GREENVILLE, S.C. — The fundamentalist South Carolina university that set off a heated debate in the Republican race for the White House has dropped its controversial ban on interracial dating, leaving students and staff bewildered at the surprise decision.
Appearing on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Bob Jones III, president of Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., said March 3 the decision to lift the ban came after a month of controversy centered on the school.
Jones told King the controversy had distracted the school from its central mission. “Our concern for the cause of Christ, our concern for our graduates,” had been overshadowed, Jones said.
University officials said the theological justification for the 50-year-old ban stemmed from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, where God scattered the people into many different races. Officials said they believe God wanted to prevent one race of people, and therefore the races should be kept separate. But the school has made no apologies for statements made against Catholics, Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus and even evangelical stalwarts such as evangelist Billy Graham and the Southern Baptist Convention.
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