A sample of six small, liberal arts, Christian colleges were compared to schools within the structural classification of liberal arts colleges. The comparison was based on 11 environmental dimensions measured by the Institutional Functioning Inventory (IFI), which used the collective perception technique (i.e., the combined responses of all faculty and administrators). Normative data for private liberal arts colleges were derived from 5,877 faculty and administrators from 96 schools. It was found that the sample of small, liberal arts, Christian colleges were perceived to provide far fewer intellectual and aesthetic extracurricular activities on campus than the larger liberal arts colleges. While the liberal arts colleges do not appear to put high priority on research and scholarship, the sample colleges see this area as even less important. The sample colleges are also perceived to have less diversity on campus in terms of the types of people that work at and attend the colleges, and behavioral and social expectations are more clearly defined and enforced. They are slightly more traditional in their educational practices and have slightly less community involvement than the liberal arts colleges. Finally, higher feelings of community and belief in the objectives of the institution are found on the campuses of Christian colleges. (SW)