University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2011 God's Glass Ceiling: Women's Education in Christian Fundamentalist Higher Education Institutions Melissa Graves Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Graves, Melissa, "God's Glass Ceiling: Women's Education in Christian Fundamentalist Higher Education Institutions" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 120. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/120 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GOD’S GLASS CEILING: WOMEN’S EDUCATION IN CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by MELISSA GRAVES August 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Graves ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Fundamentalists have historically held complex relationships with education and with women. This thesis examines the intersection of the three topics through a case study approach by looking at the education of women at fundamentalist institutions Bob Jones University, Liberty University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Historically, fundamentalists have expressed great suspicion towards education and intellectualism. Fundamentalists insisted on a literal interpretation of the Bible. Moreover, they created fundamentalist universities and colleges so that parents could send their sons and daughters away to school without worrying that their children would abandon their faith. This thesis argues that fundamentalist schools approach the education of women in ways that are rife with paradox. These fundamentalist universities, by providing women with an education, empower them for future careers and provide them with an intellectual framework to navigate an increasingly complex world. Yet, the institutions also teach women to relinquish their aspirations to become pastors, to submit to the authority of their husbands, and to center their lives around their homes. Such an approach to the education of women by fundamentalists ultimately ensures men’s retention of power within fundamentalism. Thus, educated and “modern” women no longer threaten their patriarchal fundamentalist schools, churches, and denominations. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BJU Bob Jones University EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission LBC Liberty Bible College LU Liberty University SEC Securities and Exchange Commission SWBTS Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express my deepest appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Charles Reagan Wilson and my committee members, Drs. Ted Ownby and Deirdre Cooper Owens. Having three such well- respected scholars participate in my academic journey was a delight and a privilege. Many people’s correspondence helped with the formation of this thesis, including Dr. Dorothy Patterson, Dr. Terry Stovall, Dr. Monica Rose Brennan, Dr. Elmer Towns, Dr. Jeannie Falwell Savas, Dr. Daniel L. Turner, Ms. Pat Berg, Reverend Katherine Cooke Kerr, Dr. Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Dr. Camille Lewis, Ms. Candi Finch, and Ms. April Armstrong. I am most appreciative of the kindness each person shared with me during our visits. Archivists provided invaluable assistance to me throughout this process; I am grateful to Shannon White, Abigail Sattler, and Lindsey Walker. I wish to thank the students in History 702; their constructive comments and interest helped me see the value in my work. Xaris Martinez provided abundant encouragement and guided me through the process of finishing a thesis. Carl Jensen went above and beyond the level of support expected of any boss; I am grateful for his edits and insights. My parents and brothers offered great support throughout my research and writing, showering me with delicious food during my research trips to Fort Worth. Lastly, I wish to convey my utmost appreciation and affection to my husband, Matthew, whose unwavering love and support helped me see this thesis to its completion. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1 II. HISTORIOGRAPHY OF FUNDAMENTALISM .........................................................7 III. BOB JONES UNIVERSITY .......................................................................................45 IV. LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ...........................................................................................98 V. SOUTHWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ................................145 VI. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................192 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................199 VITA................................................................................................................................214 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Fundamentalists have historically held complex relationships with education and with women; this thesis examines the intersection of the three topics through a case study approach. Historically, fundamentalists have expressed great suspicion towards education and intellectualism, as nineteenth century higher criticism dismantled Western civilization’s belief in the Bible as a literal document. Fundamentalists insisted on a literal interpretation of the Bible. Moreover, they created Bible colleges so that parents could send their sons and daughters away to school without worrying that their children would learn about evolution and abandon their fundamentalist faith. A summer in Dayton, Tennessee solidified Christian fundamentalism’s antagonism toward intellectualism when the State of Tennessee put John Scopes, a biology teacher, on trial for teaching evolution. Popularly known as the “Monkey Trial,” the 1925 Scopes Trial pitted William Jennings Bryan, a Christian politician and attorney for the prosecution, against Clarence Darrow, an accomplished atheist attorney. Though Bryan and the prosecution won the trial, the media portrayed fundamentalists as dimwitted and vehemently opposed to science, evolution, and modernism. During the trial, Bryan spent an afternoon on the witness stand and floundered through questions from Darrow about the absurdity of a literal belief in the Bible. Fundamentalists largely appeared as a movement of religious adherents with their heads in the 1 sand, desperate to ignore any intellectual or scientific evidence that contradicted their Bibles. As much as fundamentalists have traditionally detested modernism and evolution, they have despised the women’s movement equally, if not more. In the early twentieth century, fundamentalist men stood agape in horror as the women around them left the home, cut their hair, acquired an education, and pursued challenging careers. These modern women threatened fundamentalist men’s sense of masculinity; men believed they held God-given authority over women. Yet, modern women refused fundamentalist men their sense of power. Fundamentalist men worried that their modern wives would no longer submit to them and that women in general would usurp men’s God-given authority within the church. The men fought back. Over the years, prominent fundamentalist men such as John R. Rice, Bob Jones, Sr. and Jerry Falwell admonished women to embrace their God-given roles as homemakers and submissive wives. They fought against the Equal Rights Amendment and won. They ensured, for a time, that fundamentalist men would retain their source of power within their own churches. How have women functioned within fundamentalist schools? How have fundamentalists approached the topic of educating women, while at the same time teaching women their purpose in life is limited by God? This thesis argues that fundamentalist schools approach the education of women in ways that are rife with paradox. These fundamentalist universities, by providing women with an education, empower them for future careers and provide them with an intellectual framework to navigate an increasingly complex world. Yet, the institutions also teach that women are limited by God; women are taught to exhibit traditional femininity, to relinquish their aspirations to become pastors, to submit to the authority of their husbands, and to center their lives around their homes. Though fundamentalists teach that men and women are 2 equal before God, fundamentalists also teach that God has granted men and women different biblical roles; men are the head of their households and churches, and women serve as helpmeets to their husbands. Such an approach to the education of women by fundamentalists ultimately ensures men’s retention of power within fundamentalism. Thus, educated and “modern” women no longer threaten their patriarchal fundamentalist schools, churches, and denominations. This thesis does not cover the entire topic of women in fundamentalist Christian institutions; rather, it utilizes historical case study examinations of women at three higher education institutions: Bob Jones University, Liberty University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Each university has approached the education of women in unique ways, and their approach to women speaks volumes about the