A People’s Story
in Black & White

An Overview of Black & White History at Columbia

Columbia Theological Seminary officially opened in 1829 in a house built and owned by the owner of a plantation using the labor of enslaved people in Columbia, South Carolina. Much has changed in the world since those days [1]. It is important to understand our history as we work to create new narratives that are the source of a flourishing life for everyone that is part of our community.

Grounded in Calvinist theology, the story spans years where the right to own black bodies was upheld, the South was supported in the Civil War, and theological beliefs on these matters divided the Northern and Southern synods of the Presbyterian Church [2]. After closing the doors of the seminary in 1863, the seminary re-opened after the Civil War with five white men as students. The economic environment was vastly different but the desire to continue the work of the seminary was still strong [3].

In the 1870’s, controversy arose between science and the Bible. Charles Darwin’s “scientific hypothesis of evolution” was being taught at the seminary. The view that the Bible could be interpreted as a “series of evolutionary developments” was seen as contradictory to an understanding of the claim that “human history has a goal and is moving toward the promised Kingdom of God guided by God’s providence [4].” This traditional view of providence had previously been used to support views on racial hierarchies and against the theological claims of abolitionists [5]. Professors, students and the congregations that supported the seminary were divided over the issue.

Plans for a move from South Carolina to Decatur, Georgia, began in 1924 with the goal of creating a place of “scholarship and piety ”that left the past behind and new work begun“ and the ministry of the Presbyterian Church could be strengthened and enlarged [5].”

It was 1983 before the Northern and Southern Presbyterians were reunited as the Presbyterian Church (USA) to increase the reach of Presbyterianism. Columbia, along with the churches and members, wrestled with ordaining women and LGBTQ+ people to ministry. The challenge for Columbia today is becoming anti-racist in all areas of the institution as it seeks to faithfully form, interpret, and live out its mission.

[1] Erskine Clarke, To Count Our Days A History of Columbia Theological Seminary (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2019), 6—7.
[2] Clarke, 92.
[3] Ibid., 105.
[4] Ibid., 119.
[5] Ibid., 123.