Christian fraternity

Year founded Fraternity Active chapters Locations
1925 ΒΣΨ - Beta Sigma Psi 10 IL, IN, IA, KS, MO, NE, MI
1927 ΑΓΩ - Alpha Gamma Omega 12 CA, CO
1929 ΦΑΚ - Phi Alpha Kappa 1 MI
1925 ΣΘΕ - Sigma Theta Epsilon 3 OH, OK, TX
1960 APiK - Alpha Pi Kappa 1 TX
1985 ΒΥΧ - Beta Upsilon Chi 27 TX, OK, TN, AR, MS, GA, MO, FL, CO, LA, AL, NC, KS
1987 ΧΑΩ - Chi Alpha Omega 3 NC
1988 ΓΦΔ - Gamma Phi Delta 18 TX, OK, LA, NC, CT, AL, MI, SC
1988 ANΩ - Alpha Nu Omega 19 MD, DC, NJ, NC, FL, OH, PA, NY, TX, IN, TN, DE,
1988 ΦΚΧ - Phi Kappa Chi 1 TX
1989 MA - Megiste Arete Christian Fraternity Inc. 10 IL and colonies www.megistearete.org
1990 Zeta Phi Zeta (Zeta Omicron Epsilon) 17 IL, FL, AR, TX, IA, AL
1993 ΚΥΧ - Kappa Upsilon Chi 9 TX, GA, NM, OK, FL, TN, KY, SC
1994 AΩ - Alpha Omega 7 MI, OH
1996 ΩΦΘ - Omega Phi Theta 3 CA
1998 ΔΟΓ - Delta Omicron Gamma 1 GA
1999 ΓΨΛ - Gamma Psi Lambda 5 GA, AZ, AL
1999 MOG - Men of God 2 TX
1999 ΑΙΩ - Alpha Iota Omega 2 NC
1999 ASUF - Anointed Students In Unity Fellowship 8 GA, FL
2001 ΜΟΓ - Mu Omicron Gamma 3 VA
2001 ΛΣΦ - Lambda Sigma Phi 1AL
2002 ΑΩΘ - Alpha Omega Theta 6 MO
2002 ΦΓΓ - Phi Gamma Gamma Christian Service Fraternity 3 VA, MI
2004 ΚΦE - Kappa Phi Epsilon 1 FL
2004 ΜΛΨ - Mu Lambda Psi 1 CA
2004 Phi Omega Sigma 2 MO
2005 ΔAX - Delta Alpha Chi 1 OK
2006 ΜΠΦ - Mu Pi Phi 1 KY
2010 ΦΗΧ - Phi Eta Chi Christian Fraternity 1 TX

While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives - in the form of social fraternities that require doctrinal and behavioral conformity to the Christian faith - developed in the early 20th century which continue to grow in size and popularity today.

What is a Fraternity?

A fraternity is an association of men, selected in their college days by a democratic process, because of their adherence to common ideals and aspirations. Out of their association arises a personal relationship which enables them to unselfishly seek to advance one another in the arts of life and to add, to the formal instruction of the college curriculum, the culture, and the character which men acquire by contact with great personalities, or when admitted to partnership in great traditions.

Newton D. Baker (Johns Hopkins, 1892)

The Christian Response

Newton Baker accurately describes the matrix of a fraternal organization. [A Christian Fraternity] is a fraternity in all of these respects, but has been taken a step further than that of a standard fraternity. We are bound by friendship, honor, and common interests. However, we are first and foremost bound by the love of Jesus Christ, God’s son, our Savior. Because of this we can do all things!

Darren White (Kappa Upsilon Chi Alpha class, TTU 1993, Philippians 4:13)

History

Early 20th century

Several Christian fraternities were established in the early part of the 20th century; the three largest were Beta Sigma Psi, Alpha Gamma Omega, and Sigma Theta Epsilon, which and are active still today.

Beta Sigma Psi

Beta Sigma Psi, the oldest Christian fraternity in the nation, was founded as a national fraternity for Lutheran students in 1925 at the University of Illinois, which is home to the largest Greek System in the United States. The fraternity had its origins in the concerns of the Rev. Frederick William Gustav Stiegemeyer, the son of a Lutheran pastor, who had been entrusted with the spiritual care of Lutheran students at the University of Illinois. In the fall of 1919, he organized the Lutheran Illini League with a nucleus of ten students. At that time their intentions was to do no more than meet once or twice a week for religious instruction and discussion on contemporary issues. In the fall of 1920, now with twenty members, the Lutheran Illini League rented a house, and in early 1921 was reorganized as the Concordia Club. By 1923 the group regularly participated in campus activities; so much so that they began being referred to as the "Concordia Fraternity." On April 17, 1925, incorporation papers were filed for Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity in Springfield, Illinois. By 1970, Beta Sigma Psi had grown to eighteen chapters. The fraternity currently has ten active chapters.

Alpha Gamma Omega

Alpha Gamma Omega was established in 1927 on the campus of UCLA. The fraternity suffered a decline in chapters and membership before experiencing extensive national growth starting in 1987. There are currently twelve active chapters. Currently, Alpha Gamma Omega is expanding, dedicated to the idea of being a light to the Greek system.

Sigma Theta Epsilon

Sigma Theta Epsilon is the result of the merger of two local Methodist-affiliated fraternities in 1941: Phi Tau Theta, founded in 1925, and Sigma Epsilon Theta, founded in 1936 at Indiana University. The merged fraternity was initially called Delta Sigma Theta, but the name was changed to Sigma Theta Epsilon in 1949 when a national sorority for African-American women that was already using the name Delta Sigma Theta threatened legal action.

By the late 1950s, Sigma Theta Epsilon had grown to over twenty chapters. However, its numbers began to decline at the end of the 1960s. The fraternity became non-denominational in 1968. Down to only three chapters by the 1980s, Sigma Theta Epsilon began chartering new chapters again in 1988. The fraternity had twelve active chapters during the 2000s (decade), but are currently down to three active chapters.

Late 20th century

At the same time that the historic Christian fraternities were beginning to rebound from their declining numbers, other groups of Christian fraternities were developed. Much of this is associated with the rise of the Evangelical Christian movement. The largest, Beta Upsilon Chi, directly led to the founding of three other Christian Greek letter organizations; the second largest, Alpha Nu Omega, was founded three years later.

The Texas Movement

Origins in Austin

Beta Upsilon Chi was founded in 1985 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin followed by Gamma Phi Delta in 1988, while Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 on the campus of Texas Tech University.

Beta Upsilon Chi founders declared it to be an alternative to the stereotypical fraternal lifestyle and set its purpose as "establishing brotherhood and unity among college men, based upon the common bond of Jesus Christ." Though originally conceived as a local Christian fraternity, efforts from Christian students at neighboring Texas schools convinced the founders of BYX to initiate new members and colonize new chapters. In 1989, BYX leaders initiated men from Texas Christian University to colonize Beta Chapter of Beta Upsilon Chi.

Starting from Lubbock

In 1993, Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded by four men who led Christian college ministries, some of whom graduated and entered into the ministry profession. The Alpha class contained some members formerly of Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity at Texas Tech. The fraternity sought to be a social alternative for Christian men. While it had no intentions of expanding originally, the fraternity grew rapidly.

Expansion to women

The influence of Beta Upsilon Chi on the Christian fraternity movement has been significant. In 1988, only three years after its founding, women from Texas established Sigma Phi Lambda, or Sisters for the Lord. This women's Christian sorority was heavily modeled on BYX and is considered by many to be its sister sorority. However, the Texas Tech chapter of Sigma Phi Lambda is primarily associated with Kappa Upsilon Chi.

As Beta Upsilon Chi inspired Sigma Phi Lambda's establishment, Kappa Upsilon Chi inspired the establishment of Theta Alpha and Delta Alpha Chi, two separate Christian sororities established in the state of Florida.

Today: largest group of Christian Greek-letter organizations

Today, fifty-five chapters of Christian GLO's (Greek letter organizations) trace their roots back to the Texas Movement. Beta Upsilon Chi and Sigma Phi Lambda can both trace their inspiration to the start in 1985.

BYX, with thirty-four chapters in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, and North Carolina, and remains the largest Christian fraternity in the United States.

Mississippi is the first state to offer a Christian fraternity at all of its comprehensive 4 year universities.

Alpha Nu Omega, Incorporated

Alpha Nu Omega Incorporated was founded in 1988 on the campus of Morgan State University. The organizational purpose is to "present a Christian alternative to the students and or faculty on college/university campuses, to minister to the needs of the whole person (spirit, soul, and body), and to promote an attitude of academic excellence among its members." Alpha Nu Omega is established as far North as New York, as far south as Florida, and as far west as Ohio. While most chapters are located at historically African-American colleges and universities, the organization does not consider itself an African-American Christian organization and welcomes all ethnicities.

The organization exists as one organization but operates as two distinct entities: a fraternity and sorority. The two are bound by one constitution. There are currently 16 active chapters.

Other groups

Other Christian fraternities were founded during the second wave of the fraternal movement of the late 20th century and early 21st.

Alpha Omega Co-ed Christian Fraternity, Incorporated

Alpha Omega Co-ed Christian Fraternity, Incorporated was founded in 1994 by Donyll Lewis on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The vision of Alpha Omega is based on Revelation 1:8 and the question, "Why join a man-made fraternity when the body of Christ is the largest fraternity in the world?"

Alpha Omega is both co-ed and multicultural. All members come together with "One Vision and One Heart" for the purpose of "Building Stronger Christians, Witnessing to those who do not know Christ, Setting up Programs fitting that of Christian Living and Meeting the Concerns of the Students on and off campus and Ensuring Educational Success of its members and non-members."

The fraternity is based in Michigan. It has chapters as far north as Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan and as far south as the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University in Toledo-Bowling Green, Ohio. Website: http://www.alphaomegacm.com/aocmonline/

Anointed Students In Unity Fellowship Fraternity & Sorority, Incorporated

Anointed Students In Unity Fellowship was founded on August 13, 1999 on the campus of Albany State University and incorporated on May 30, 2000. Founded by Shannon Thomas and 14 other students, ASUF has grown to eight chapters in Georgia and Florida.

Theta Nu Gamma Christian Fraternity, Incorporated

Seeing the need for UNITY amongst Christian men in his community and surrounding areas, Mario Jimerson began to seek God through Prayer & Fasting. He was not sure about which way to go or what to do. He was awakened from his sleep one night with a vision to start a new Christian Fraternity. This new organization would exemplify True Brotherhood and the connection Man needs in order to commune with God again. In his vision, Mario saw the colors and the name of this new fraternity. With this, he began to write the Constitution and By-Laws. On Tuesday June 10, 2008, Theta Nu Gamma Christian Fraternity was birthed in Phoenix, Arizona. The God given commission is to teach Men to be Leaders in the Body of Christ and take their rightful place as head of the home. Website

Megisté Areté Christian Fraternity Inc.

Megisté, A Christian "GREEK" organization? What started all of this and why is this one of the strongest proactive organizations on college campuses in the Mid-West? In 1975 a woman named Mattie P. Dawson had a vision. This vision included having a Christian sorority that would cater to the needs of Christian wone on college campuses. That vision came to fruition in 1987 at the founding of Elogeme Adolphi Christian Sorority Inc. At the same time, her husband Bishop Harold Dawson had a vision of his own. Bishop Dawson's vision was that this sorority would have a brother fraternity of young men that would serve both as a covering for Elogeme and also to be a ministry that would. like its female counterpart, meet the needs of Christian college men. Thus, Megisté Areté Christian Fraternity Inc. was founded on May 7, 1989 on the campus of Illinois State University. Megisté is Greek for "Greater" or "Greatest and Areté is Greek for "Manhood" or "Manliness". Now, we have coined the phrase"Maximized Manhood". Megisté Areté Christian Fraternity is brotherhood that focuses on impacting the community and the world through the Word Of God. Our organization has had 10 active strong chapters to date and is looking for more ministry opportunities to build the brotherhood. For more information about our organization go to megistearete.org. Lets get connected and change the world one soul, one campus and one community at a time. "Are You Ready To Answer The Call"

Local fraternities

The second wave of Christian fraternities was not isolated to national organizations. Indeed, many of the Christian fraternities on campuses in the United States are considered to be "local" fraternities that have only a single chapter.

Branded Chapters

Some non-religious national social fraternities allow individual chapters to brand themselves with unique ideals conforming to specific interests of the local members. Instances have arisen in which a singular chapter of an IFC-affiliated social fraternity brands itself a Christian chapter and initiates members on the basis of national membership standards as well as religious beliefs. One of the oldest such chapters is the Beta Alpha chapter of Theta Xi Fraternity at Georgia Tech which marked itself Christian in 1974. The chapter operates as a social fraternity maintaining a full social calendar and competing alongside other IFC fraternities in Greek Week and Homecoming events, but also places large emphasis on outreach to the campus and focusing on pursuing Biblical masculinity and Christian brotherhood. It has since expanded this model to a second chapter at Georgia Southern University after attempts to colonize at University of Georgia were blocked by an already active chapter of BYX. Advantages of this model include the aspects of the Christian fraternity mission and lifestyle while retaining organizational benefits of full IFC membership and a more traditional involvement in the Greek system.

In the news

Alpha Iota Omega and North Carolina

Alpha Iota Omega and the University of North Carolina have clashed over the University's anti-discrimination policy. The fraternity refused to agree to the policy, which banned religious discrimination. As a result, Alpha Iota Omega was not officially recognized by the university for the 2003-2004 academic year. The fraternity sought assistance from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a civil liberties group, and the Alliance Defense Fund, an American legal alliance defending religious liberties. A lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on August 25, 2004, citing the incident in Fall 2003 when UNC administrator Jonathan Curtis refused to extend the benefits of official recognition to AIO.

This is not the first legal scuffle between a Christian organization and the University of North Carolina administration, and the university has stated that Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's policy that leaders must be Christian is also discriminatory. The lawsuit is currently pending.

Beta Upsilon Chi and Georgia

In late 2006, Pi Chapter of Beta Upsilon Chi, at the University of Georgia, was not registered as a student organization by University officials "because the group requires its members and officers to share the group’s Christian beliefs."[1]

After months of negotiation between University officials, student officers of the local chapter, and officials at the fraternity's national headquarters in Texas, attorneys with the Christian Legal Society and Alliance Defense Fund filed a civil rights suit on December 6, 2006 in federal court against the University on behalf of Beta Upsilon Chi.[2]

The next day, December 7, published reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicated that "the University [would] remove the religion clause from the [University's anti-discrimination] policy for the Christian fraternity to settle this particular situation and is discussing 'an exception to religious discrimination (that) could be put into place much like an exception to gender discrimination is in place for same-sex social fraternities and sororities.'"[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ ADF: University of Georgia: No religious fraternities - Alliance Defense Fund - Defending Our First Liberty
  2. ↑ The complaint in Beta Upsilon Chi, et al. v. Adams, et al. is available online from the Alliance Defense Fund at http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/BYXcomplaint.pdf.
  3. ↑ http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2006/12/07/1207uga.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

External links

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