They pledged for the sisterhood. The brotherhood. The prospect of joining a new social network; others, the chance to serve a community. Still others followed relatives whose affiliation with Black Greek-letter organizations, colors and community commitments had been familiar since childhood.
Now some former members of the Divine Nine — the coalition of majority-Black fraternities and sororities that date back a century or longer — say they can’t wear the colors and follow Jesus at the same time.
A growing number of fraternity brothers and sorority sisters who join churches or other faith communities say they are leaving those organizations they once embraced. But other Christians, including pastors who retain their memberships, reject the suggestion that their sorority and fraternity affiliations compromise their faith.
‘Hazing is Not Holy’
The Rev. Jamal Bryant addressed both the departures and the objections in his Oct. 18 sermon, “I Renounce,” at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. But before defending the organizations, Bryant acknowledged that some people whose experience in a fraternity or sorority had involved hazing others had caused lasting harm.
“Hazing is not holy,” he said.
Bryant condemned physical, emotional and spiritual abuse connected with Greek life. He also acknowledged deaths associated with hazing and said the church should provide safety for those who suffered.
Whatever dehumanizes people deserves renunciation, he told the congregation.
I want to ask how you renounce your D9 affiliation, but you have not found enough Holy Ghost conviction or discernment to renounce not one Trump policy?
Rev. Jamal Bryant, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
Then he turned to the community service performed by the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities, challenging critics to consider why their work remains necessary.
“Tell me how you curse the people who are doing the work, but you don’t curse the system that makes their work necessary?” he said.
A Decades-Old Debate
The disagreement has become increasingly visible through online testimonies, but Christian objections to Greek-letter membership predate social media.
The late Pastor James P. Tharrington’s “Should Christians Pledge Fraternities and Sororities?” was published in 1990. Minister Fred Hatchett’s “Coming Apart at the Seams,” which carries copyrights dating to 1999, explicitly urged Christians to separate from Black Greek-letter organizations.
The Indianapolis Recorder reported on a former Delta Sigma Theta member identified as Nicole A. Griffin, who formally denounced her membership in 2018 after a spiritual turning point in 2012.
Word In Black covered another departure in May 2024, when Howard University student Zora Sanders publicly renounced Delta Sigma Theta shortly after joining. Sanders said her research beforehand had not prepared her for initiation requirements she considered incompatible with Christianity.
Although the available evidence establishes no predictable cycle, the controversy seems to return periodically. It documents a longstanding disagreement receiving renewed attention, without establishing how many members are leaving nationwide.
Why Christians Leave
For some who renounce, the conflict centers on what they believe they promised during initiation.
They interpret oaths, ceremonial language and lifelong commitments as spiritual covenants that compete with allegiance to Christ. Others object to fraternity or sorority symbols associated with ancient deities, or language they believe improperly adapts Scripture.
Christians who remain members dispute those interpretations.
Sanders described an initiation involving an oath and kneeling or bowing at an altar. She characterized the experience as idolatry — her assessment of the ceremony, rather than a conclusion shared by all Christian members.
For someone convinced that membership created an improper spiritual commitment, becoming inactive may feel insufficient. Public renunciation can become part of repentance and testimony, accompanied by warnings to prospective members.
That helps explain why Divine 9 defenders pointing to scholarships or service projects may not settle the disagreement. The person leaving is questioning the spiritual meaning of membership itself.
Why Christians Stay
Members who remain challenge the assumption that organizational commitment amounts to worship.
Alpha Kappa Alpha member Jerilyn Lewis told the Indianapolis Recorder that her organization’s meetings included prayer and a chaplain.
“Rituals are simply ceremonies,” Lewis said. “Churches have rituals.”
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture documents Divine Nine contributions to literacy, professional development, voter registration and community service. For defenders, those commitments represent an enduring investment in Black life.
Bryant acknowledged former members’ freedom to leave, and insisted he was not asking them to return. He challenged, however, what he described as an inconsistency between critics’ public rejection of Greek affiliation and their silence about Trump administration policies.
“I want to ask how you renounce your D9 affiliation, but you have not found enough Holy Ghost conviction or discernment to renounce not one Trump policy,” he said.
Bryant also affirmed his own Christian faith and lifetime membership in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. His response placed the disagreement within a larger question about Christian responsibility toward oppressed people.
Leaving can carry personal costs, too. Griffin told the Recorder that encounters with former sorority connections became strained after her departure.
For those leaving, faith requires surrendering their letters. For those staying, membership remains an expression of service. Neither position excuses the harm Bryant acknowledged.
