Have you ever heard of Patrick Henry College? Chances are you haven't. It's a very small, right wing, liberal arts college in Virginia. It opened only four years ago (in 2000) and has only about 240 students (who according to this this article are all white.)
What's kind of strange about this school is that it has extremely close ties to the White House. According to an Economist article, which I can't link here because it's subscription only, there are annual Christmas cards from the Bushes. John Ashcroft's wife is on the Board of Directors.
And according to the same NZHerald I linked article above about 7 of the 100 interns currently employed in the White House are the PHC. Pretty remarkable when you consider their incredibly small campus size. There are about 16 million college students in the US today. PCH represents less than .00002% of that. And yet they represent 7% of White House interns. PCH students have also been placed in the offices of several Congressman and Senators and in Paul Bremer's CPA in Iraq. At least one is also working on the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign. They have been placed in the offices of four senators and eleven congressmen. They have also worked on at least thirteen election campaigns. (A full list of internships here). (Where I come from working on an election campaign isn't called an internship, it's called volunteering. But whatever.) Every single one of the few dozen politicians they have been associated with are Republican. That's a helluva lot more than a coincidence.
Lest you think this is just your average right-wing elitism, think again. This university has some pretty far-out views on religion. They have a statement of faith to which "each Trustee, officer, faculty member and student of the College, as well as such other employees and agents of the College as may be specified by resolution of the Board of Trustees, shall fully and enthusiastically subscribe."
The statement of faith states that Mary was a virgin, all 66 books of the Bible are the literal word of God and that Man is by nature sinful.
Last but not least, my personal favourite: "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." Got that? Everyone who hasn't embraced Christ burns forever!
They also have a Statement of the Biblical worldview which states among other things that "Husbands are the head of their wives just as Christ is the head of the church."
On government they have this to say: "God himself has ordained government and commands that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13: 1-5) Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves." In case you're wondering how this fits in with U.S current actions there's a long bit about how "some governments are not legitimate; some authorities are not lawful. [...] Nevertheless, there is a proper way to rectify this situation."
On creationism: "Creation. 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. "
On sex:"Any sexual conduct outside the parameters of the faithful marriage of a man and a woman is sin. [...] Pornography, because it degrades God's image-bearers and incites sinful lust, is always evil and merits no legal protection."
On government: "[M]en and women have the inalienable right to own and manage their own property, subject to government regulation only in the unusual situation where the rights of others are endangered. Government systems such as communism and socialism, which give the government primary control over property, are a violation of God's creation order." (Wonder if socialism includes Canada?)
I don't know about you, but personally I find this freaky. The US is breeding a bunch of young, extreme right students, and through their contacts with the current administration they are given advantages in terms of positions in the current government. I strongly believe people are entitled to their own religious beliefs and freedoms. However, these type of far right stuff does not represent the average American (According to this poll only 36% of Americans go to church even once a month or more and 53% believe Jews, Christians and Moslems worship the same God), yet it's being mainstreamed in their government. It seems to me that by their close ties with this school, the current US administration is fostering a lack of religious tolerance and is violating the separation of Church and state. The founders of the United States thought religious freedom was important enough to be enshrined in the First Amendment. It's frightening that the current administration of the US seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
Also interesting is how little coverage there is of this in the US media. All the articles I found were from UK or New Zealand. Americans, turn off Entertainment Tonight and check out what's happening in your own country!
