering this story. There have been quite a few changes at BJU, which may be what this power struggle is all about. Here is another bite of story at The State:
Pettit … worked to have the university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission, an action long eschewed by the Joneses but started during the tenure of Stephen Jones. The previous leadership did not want to be ruled by an outside secular organization. He also worked to have the university’s tax exemption reinstated after the IRS pulled it in 1976 because of the school’s discriminatory racial policies, namely that people of different ethnicity and race could not date or marry.
For journalists, a key question is, “What is this fight really about?” If it’s just a personality clash between two powerful men, it might not be all that newsworthy, other than as a story about the future of a local institution.
As mentioned earlier, journalists would jump all over this story if it had a strong political angle. In this case, it’s hard to even figure out the degree to which “doctrine” is at stake. Here is Julie Roys on that:
According to some alumni, the opposition to Pettit had nothing to do with doctrine, but with “preferences of Christian practice.” It concerned things like the style of worship music played at student chapel services, “immodest clothing” worn by female athletes, musical selections from the fine arts program, and even Pettit’s participation in a bluegrass music band.
On the liberal side of Baptist life, there are these hints from the Baptist News Global wire service:
By alumni, student and insider accounts, what has erupted at BJU in recent years is an intense battle over slight nudges into modernity. Once a bastion of white Christian segregationists, the school has sought to recast itself as still conservative but not racist and bigoted.
One of the most curious skirmishes in this tug-of-war occurred in 2022 through the school’s bachelor of science degree in fashion design. BNG broke the national story about reaction against a student’s fashion design project involving a wrap coat on a model intended to represent Jesus. Some critics, including trustees, said the student project made Jesus look like a gay man.
Oh my, this fight has even descended into disputes about doctrine and, well, FOOTBALL. Baptist News Global offered this from the “Positive BJU” activist group:
… “These are not normal times at BJU. The board leadership needs to decide this week which direction it will take: continue on the positive path that Steve Pettit and his team have taken (with board approval) or persist in their plans to revert to a more ‘conservative’ style of standards and discipline.”
None of this is about biblical authority, the group said. “Not one biblical or doctrinal foundation is in question here. These remain absolute and non-negotiable.”
Hold on for this next part:
According to Ministry Watch, “tension between Lewis and Pettit led to the cancellation of a major event that had been in the planning stages for two years: ‘Bruins Athletic Club 10 Year Anniversary Gala: An Evening with Trevor Lawrence,’ which was to feature the acclaimed Christian NFL quarterback.’”
But some members of the board complained Lawrence was not sufficiently fundamentalist. The sudden cancellation reportedly cost the school $100,000 in expenses and $1 million in potential donations to the Bruins Athletic Club.
Key words: “Lawrence was not sufficiently fundamentalist.”
There’s no way to dig into the details of this academic and ecclesiastical war without making a serious attempt to update accurate descriptions of the current meaning of the historical term “fundamentalist.”
I think this is a story worth some serious coverage by experienced religion-beat pros.
FIRST IMAGE: Publicity photo from the Bob Jones University website.