University located in Greenville, South Carolina. It is advertised as a Christian school, but it is more a university for Protestant Christians--ideally, fundamentalist Protestant Christians. They have come under fire because of adverse publicity of some of their policies, specifically their statements against Catholics and their rules against interracial dating.

Here's what their website (www.bju.edu/response.htm) says about some of those charges...

Concerning the university as an issue in the 2000 Republican primaries: "Is there a spiritual warfare being waged daily against the people of God and is what is happening to BJU currently a part of that warfare? How do you explain the sudden hatred and bigotry the University is subjected to by the media and the political "three tenors," McCain, Gore, and Bradley, who sing the same off-pitch tune of the liberal left? Isn't it really a compliment to Bob Jones University that the likes of John McCain, Al Gore, and Bill Bradley seethe and fulminate against us? Would we not be embarrassed if they, with their philosophies, spoke well of us? The great divide is between our biblical world view and their humanistic world view."

Regarding interracial dating and interracial marriage: "Students of all races attend here and live in racial harmony and respect for one another as Christians. If there is discrimination in the policy, which race is discriminated against? Black, white, or yellow? Each person dates within his own race. For there to be discrimination, one race would have to be treated differently from the other."

More on interracial couples: "Is there a Bible verse or passage that teaches against interracial marriage? No. Is there a Bible principle upon which the University's interracial dating stance is founded? Yes. The one-world principle--every effort man has made, or will make, to bring the world together in unity--plays into the hand of Antichrist. This first began at the Tower of Babel, and it will culminate at Armageddon when the Lord returns to establish His rule of peace and harmony for a thousand years. Bob Jones University opposes one world, one church, one economy, one military, one race, and unisex. God made racial differences as He made gender differences."

A bit more: "At the Tower of Babel, God used language to disrupt man's plans for a one-world government. As a result of this disruption, the people were scattered, and the races were polarized. One thing is clear: God wanted a divided world, not a federalized world. Based on this biblical account (Genesis 10 and 11), the University wishes to give God the benefit of any doubt and avoid pursuing any direction that would give assistance to the renewed efforts of man to create a one-world community consisting of one religion, one economy, one government, and one race. The biblical account of Babel and God's response to it are historical fact."

And a bit more: "Does the University believe that those who choose interracial marriage do so out of rebellion against God? No. It does believe, however, that often the promoters of it do so out of antagonism toward God because they are often the same entities that promote homosexuality, abortion, and other forms of social radicalism."

And on the origin of their dating policy: "Did the University's dating policy originate to regulate black-white relationships? No. It was first stated in the mid-1950s when dealing with an Asian-Caucasian dating couple. At that time, Christians nationwide understood that interracial marriage was best avoided."

On Catholicism: "We love the practicing Catholic and earnestly desire to see him accept the Christ of the Cross, leave the false system that has enslaved his soul, and enjoy the freedom of sins forgiven that is available for any of us in Christ alone."

On the modern church: "The shameful departure from the Scripture by that which calls itself the church so that it might mirror unregenerate society has become profound in the last 40 years. The University exists as a valued training place for Christians who are conformed to Christ and His Word, who refuse to be conformed to the world. The University's refusal to compromise and contemporize makes it the object of ridicule and hatred by those on the other side of the Cross."

I've known several people who have gone to Bob Jones. Generally though, this school (along with Pensacola Christian College) is spoken of with either derision or awed horror even in the most fundamentalist circles. I had a teacher at one point who attended this school. She was generally liked, seen as competent and fun though rather strict and `prim' (she went to the point of not attending school banquets (the school, controlled to an extent by conservative Baptists, bans dancing) due to the attire of the girls who attended.

Bob Jones university is not accredited; they don't want to be held accountable to secular standards. Further, they lost tax-exempt status a while ago due to their discriminatory policies. Note: Bob Jones has just lifted the ban on interracial dating, quite abruptly. This was revealed in a Larry King Live program when Bob Jones III was asked about the interracial dating policy, and he replied "We don't have to have that rule. In fact, as of today, we've dropped the rule."

Note, this isn't likely to change much at Bob Jones. For one thing, he says that their official opinions haven't changed a bit. Further, "dating" is a relative term at Bob Jones; you can't go to movies, you must be attended by a chaperone, and dates are limited to 90 minutes, and you certainly can't dance or listen to any contemporary or popular music, to name a few restrictions.

Quotations from John Shelton Reed's 1986 essay "Dr. Bob's Unusual University" about the author's visit there.

"I'm told -- I hope it's true -- that Bob Jones women were forbidden to wear makeup until that became a mark of the counterculture, whereupon they were required to wear it. I do know that BJU now offers instruction in 'cosmetology.'"

"The university is justly proud of its museum of religious art...All of the art is old and European, which is to say Papist. Some of the martyrs depicted look even less comfortable than usual, which I attribute to their incongrous setting."

"Another {book found in the BJU bookstore}, called A Church Built On Sand, condemns the liberalism of the Southern Baptist Convention."

"I gather that the school did apply, unsuccessfully, for permission to arm its campus police with automatic weapons."