The Christian Identity of Berea College

Berea College has a particular Christian self-understanding that makes it stand apart from most other schools that call themselves “Christian.”  First, Berea College’s founder argued that the Christian gospel could be described best by the phrase “impartial love” that welcomed students and staff from “every clime and every nation” to study and to work together.  Second, Berea College was founded prior to the Civil War in the 1850’s as an abolitionist college that welcomed black and white men and women students in a day when such equality was not supported in most Christian communities in Kentucky and much of the United States.  Third, from their beginning the Berea schools were never associated with any denomination or sectarian Christian church.  Finally, Berea College was rooted in a Christian spirituality that was egalitarian, socially provocative, and focused on serving the black and white students and communities of Appalachia and beyond.

John G. Fee founded Berea College out of convictions about education and about humanity that were rooted deeply in the Gospel of the New Testament.  The heart of the Christian gospel for Fee was summed up in the two great commandments enunciated by Jesus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind…. and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-40).  Another biblical text that expressed the heart of the gospel for Fee and the Berea College community was the statement of the apostle Paul, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth” (Acts 17:26) – a text that has stood as Berea’s motto for more than a 125 years.  Together, these and other such inclusive scriptural texts constituted what Fee understood as “the gospel of impartial love” which guided and challenged the earliest Berea community and still does today.

One instance of Berea’s current Christian self-understanding is the preamble to the Great Commitments that says, “Adherence to the College’s scriptural foundation, ‘God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,’ shapes the College’s culture and programs so that students and staff alike can work toward both personal goals and a vision of a world shaped by Christian values, such as the power of love over hate, human dignity and equality, and peace with justice.”  From Berea College’s beginning to the present day, it has welcomed “all peoples of the earth” with a hospitality that is inclusive.  Currently, the College is made up of students and staff from many religious traditions and of no religious tradition, but all are expected to accept Berea’s Great Commitments.

As a way of providing an overview of Berea College’s history and Christian self-understanding, the following nine points provide guideposts for prospective students, staff, donors, and friends of the College:

Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College’s inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love.  Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction.  To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea College.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees on May 11, 2002; Revised September 28, 2019

Adopted by the General Faculty on March 14, 2002; Revised October 10, 2019