On Bob Jones U. and religious conservatism

Thursday, March 2, 2000

By GREGORY RUMMO

I AM NOT sure what all the noise is about George W. Bush's visit to Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., last month.

Jack Kemp and Ronald Reagan both spoke there. McCain supporter Lindsay Graham has an honorary doctorate from the university, and one of McCain's campaign managers is a Bob Jones graduate (although to his credit, he resigned over the weekend).

I have been to Bob Jones University twice, attending a chapel service and sitting through a German class with a friend of mine who was a student there. I have a number of friends who are either graduates or who currently attend the institution. One of them is black. Another is Hispanic. They are neither Catholic-haters nor racists.

The issue over Bob Jones' disagreement with Roman Catholicism is one of doctrine -- it is a theological argument based on various Bible passages that contradict teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. There is a huge difference in having a disagreement over doctrines and hating those who embrace a different theology.

To put it into perspective, when Al Gore spoke at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish temple recently (while the women and children were made to stand outside), no one accused the Jews there of hating Roman Catholics, despite there being large differences in what each believes.

BOB JONES' policy of forbidding interracial dating is merely a statement of preference and is largely mirrored in society. Most whites marry whites, blacks marry blacks, and so on. Those parents who find a rule such as this offensive can send their college-age children somewhere else. Personally, I'd send my children to Bob Jones University, and I am married to an Asian-American.

Many rules, which appear confining to those who bristle at following anything remotely resembling restraints against the arm of the flesh, can be found throughout America in many institutions, religious and otherwise. Hasidic Jews dress in black and wear big hats. They eat certain foods and choose to live together and intermarry in segregated communities. Doubters need only take a short drive through New York State's Rockland County. That's a part of their culture.

Men who love the military and who cherish a silver nose ring and a ponytail better think twice about joining the Marines. This says nothing about nose rings and ponytails being inherently evil, only that they are out of place in the armed forces.

If you'd like to become a Roman Catholic priest or nun, go for it -- but forget about marriage -- interracial or otherwise.

George W. Bush has proven that he is a man who believes in equality for all people regardless of race, religion, or color as demonstrated by his record of inclusiveness as the popular two-term governor of Texas. John McCain has started something he may never wish he started. By alienating a large segment of the Republican Party -- some say as much as 30 percent of the Republican Party are members of the religious right -- McCain may have alienated more voters than he hoped to gain by speaking out against such a large base of Republican conservatives.

E-Mail the author at GregoryJRummo@aol.com