| Modern colleges and universities in the Evangelical tradition have developed different ethical orientations, values, and norms based on their interpretation of the tradition. The most pronounced differences concern how they understand their relationships to the rest of society. Competitive sports are an important part of mainstream American culture and the way in which schools choose to participate or not participate in sports provide insight into their relationships with society.; In order to analyze these relationships this dissertation examines four schools; Bob Jones University, Baylor University, Oral Roberts University, and George Fox University. These schools fall at different points on the Evangelical spectrum. H. Richard Niebuhr's typology from Christ and Culture is used in the analysis. Four of Niebuhr's types are used as lenses through which the schools' choices are examined. At one end of the spectrum is Bob Jones University, a non-denominational school in Greenville, South Carolina, which is looked at in relation to the "Christ against Culture" type. Baylor University, a Baptist school in Waco, Texas, falls at the other end of the spectrum and is discussed in light of the "Christ of Culture" type. In the middle are Oral Roberts University, a non-denominational school in the Holiness Pentecostal tradition, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and George Fox University, an Evangelical Quaker school in Newberg, Oregon. Oral Roberts University is looked at in relation to the "Christ in Paradox with Culture," and George Fox University with "Christ the Transformer of Culture."; How the schools' athletic programs relate to the schools' official theology, especially as it is found in the mission statement, is used to gage how the schools actually does and does not live up to their espoused theology. The espoused theology is also examined in light of Niebuhr's types. |
