Southern Sororities Have a Jesus Problem

In The Deep South, entry to one of these historical women’s organizations can mean more than just invites to parties. In some cases, it’s a matter of salvation.

Sanders Cage is sitting on the porch of Well Red, a popular coffee house and local bookstore near the campus of Auburn University. It is a gorgeous and crisp fall morning in November and in a few minutes, she’ll be heading to the library to work on school. As a senior nursing major, Cage has recently forfeited her membership with the Gamma Rho chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha but was an active sister for her first three years and underwent primary recruitment in 2019.

As people chatter over their mugs and croissants it’s impossible not to pick up on conversations. “We are called to obey, just think about that this week,” a student sitting behind Cage instructs her breakfast buddy, their Bibles sit open next to their plates. It is not unusual to stumble upon these conversations near campus.

Cage giggles nervously at our proximity to their Bible study, we’re here to discuss the opposite. “It was so alienating,” she recalls of her first week at Auburn, “There is such a power imbalance between the active sisters and the PNM’s.” PNM stands for Potential New Member; the label given to all the freshman girls that swarm to AU’s campus a week before fall term to participate in sorority recruitment.

 Commonly known as “Rush”, the recruitment process takes place over five rounds increasing in seriousness. The PNMs have been preparing for them for months -- sometimes years if they’re lucky enough to be a legacy. “Growing up, Alpha Gam was the ‘good’ sorority,” Cage describes her upbringing in Vestavia, an upper-class suburb outside of Birmingham that rears many Auburn Tigers, “I knew it was one I should want to be in.”

There are eighteen sororities that can claim Auburn as home. Alpha gam, short for Alpha Gamma Delta, is certainly thought to be one of the best by students as well as alumni. They boast the top grades, gorgeous members, and most importantly: good Christian women. The latter is a currency that cannot be underestimated at this university. According to the school’s official statistics, forty three percent of Auburn’s students identify with some form of Christianity. In more involved circles such as student government -- or Greek life-- that number is seemingly much higher. The Princeton Review ranked Auburn eighth on its list of Most Religious Student Bodies, only three spots behind Brigham Young University and the only school in the top ten not officially affiliated with a religion.

Gage Henry is the College and Community Pastor at Auburn Community Church, a non-denominational new-wave evangelical church that boasts the highest number of student members out of any church in the Auburn/Opelika area. When asked why he thought ACC and church in general had such a strong presence on campus he said “If you’re popular, you want to be where the other popular people are.” Evidently, at Auburn University, “popular people” go to church.

They also participate in Greek life, with 26% of all male students joining a fraternity and 48% of female students in a Panhellenic Sorority. Panhellenic sororities are historically white. Though now they welcome members of all races, the girls that sign up for primary recruitment are still overwhelmingly Caucasian — though the school has published no official statistics on the racial demographics. It is also overwhelmingly upper middle class, with dues costing around $1,000 a semester. This does not include the price of t shirts, merchandise, formal dresses, disciplinary fines, or other extra expenses that are an expected part of the sorority experience. (As of 2019, all PNM’s receive a pamphlet at each chapter outlining potential expenses.)

Sanders Cage on Bid Day in 2019

Recruitment is, truly, a spectacle. In the fall of 2022, 1,982 young women signed up to participate. Ninety percent of them received bids. Though that number is great in comparison with many recruitment numbers historically, it still means that roughly one in ten girls that sign up will not be invited back by any chapters either before or on bid day. Many more than that will not be invited back to the chapters they had hoped for, and almost everyone will lose a favorite. Logistically, recruitment is a nightmare. Panhellenic Council has to schedule every Potential New Member to visit each of the eighteen sororities on the first round. This day is dubbed “Ice Water Teas” for the refreshments and light conversation that signify the casualness of this first day. As the PNM’s flow in and out, the active sisters hosting them vote, usually on a numerical scale that varies from chapter to chapter, on how good these girls would fit into their sorority. Though many sororities list specific categories such as likelihood to be involved or ability to keep conversation as things to be kept in mind when voting, it really comes down to whether or not they enjoyed the girl they were talking to, for shallow reasons or otherwise.

The PNM’s also get to vote, ranking all the sororities in order of favorite to least favorite at the end of each party round. If every single sorority were to invite a PNM back for philanthropy round, then the PNM would only have to visit the top fifteen from her list. But this is pretty rare and most will have to return to at least a few that they ranked toward the bottom. Many will not have a full fifteen to return to at all. As the rounds continue, so do their cuts. On philanthropy round PNMs get to see each of the chapters they have been invited to return to’s charitable efforts. Next, if they make it to Sisterhood round, they get to see what it would actually be like to be a sister (there’s usually a wall display of all the sweet t-shirts), all while chatting with various active sisters.

“There’s such a power imbalance between the PNM’s and the active sisters.” Explains Cage, “There’s a real pressure to continue any conversation so that they’ll invite you back, even if it’s controversial. No one brings up politics though, they bring up religion.” Cage was raised Christian, with church on Sundays and at Christmas, but it wasn’t something that leaked into her day-to-day conversations until she came to Auburn and began going through recruitment. “I knew I should want to be in Alpha Gam, but I felt so uneasy there — just the way religious girls talk. I was thinking, ‘this isn’t me at all… but this is the best one.’” After her conversation with the sisters of Alpha Gamma Delta during philanthropy round, Cage called her mother crying. “There was just a lot of cognitive dissonance for me, because of the religious conversation happening in these ‘good’ sororities.” After the inappropriate conversation, Cage was not invited to return to Alpha Gamma Delta for sisterhood round.

Cage is not alone in regarding some chapters as higher status than others. Though much of a sorority’s individual reputation is based on hear-say and stereotype, there are concrete measurements that stand to uphold them. Alpha Gamma Delta has had the top grades on campus for most of Auburn Panhellenic’s history, and nary a year goes by without an AGD candidate for Miss Auburn or for Miss Homecoming. For incoming freshman that hope to get involved in student government, student ambassadorships, and other esteemed positions, they may feel like they need to get into one of these chapters to have a chance.

Three Tiger Paws (Auburn’s official dance team) throw up the Alpha Gamma Delta hand sign on game day in 2018.

Photo via Auburn University

The final round of recruitment is known as Preference round, or “Pref Day”. These are the longest parties of the week, usually around forty minutes, and feature a distinct change in tone. The intense screaming and cheers that greeted PNM’s during previous parties is replaced by calming music, mood lighting, and often a serenade by a talented active sister. The sisters typically wear all white and kneel next to their assigned PNM, who is wearing her most formal dress (cocktail attire, typically black) and being allowed to sit for the first time all week. At most, PNM’s attend two parties during this round, and it is expected that these are the parties where you solidify your spot as a future sister…or don’t. Active sisters are instructed to take their conversations very seriously. Tears are more than expected, and an emotional response indicates that a girl feels connected to a chapter and should be offered membership.

The preference rituals of a chapter vary, and are usually a protected secret. Some are rumored to hand select individual bible verses for each PNM, and some are rumored to be instructed to bring God into the conversation. This is likely unofficial instruction and left up to the values of current members. Members are instructed to avoid topics such as politics, money, and dating, but religion is never specified.

“I remember the girl being like ‘God brought you here’ and I was like ‘I don’t even know you!’” Cage recalls of her preference party with Alpha Omicron Pi. “I understand that it’s important to a lot of girls that are going through, but I feel like it’s getting worse. Even Zeta posted a bible verse this year and I feel like that’s just trying to buy into that good girl stereotype.” Cage ended up selecting Zeta Tau Alpha as her top choice and received a bid from them on bid day. She says she made this decision partially because of the lack of religious conversations she experienced during their parties.

In the digital age, it’s impossible to limit PNM’s impressions of the chapters to the week of recruitment. Sororities’ official profiles begin posting social media posts hyping up the incoming Auburn class as early as six months before hand. In the rise of social media, and the TikTok super phenomenon that was #Bamarush, promotional social media content is becoming a key part of sororities’ recruitment strategies. Usually these encourage girls to sign up for recruitment and have fun little messages like “Go Greek!” (saying “go Pi Phi!” or “rush KD” — any phrases that emphasize a singular chapter — is strictly forbidden). Stories that feature prayers for girls about to go through rush are very popular, and even promotional interviews of active sisters feature religious talk. The images below were Instagram stories posted by Auburn Alpha Gam’s Instagram in the weeks leading up to rush this past fall, featuring their members’ responses on their reasonings for choosing the chapter.

It get’s tricky when these chapters enlist their active sisters to post their own promotional material to their followers. These posts are far less regulated than that of the official pages, even though they can get just as much if not more exposure. It is these posts where you see the religiosity of recruitment being emphasized.

One post by a member of Alabama’s chapter of Alpha Gam this past fall was particularly alarming. Throughout the post to her main Instagram feed, this sorority member (who grew up in Auburn and is still very active at Auburn Community Church despite going to the University of Alabama) encourages other active sisters to view recruitment as an opportunity to find potential converts. “Recruitment itself is a mission field.” she states. “Yes, actually being in a sorority, if the lord places you in one, is an incredible opportunity to make disciples and share the gospel.” She goes on to encourage PNM’s to seek out this conversation, assuring them that they “do not want to end up in a house that won’t support you [or] encourage you in your walk with christ!” This sorority member has upwards of 3,000 followers, many from the Tuscaloosa and Auburn areas, and the post received over one hundred comments. Her full post is featured below.

Though her flowery language can make it seem like this train of thought is that of some fringe sect, it is not. The messaging displayed throughout her post, though rare in the promotional social media surrounding recruitment, is precisely on par with the type of Christianity commonly adopted by Auburn’s Greek elite. It’s important to remember that Auburn is a state university. This public educational institution and its sorority recruitment are open to students of all religious backgrounds. Even though many sororities list themselves officially as “christian organizations,” recruitment is not advertised as such. For potential new members that have experienced abuse in a religious setting, or simply subscribe to a non-protestant belief system, these conversations can cause a lot of discomfort. For Gracie Marino, a 2021 Auburn Alumni from Chicago, it was a jarring experience. “In Chicago, no one talks about religion, so when I came to Auburn I felt so alienated.”

Greek life has been increasingly critiqued over the past ten years for its role in upholding elitist class systems and unfair advantages in universities. Typically, this has been on the topic of race and class, as integration of southern sororities has largely failed — even though officially adopted. But we can see through the rise of social media, and by listening to the experiences of affected members, that the elitist ideals spread to faith as well. This talk is just as harmful as discussions of race and class would be, and should be nipped in the bud.