Columbia International University - Denominational Relationships

Denominational Relationships

CIU prides itself on being an interdenominational institution. It is not directly affiliated or sponsored by any single denomination though welcomes all students from any number of evangelical Christian denominations and somewhat more loosely, any Protestant denomination. The school's admissions, however, does not discriminate against Catholics. There is a small portion of Roman Catholics among the student body and a more significant number of Anglicans among faculty, staff and students. To preserve its evangelical character, CIU permits only Evangelical organizations to advertise on their affiliated radio stations.

While CIU does have enrolled students and faculty who are members of Christian communities which would not typically be identified as evangelical Protestant, it does require that all faculty and staff belong to a local Protestant church. This policy was enforced some years ago when one faculty member, Dr. Edward Rommen, was removed from his seminary teaching post upon his conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy and reception into the Orthodox Church in America. Prior to his removal from the faculty, Dr. Rommen was a prominent member of the Evangelical Free Church of America.

While the school does admit students from many backgrounds, the most commonly represented groups, as of 2004, are Baptist (25%), Independent (23%), and Presbyterian (11%), and are generally drawn from churches which could be termed conservative, evangelical, or fundamentalist.