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| Founded | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bob Jones University |
| Headquarters | Greenville, SC |
| Parent | BJUEG (BJU Education Group) |
| Website | bjupress.com |
BJU Press is a publisher of textbooks for Christian schools and homeschools as well as trade and children's books.
| | |
| Founded | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bob Jones University |
| Headquarters | Greenville, SC |
| Parent | BJUEG (BJU Education Group) |
| Website | bjupress.com |
BJU Press is a publisher of textbooks for Christian schools and homeschools as well as trade and children's books.
Although Bob Jones University published its first trade book, A History of Fundamentalism in America by George W. Dollar in 1973, BJU Press originated in the need for textbooks in the burgeoning Christian school movement. Walter Fremont, Dean of the School of Education, was an "enthusiastic supporter," and much of the early academic direction of the press was provided by the university's provost, Philip D. Smith. [1] The press also published the university's magazine, Faith for the Family from 1973 until it was discontinued in 1986.
The first textbook published by BJU Press was Physical Science for Christian Schools (1974), written by George Mulfinger and Emmet Williams. Initially the press had planned to publish only a few texts in areas where philosophical disagreement with secular texts was substantial, but shortly the press developed a full range of K-12 texts and materials. An early decision was that BJU Press would not simply repackage secular texts, as its competitors had done, but would create new books from a Christian viewpoint. [2]
As the homeschool movement began to grow in the 1980s, the press decided to begin selling its publications to homeschool families. This marketing strategy proved so successful that by 1988, BJU Press was the largest textbook supplier to homeschool families in the nation. [3] It also provides testing, record-keeping and consulting services. [4]
BJU Press is the largest book publisher in South Carolina, and more than a million pre-college students around the world use BJU textbooks. [5] The press also publishes trade books under two imprints. JourneyForth publishes Christian living titles and Bible studies for adults as well as biographies and fiction for children and teens, including wholesome books with no specific Christian references. [6] JourneyForth Academic (formerly Bob Jones University Press) puts out ministry-related books and scholarly works. In 2006 the press had approximately 2,500 titles in print. [7]
BJU Press "controls every aspect of publication with in-house authors, editors, compositors, computer and board artists, photo editors, page designers and its own presses," and many of its employees have worked for BJU Press for more than twenty years. [8] In 2009, the chief publication officer, William Apelian, said, "The cornerstone of our philosophy is a Christian worldview, call it Bible integration. That's why we have control of the entire process." [9]
In August 2008, the Association of Christian Schools International filed suit against the University of California ( Association of Christian Schools International et al. v. Roman Stearns et al. ) for refusing to grant high school credits for courses taken using certain BJU Press texts. U. S. District Court judge S. James Otero accepted the argument of two University of California professors that the text United States History for Christian Schools was inadequate because it claimed that the Bible was "the unerring source for analysis of historical events," attributed "historical events to divine providence rather than analyzing human action," and provided "inadequate treatment of several major ethnic groups, women and non-Christian religious groups." The judge also ruled that the book did not "encourage critical thinking skills and failed to cover 'major topics, themes and components' of U.S. history." [10]
In 2012, The Herald of Glasgow said that BJU Press textbooks had praised aspects of the Ku Klux Klan for fighting against immorality and using the symbol of the cross, claimed dinosaurs were fire-breathing dragons, and that homosexuality is a learned behavior. [11] According to a 2013 article in The Atlantic , some evangelical homeschoolers had rejected BJU Press materials in favor of Christian textbooks that accepted evolution. [12]
Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private evangelical university in Greenville, South Carolina. It is known for its conservative cultural and religious positions. The university, with approximately 3,000 students, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. In 2017, the university estimated the number of its graduates at 40,184.
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
John R. Rice was a Baptist evangelist and pastor and the founding editor of The Sword of the Lord, an influential fundamentalist newspaper.
Robert Reynolds Jones Sr. was an American evangelist, pioneer religious broadcaster, and the founder and first president of Bob Jones University.
Robert Reynolds Jones Jr. was the second president and chancellor of Bob Jones University. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Jones was the son of Bob Jones Sr., the university's founder. He served as president from 1947 to 1971 and then as chancellor until his death.
Robert Reynolds Jones III is an American academic administrator and writer. The son of Bob Jones Jr. and grandson of Bob Jones Sr., he served as the third president of Bob Jones University from 1971 to 2005.
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an international organization of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Robert Kirthwood "Lefty" Johnson was the pioneer financial officer of Bob Jones University and the first biographer of Bob Jones, Sr.
Dwight Leonard Gustafson was an American composer, conductor, and dean of the School of Fine Arts at Bob Jones University.
Alumni Stadium is the athletics stadium at Bob Jones University, a Protestant fundamentalist university in Greenville, South Carolina. The stadium, completed in 1968, was a gift of the BJU Alumni Association and seats 4,000 in a single stand situated along the north sideline. Its bleachers are constructed of prestressed concrete beams with seats of anodized aluminum. In 1992, an outdoor concession area was included as part of the adjoining Fremont Fitness Center.
Ernest Dinwoodie Pickering was a fundamentalist Christian pastor, author, college administrator, and mission board representative.
Association of Christian Schools International v. Stearns, 678 F. Supp. 2d 980, was filed in spring 2006 by Association of Christian Schools International against the University of California claiming religious discrimination over the rejection of five courses as college preparatory instruction. On August 8, 2008, Judge S. James Otero entered summary judgment against plaintiff ACSI, upholding the University of California's standards.
Biology for Christian Schools is a 1991 school-level biology textbook written from a Young Earth Creation point of view by William S. Pinkston and published by the Bob Jones University Press. The book has been controversial because it espouses the idea of Biblical inerrancy; that whenever science and Christianity conflict, the current scientific understanding is wrong. The book promotes creationism, which is rejected by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Science Teachers Association who state creationism and intelligent design are pseudoscience.
Abeka Book, LLC, known as A Beka Book until 2017, is an American publisher affiliated with Pensacola Christian College (PCC) that produces K-12 curriculum materials that are used by Christian schools and homeschooling families around the world. It is named after Rebekah Horton, wife of college president Arlin Horton. By the 1980s, Abeka and BJU Press were the two major publishers of Christian-based educational materials in America. Its books have been criticized for lack of academic rigor and misinformation on scientific and historical subjects.
Walter Gilbert Fremont, Jr. was dean of the School of Education, Bob Jones University (1953–1990) and “a seminal force in the inauguration and development of the Christian school movement.”
Katherine Corne Stenholm was an American film director and the founding director of Unusual Films, the production company of Bob Jones University.
Evangelist Bob Jones Sr. founded Bob Jones University out of concern with the secularization of higher education. BJU has had five presidents: Bob Jones Sr. (1927–1947); Bob Jones Jr. (1947–1971); Bob Jones III (1971–2005); Stephen Jones (2005—2014); and Steve Pettit,. Its religious influence, its race relations, and its political influence have generated significant controversies.
Majesty Music is a privately-owned, conservative evangelical Christian music and book publishing company in Greenville, South Carolina, perhaps best known for its children's adventure-story character Patch the Pirate. The company publishes sheet music, hymnals, choral collections, cantatas and Christmas plays, audio recordings, and feature-length cartoons.
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