Baptist News Global, Grand Canyon University Plans ‘Christian Worldview’ Law School:
Grand Canyon University is the latest evangelical school to launch a law school, corresponding with increased interest in preparing “Christian worldview” students for legal careers.
The Phoenix-based school announced Aug. 16 it plans to open a law school as early as fall 2027, pending approval by the Arizona Supreme Court justices, Higher Learning Commission and Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education. Accreditation also will be sought from the American Bar Association, a multi-year process.
The unnamed College of Law “would integrate the Christian worldview throughout its curriculum while emphasizing Constitutional law, free-market principles and the rule of law,” a news release said.
“The legal profession plays a critical role in preserving the institutions and principles that make a free society possible,” said GCU President Brian Mueller. “We believe there is an opportunity to create a law school that produces outstanding attorneys while also grounding students in a Christian worldview, a deep understanding of the Constitution and an appreciation for the principles of free markets, individual liberty and the rule of law.” …
GCU’s new law school will be at least the 16th based on the campus of a Protestant university. Other existing Protestant universities with law schools include Baylor, Liberty, Mercer University, Southern Methodist University, Emory University, University of Tulsa, Regent University, Pepperdine University, Belmont University, Campbell University, Mississippi College, Faulkner University, Samford University, Trinity International University and Capital University. Seven of those schools have historic Baptist identifications.
Other universities with historic Protestant ties that are less explicit today also have law schools, including Duke University and Wake Forest University, for example.
Both Regent University — founded by televangelist Pat Robertson — and Liberty University — founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr. — are newer entries into the law school business. Their schools also emphasize a “biblical worldview,” which is most frequently code for conservative evangelical ideology.
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