Standing Firm: How Pepperdine’s Statement of Faith Bucks the Secular Trend
Southern California Christian university is welcoming the world while guarding the mission.
If you look closely at the long arc of American higher education, there is a quiet, recurring tragedy. It is the story of fading light. Institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were once vibrant centers of theological conviction, built on the premise that all truth belongs to God. Yet, over the centuries, the gravitational pull of the secular academy drew them away. They traded the majesty of the Gospel for the fleeting, shifting applause of the modern era. This slow, almost imperceptible drift away from a founding faith is not born of malice, but of compromise.
Yet, God’s truth is not a relic to be outgrown; it is a foundation to be built upon. In October 2026, Pepperdine University offered a beautiful, resounding reminder of this reality. In an age that expects religious institutions to slowly secularize and blend in, Pepperdine drew a line in the Malibu sand. The Board of Regents and the Faith and Heritage Committee unanimously chose to remember their first love, declaring with grace and clarity that they are a Christian university, and they will remain one.
The “Pepperdine Believes” Declaration
On October 8, 2026, the university released “Pepperdine Believes.” Rather than a shift in direction, this document is an expanded crystallization of the school’s enduring identity. It formally and beautifully articulates the university’s theological convictions regarding God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, grace, and the Church.
As noted by The Christian Post, this declaration served to illuminate the beliefs that have always shaped the campus. In a cultural moment where historical orthodoxy is often viewed with skepticism, Pepperdine’s leadership made a courageous stand for fidelity. Decision Magazine recognized this milestone not merely as a policy update, but as a vital anchor—a way to secure the institution against the slow erosion that has swept away the religious heritage of so many other colleges.
The Blessing and Burden of the Coast
To understand the unique pressures Pepperdine faces, one must look at where it stands. The university is perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California—one of the most breathtaking and fiercely expensive stretches of real estate on earth. This extraordinary physical blessing is a profound gift, but it also presents a subtle, persistent vulnerability.
A location this stunning acts as a powerful magnet. It draws brilliant minds from across the globe, but it also inevitably attracts those who are captivated by the prestige, the geography, and the resources, rather than the theology. Because the campus is so highly desirable, there is a constant, quiet pressure from individuals and cultural forces that would seek to co-opt the institution. The temptation is always there for outsiders to enjoy the earthly blessings of the university while slowly attempting to redirect its spiritual vision toward the accommodating, secular norms of modern academia.
Welcoming the World, Guarding the Mission
Yet, in the face of this pressure, the university has struck a magnificent balance. Pepperdine warmly welcomes students, faculty, and staff of all faiths, and of no faith at all. The campus is undeniably enriched by this broad diversity of thought and background.
But it extends this welcome while remaining unapologetically Christian in its mission. True hospitality does not require the host to erase their own identity. As George Pepperdine’s original Mission and Vision make clear, the school exists to strengthen students for lives of purpose under the guiding light of Christian principles. At Seaver College, faith and learning are not competing interests; they are interwoven strands of the same pursuit of truth. The university’s vision for Spiritual Life is dedicated to actively nurturing students in the Churches of Christ tradition. To ask Pepperdine to unravel these threads in the name of cultural conformity is to ask them to dismantle the very foundation upon which the house was built.
True Pluralism and the Nootbaar Institute
This steadfast identity anchors not just the undergraduate experience, but the highest levels of graduate scholarship. At the Caruso School of Law, the Christian Tradition is the beating heart of the legal curriculum, built on the profound recognition that law, justice, and human dignity ultimately flow from a Sovereign Lawgiver.
This is where the beauty of a deeply rooted faith truly blossoms into academic hospitality. Founders’ First Freedom is deeply proud to sponsor the Caruso School of Law’s Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics. The Institute brings together brilliant scholars, advocates, and leaders from a vast array of religious traditions to deliberate on the most pressing constitutional questions of our time.
But Pepperdine accomplishes this in a truly unique way. It welcomes a wide variety of faiths into the Institute, but it extends this welcome from a position of faith itself. It does not ask guests to meet in a sterile, secularized vacuum where everyone must hide their deepest convictions. True pluralism—and true constitutional liberty—does not require the erasure of belief. It requires the courage to bring our authentic selves to the table. Pepperdine can offer such warm, genuine hospitality exactly because it knows who it is and what it believes.
“I Will Honor Those Who Honor Me”
Beneath the legal frameworks and the statements of faith lies a singular, breathtaking promise. In 1 Samuel 2:30, the Lord speaks a truth that echoes through the ages: “Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.”
Institutional survival is not secured by chasing the approval of a culture that is here today and gone tomorrow. The leadership at Pepperdine understands that lasting legacy belongs to the Lord. By releasing “Pepperdine Believes,” the university is making a profound expression of trust. They are trusting that if they honor the Creator over the academy, He will sustain them. He will provide for them. He will protect them from those who would redirect their vision, and He will draw faithful hearts to their campus for generations to come.
Pepperdine stands as a powerful reminder that mission drift is not inevitable. When an institution has the courage to honor God, God honors that faithfulness, preserving it as a city on a hill whose light will not be hidden.
Michael Peabody, Esq. is a graduate of the Pepperdine University School of Law and the President of Founders’ First Freedom which is entering its 4th consecutive year of sponsoring the Caruso School of Law’s Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics.