Liberty University promotes itself as one of the top Christian Universities in the United States. They claim to value and promote Christian beliefs and teachings. However, this does not appear to be the case, as the history of the university begs to differ. The school has been caught up in countless scandals, even causing the federal government to step in. In my personal experience, supporters of the university often ignore this past.
Jerry Falwell started as a pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church, he then founded Liberty University (known as Liberty Baptist College at the time) in 1971 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Before that, he opened a grade school known as Liberty Christian Academy in 1967 as a segregated school to combat the integration of public schools in the United States and the state of Virginia. Falwell also opened Liberty Baptist College as a segregated school, again to combat the integration of schools in the United States. Falwell strongly opposed the civil rights movement and even went as far as calling activist Martin Luther King Jr an “Agent of Communism” and a “Troublemaker.” He argued the Civil Rights Act would cause race mixing in public areas and schools, which was something he did not want.
The issue of race was not his only controversy, after the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City, Falwell spoke out about the event on television and said “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians, who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.” Yes, he said the cause of one of the worst attacks in world history was due to gay people, feminists, and women who get abortions. I think it is awful that someone would blame this attack on innocent Americans. This did not come without backlash, and a public outcry emerged.
Falwell’s son, Jerry Falwell Jr. took over as the president of the university in 2007. Just like his father, he wasn’t alone in controversies either. In 2019, he posted a picture of him at a yacht party with his pants unzipped and his arm around a woman who was not his wife. He was the head of an administration that discouraged and deterred students from coming forward about sexual assaults that had happened on Liberty’s campus. This was a violation of the United States Title IX ruling. The University was ultimately fined 14 Million dollars for this event. Later in his life, it was exposed that he had been involved in a sexual scandal with a Miami pool boy and his wife. It was later showcased in a Hulu documentary titled “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty.” After this, an internal investigation of the University’s administration was performed, leading to Falwell Jr. stepping down from his role, and a new administration was introduced.
The University has put together a new administration to try and attempt to resolve these issues and root out the bad. However, just recently, a former employee of the school claimed the school fired him due to his reporting improper investigations and sexual harassment. This was unveiled in a recently filed lawsuit against the university. This ties to the $14 million fine the university received after creating an environment where students were afraid to come forward about sexual assaults on campus. The federal government put the university under monitoring until April 2026. The employee alleges he was fired in June of 2024 after filing a formal complaint against a coworker in May. He claims the university violated Title IX and did not protect him.
Another recent lawsuit alleges that the university fired an employee who worked at the IT Helpdesk for the University. The employee who is partially represented by the American Civil Liberties Union says she was fired after she revealed her gender identity to the school’s human resources department. Her lawyers argue that this was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.” She was presented with a letter terminating her employment and explaining that her decision to transition violated Liberty’s religious beliefs and its “Doctrinal Statement.” The former employee, who is a member of the Christian church herself, is upset over the university’s decision.
In conclusion, Liberty University’s representation of itself does not align with the truth of the University’s past. In my opinion, we will see more events and scandals coming from the University until there is a major change.
Works Cited
“Dr. Jerry Falwell – Biography | About Liberty.” Liberty University, https://www.liberty.edu/about/founder-jerry-falwell-senior/.
“Falwell: blame abortionists, feminists and gays | World news.” The Guardian, 19 September 2001, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/19/september11.usa9. Accessed 12 March 2025.
“Jerry Falwell’s Racist Past.” The Seattle Medium, https://seattlemedium.com/jerry-falwells-racist-past/.
“Liberty U. whistleblower sues over firing after reporting harassment.” USA Today, 25 February 2025, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/02/25/liberty-university-lawsuit-title-ix-whistleblower/79323649007/.
“Religion, Politics, and Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Fall from Grace.” The University of Chicago Divinity School,
