Post by Daniel on Mar 24, 2018 10:00:29 GMT -5
Victory: ACLJ Protects Christian Student’s Right to Include Religious Viewpoint in Assignments
By Carly F. Gammill
We recently secured an important victory on behalf of a student attending a community college in Oregon when the school rightly recognized his First Amendment right to address curricular assignments from a religious viewpoint.
The situation arose when, after multiple back-and-forth communications involving faith, the professor read the student’s latest assignment, an essay on friendship, in which the student alluded to the intimately close friendship one might have as a Christian with Jesus. The professor voluntarily injected her own personal beliefs into the conversation by noting on the assignment paper that not everyone believed in God. When the student responded by expressing his concerns for the professor, based on his faith, the professor asked the student to refrain from further discussing religion with her.
The student respectfully explained that the reason he discusses religion with others, including her, is because he believes, based on his reading of the Bible, Christians have a responsibility to share their faith. In the same response, however, the student expressly wrote that he would honor the professor’s request and cease personal religious discussions.
Despite this acknowledgment and agreement to her request, the professor complained to the college that the student was harassing her, prompting a meeting with a college official responsible for addressing student conduct issues. While the student maintained his agreement not to address matters of religion with the professor on a personal level, the conduct officer’s instructions went further, restricting the student from addressing matters of religion in any way in this professor’s class, including when appropriately responding to curricular assignments.
more
aclj.org/religious-liberty/victory-aclj-protects-christian-students-right-to-include-religious-viewpoint-in-assignments
By Carly F. Gammill
We recently secured an important victory on behalf of a student attending a community college in Oregon when the school rightly recognized his First Amendment right to address curricular assignments from a religious viewpoint.
The situation arose when, after multiple back-and-forth communications involving faith, the professor read the student’s latest assignment, an essay on friendship, in which the student alluded to the intimately close friendship one might have as a Christian with Jesus. The professor voluntarily injected her own personal beliefs into the conversation by noting on the assignment paper that not everyone believed in God. When the student responded by expressing his concerns for the professor, based on his faith, the professor asked the student to refrain from further discussing religion with her.
The student respectfully explained that the reason he discusses religion with others, including her, is because he believes, based on his reading of the Bible, Christians have a responsibility to share their faith. In the same response, however, the student expressly wrote that he would honor the professor’s request and cease personal religious discussions.
Despite this acknowledgment and agreement to her request, the professor complained to the college that the student was harassing her, prompting a meeting with a college official responsible for addressing student conduct issues. While the student maintained his agreement not to address matters of religion with the professor on a personal level, the conduct officer’s instructions went further, restricting the student from addressing matters of religion in any way in this professor’s class, including when appropriately responding to curricular assignments.
more
aclj.org/religious-liberty/victory-aclj-protects-christian-students-right-to-include-religious-viewpoint-in-assignments
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