Liberty University, a self-described bastion of Christian values and conservative education, is today one of the richest and most politically entangled institutions of higher learning in the United States. With nearly $1.6 billion in annual revenue and almost $4.2 billion in assets, the university has grown from a modest Bible college into a vast nonprofit empire. But behind its polished image lies a history marked by ideological extremism, financial opacity, political manipulation, and a disturbing legacy of abuse and betrayal.
Liberty University's tax return is here.
The institution’s roots reach back to televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr., who founded Liberty University in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College, with a vision of creating a “West Point of the Christian Right.” Falwell’s project was never merely educational—it was explicitly political. He intended Liberty to serve as a training ground for young evangelicals to take control of the culture and the government.
Falwell’s ambitions were not only spiritual; they were geopolitical. During the 1980s, Falwell Sr. emerged as a vocal supporter of Ronald Reagan’s Cold War foreign policy, especially in Central America. He used his media platform and church networks to defend U.S. military and CIA-backed interventions in Nicaragua and El Salvador, where right-wing authoritarian regimes and paramilitary groups were engaged in brutal counterinsurgency operations. Falwell denounced leftist movements like the Sandinistas as Marxist threats to Christianity and Western civilization. At the height of Reagan's Contra war in Nicaragua, Falwell called on American Christians to “stand with freedom fighters” and backed White House efforts to funnel money and arms to the Contras—despite their involvement in civilian massacres, drug trafficking, and terror campaigns. In this Cold War theater, Liberty University wasn’t just a college; it was a pulpit for Reagan-era militarism cloaked in religious moralism.
Just as controversial was Falwell Sr.’s willingness to partner with the Unification Church of Rev. Sun Myung Moon—a religious sect many evangelicals labeled a cult. Despite deep theological differences, Falwell accepted at least $2.5 million in the 1980s from Moon-affiliated organizations to help keep Liberty University solvent. The money reportedly helped the school avoid bankruptcy during a critical period of expansion. In return, Falwell softened his criticism of Moon and collaborated on conservative media projects such as The Washington Times. The alliance revealed a core truth about Liberty’s founding ethos: that power, not purity, was its guiding principle.
The compromises didn’t end with Falwell Sr. His son, Jerry Falwell Jr., took the university’s politicization to new heights. In 2016, he broke ranks with traditional evangelicals to endorse Donald Trump—then a thrice-married reality television mogul known more for casino deals than church attendance. Falwell Jr.'s early support helped legitimize Trump among conservative Christians. In exchange, Liberty received access to the Trump administration, and Falwell was appointed to a federal education task force. Trump gave a commencement speech at Liberty in 2017 and repeatedly praised the school’s commitment to “America First” values.
During Falwell Jr.’s tenure, the university became deeply enmeshed in right-wing politics. Leaked emails revealed how administrators suppressed dissent on campus, promoted partisan messaging, and used institutional resources for political purposes. Meanwhile, Falwell and his allies engaged in shady real estate deals and personal enrichment schemes. His fall from grace in 2020, following revelations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, and financial irregularities, did little to slow the machine. Liberty continues to function much as it did before—flush with cash, shielded by nonprofit status, and politically aligned with the far right.
Equally disturbing is the university’s systemic mishandling of sexual violence. In 2021 and 2022, ProPublica and other outlets revealed a pattern of institutional cover-up. At least 22 women filed a federal lawsuit accusing Liberty of punishing survivors instead of abusers. Under the school’s strict moral code—“The Liberty Way”—students who reported sexual assault were often blamed for violating university policies on sex, alcohol, or being alone with members of the opposite sex. Some were threatened with expulsion. These cases were not aberrations—they revealed a culture of control and fear designed to protect the university’s brand at all costs.
In the most recent financial filings from 2023, Liberty reported nearly $343 million in grants paid, over $1 million in lobbying expenses, and a $5 million NASCAR sponsorship. Football coach Hugh Freeze received nearly $3.8 million in total compensation, while basketball coach Ritchie McKay earned over $1.4 million. These figures are more typical of a major corporate entity than a religious nonprofit. And yet Liberty continues to benefit from tax exemptions, federal grants, and student loan funds—money that flows into a university that openly mixes religion, nationalism, and political propaganda.
Liberty’s massive online education system has helped it reach students across the U.S. and beyond, bringing in billions in federal aid dollars. It is arguably the largest conduit of taxpayer-funded Christian education in the country. With that reach comes extraordinary power—and a growing obligation for public scrutiny.
Liberty University was built on contradictions. It preaches righteousness while taking money from cult leaders. It promotes purity while covering up abuse. It denounces government overreach while feeding off public funds. It claims to be apolitical while functioning as a partisan training ground.
At the Higher Education Inquirer, we see Liberty not as an outlier, but as a warning—a blueprint for how higher education can be weaponized in the service of power, dogma, and wealth. It is a university in name, but in practice, it is a deeply politicized enterprise built on Cold War propaganda, moral compromise, and an unholy alliance between religion, capitalism, and state violence.
The question remains: how many more Liberties are out there, hiding behind tax exemptions, and operating with near-total impunity?
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