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Christian fraternities
While the traditional college 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 – did not begin to be common until the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity, both as collegiate and community-based organizations.
In the 19th century, there were several Catholic collegiate fraternities such as Phi Kappa, which was established in 1889 at Brown University. In the early part of the 20th century, Christian fraternities began to appear on college campus, often affiliated with a specific branch of Protestantism, such as Methodist or Lutheran. The three largest were Beta Sigma Psi (1925), Alpha Gamma Omega (1927), and Sigma Theta Epsilon (1941), which are all still active.
Beta Sigma Psi was founded as a national fraternity for Lutheran students in 1925 at the University of Illinois, home to the largest fraternity and sorority system in the United States. The fraternity had its origins in the concerns of 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. In the fall of 1919, he organized the Lutheran Illini League with a nucleus of ten students. At that time, they intended to 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. In early 1921, it 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 had ten active chapters as of 2016.
Alpha Gamma Omega was established in 1927 at the University of California, Los Angeles. The fraternity suffered a decline in chapters and membership before experiencing extensive national growth starting in 1987. As of 2020, it had sixteen active chapters.
Sigma Theta Epsilon was formed in 1941 from the merger of two Methodist-affiliated fraternities: 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 Delta Sigma Theta that was already using the name 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, but as of 2016 had only three active chapters. It ceased operations in 2022.
At the same time that the historic Christian fraternities were beginning to rebound from their declining numbers, other groups of Christian fraternities developed, with the rise of the Evangelical Christian movement in Texas in the late 20th century. Beta Upsilon Chi began in 1985 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin as a local Christian fraternity and expanded when students at neighboring Texas schools convinced the founders to open new chapters. As of 2017, it is the largest Christian fraternity in the United States.
Beta Upsilon Chi directly led to the founding of four other Christian collegiate fraternities. The second largest Christian fraternity in the United States, Alpha Nu Omega, was founded three years later at Morgan State University. It was followed by Gamma Phi Delta at the University of Texas at Austin in 1988, while Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 on the campus of Texas Tech University. Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded by four men who led Christian college ministries and wanted to create an alternative fraternity for Christian men. Its first pledge class contained some former members of Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity. While its founders originally had no intentions of expanding, the fraternity grew to include seven chapters.
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Christian fraternities
While the traditional college 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 – did not begin to be common until the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity, both as collegiate and community-based organizations.
In the 19th century, there were several Catholic collegiate fraternities such as Phi Kappa, which was established in 1889 at Brown University. In the early part of the 20th century, Christian fraternities began to appear on college campus, often affiliated with a specific branch of Protestantism, such as Methodist or Lutheran. The three largest were Beta Sigma Psi (1925), Alpha Gamma Omega (1927), and Sigma Theta Epsilon (1941), which are all still active.
Beta Sigma Psi was founded as a national fraternity for Lutheran students in 1925 at the University of Illinois, home to the largest fraternity and sorority system in the United States. The fraternity had its origins in the concerns of 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. In the fall of 1919, he organized the Lutheran Illini League with a nucleus of ten students. At that time, they intended to 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. In early 1921, it 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 had ten active chapters as of 2016.
Alpha Gamma Omega was established in 1927 at the University of California, Los Angeles. The fraternity suffered a decline in chapters and membership before experiencing extensive national growth starting in 1987. As of 2020, it had sixteen active chapters.
Sigma Theta Epsilon was formed in 1941 from the merger of two Methodist-affiliated fraternities: 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 Delta Sigma Theta that was already using the name 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, but as of 2016 had only three active chapters. It ceased operations in 2022.
At the same time that the historic Christian fraternities were beginning to rebound from their declining numbers, other groups of Christian fraternities developed, with the rise of the Evangelical Christian movement in Texas in the late 20th century. Beta Upsilon Chi began in 1985 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin as a local Christian fraternity and expanded when students at neighboring Texas schools convinced the founders to open new chapters. As of 2017, it is the largest Christian fraternity in the United States.
Beta Upsilon Chi directly led to the founding of four other Christian collegiate fraternities. The second largest Christian fraternity in the United States, Alpha Nu Omega, was founded three years later at Morgan State University. It was followed by Gamma Phi Delta at the University of Texas at Austin in 1988, while Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 on the campus of Texas Tech University. Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded by four men who led Christian college ministries and wanted to create an alternative fraternity for Christian men. Its first pledge class contained some former members of Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity. While its founders originally had no intentions of expanding, the fraternity grew to include seven chapters.