Patrick Henry College - Religious Affirmations

Religious Affirmations

All students must sign a "Statement of Faith" before they arrive, affirming belief in what the college considers core Christian doctrines. For example, students are asked to acknowledge "Satan exists as a personal, malevolent being who acts as tempter and accuser, for whom Hell, the place of eternal punishment, was prepared, where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity", and "Christ's death provides substitutionary atonement for our sins." The college professes non-denominational Christian beliefs.

Teaching faculty must also sign the "Statement of Faith", plus a more detailed "Statement of Biblical Worldview", which represents the College's requirements for what should be taught. For example the Biblical Worldview Applications states that, "Any biology, Bible, or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God's creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1–31, was completed in six twenty-four-hour days." New Scientist has claimed that Patrick Henry College and the homeschooling community in general were "possibly threatening the public school system that has fought hard against imposing a Christian viewpoint on science teaching."

In an interview with Fresh Air on National Public Radio, PHC founder Michael Farris commented that the college held the view that its faith was the only true faith ("We believe that there is truth and there is error."), and he expressed disapproval of religious and social toleration. "Tolerance cannot coexist with liberty" because "the crowd of tolerance wants to ban speech."

On April 12, 2007, LGBT rights group Soulforce selected PHC as one of the targets of its annual "Equality Ride", the purpose of which is to protest the stance of conservative Christian colleges concerning homosexuality. Like many other Christian colleges, Patrick Henry did not allow Soulforce to enter the university premises, though the college proposed for student representatives to engage in a formal debate at a neutral location on the merits of the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Soulforce organizers declined, and notified the college of their intent to enter the campus to speak directly with students. After being refused entry, Soulforce formed a picket line outside the entrance to the campus and protested for approximately five hours.