Liberty University's phenomenal growth came largely on the backs of taxpayers. Many of its students, both those at the physical campus and online, get federal grants to go there.

A former student journalist at Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University (LU) has provided a rare insider’s look at the militantly right-wing evangelical institution which, he says, does not tolerate dissent.

No one minds when fundamentalist Christians attend the churches of their choice, interpret the Bible in a manner that pleases them or even when they spread their faith through voluntary channels. That is the promise of the First Amendment – but it is never enough for many of these folks.