Group ranks Christian colleges low in free speech — as Harvard, Columbia list lowest
Catholic schools tend to rank higher than schools of other denominations
It shouldn’t be surprising that Christian colleges and universities aren’t known as bastions of campus free speech; after all, most of them exist to promote the spiritual development of students within a particular religious worldview.
What may be surprising is that even the evangelical campuses that ranked low in free speech fare higher in that category than do some of the best-known secular schools.
In fact, Harvard University and Columbia University ranked lowest in the report.
Data on campus free speech comes from the 2025 College Free Speech Rankings recently published by College Pulse and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). College Pulse is a research organization that does work for numerous corporations and interest groups; FIRE is a libertarian-leaning organization that focuses on issues such as free speech, academic freedom and due process, especially on college campuses.
The Free Speech Rankings are based on survey responses from more than 58,000 students on more than 250 campuses. Both public and private schools are represented. Surveys were conducted from Jan. 25 to June 17 of this year via the College Pulse mobile app and web portal.
The report appears to include nearly all the largest state universities and colleges and the best-known private schools. Notably absent from the report is Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., which vies with Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., as the largest Christian university, depending on how the student population is counted. Also not included in the survey was Wheaton (Ill.) College, often seen as the most prestigious evangelical college, one known for having the late Billy Graham as an alumnus.
The report used a zero-to-100 scale to quantify free speech as well a nine-level assessment ranging from “good” to “abysmal.” The highest-ranked school was the University of Virginia, which had an overall rating of 73.41 and a “good” assessment. Harvard and Columbia each had an “abysmal” assessment and a score of 0.0.
The numbers were based primarily on student perceptions, such as on how much students felt felt free to express their views in class; on campus speech codes, where they exist; and on how the schools responded to controversies such as those involving speakers with unpopular views. The analysis was designed in a way that attempted to equally evaluate free speech for conservatives with free speech for liberals.
Here are some of the highlights of the report as they pertain to Christian colleges and universities:1
The highest ranked Christian school, Davidson (N.C.) College, ended up in about the middle of the list, in the 127th position, to be categorized as “average.” Davidson is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (USA). The campus welcomes students of all faiths. Its mission statement says in part: “The Christian tradition to which Davidson remains committed recognizes God as the source of all truth, and believes that Jesus Christ is the revelation of that God, a God bound by no church or creed.”
Most Catholic campuses rank higher in free speech than do schools from other Christian traditions. Santa Clara (Calif.) University ranked in about the middle of the listings at 134, and close behind was Creighton University of Omaha, Neb., at 144. Both schools were listed as “average” for free speech. Four other Catholic schools — the University of Notre Dame (Ill.), Villanova (Penn.) University, DePaul University (Chicago) and Fordham University (New York City) — were listed as “slightly below average.”
FIRE refused to rank six Christian campuses, instead issuing warnings that the “schools have policies that clearly and consistently state that it prioritizes other values over a commitment to freedom of speech.” Those schools are Pepperdine University (Malibu, Calif.), affiliated with the Churches of Christ; St. Louis (Mo.) University, Catholic; Liberty University, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia; Baylor University (Waco, Texas), Baptist General Convention of Texas; Hillsdale (Mich.) College, nondenominational Christian; and Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Surveys at all the unranked schools indicated that students often felt uncomfortable in class expressing views inconsistent with professors and/or the majority of the student body. At several of the schools, students said they didn’t feel free to state their views on LGTBQ matters.
Of the schools that FIRE refused to rank, Hillsdale College would have ranked highest in the list at 136th based on its survey results and other data, or just below average, if it had had been included. The lowest would have been St. Louis University at 246th, making it one of the lowest ranked.
Joining Columbia and Harvard with “abysmal” ratings was New York University, a private school. All three schools had reports of the deplatforming of campus speakers along with other types of disruptive conduct.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict appeared to be one of the most disruptive issues at campuses with free-speech concerns. A majority of students in the survey, 54 percent, said it is difficult to have an “open and honest” discussion about that issue on campus.
For the purposes of this article, Christian colleges and universities are defined as those schools that explicitly offer a Christian education and/or clearly indicate that their missions are based on Christian principles. Schools that offer a fully secular education are not included in this article even if they have a church affiliation. An example is Durham, N.C.’s Duke University, which has historic ties with Methodist and Quaker churches but is operated independently.