For years, I have argued that anti-religious bigotry is a serious problem in higher education. Recently, a memo was circulated at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia, which broaches this controversial subject. Below, I have reproduced it in its entirety:
“GC&SU Friends:
Recently, the university submitted an initial proposal that reponded [sic] to a Ford Foundation RFP. The funding program is called Difficult Dialogues and addresses the growing intolerance on university campuses surrounding religious pluralism and cultural and racial diversity.
GC&SU ‘s proposal identified a concern involving deeply held religious belief’s precluding or interfering with the principles of academic freedom and the enterprise of questioning and discussing controversial subjects. Universities with proposals that meet the criteria for the Ford Foundation review committee will be notified in late June and asked to submit final proposals.
In the event that GC&SU “makes the cut’ and is asked to participate in the next stage, we would appreciate having anecdotal evidence of religious faith making civil, balanced, classroom discussions virtually impossible. Are there faculty who experience this? Would you agree that such attitudes are widespread at GC&SU or, to the contrary, fairly isolated?
Please send me your opinions on this matter or anecdotal evidence and use, ’Difficult Dialogues Anecdotes’ in the Subject space.
Thank you, Gregg.”
([email protected]).
The author of this e-mail, Gregg Kaufman, is the Director of the Coverdell Institute at GCSU. Prior to accepting that position in October 2004, Kaufman served for 30 years in the Lutheran ministry. He has a Master’s in Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Kaufman’s email reminds me how much I hate it when liberal colleges and universities greedily seek corporate funding for research. We really have to get the corporations out of the academy if we are going to construct a perfect society based on Marxian principles. Don’t you agree, comrades?
But, of course, such grants are necessary for those who make a living addressing “the growing intolerance on university campuses surrounding religious pluralism and cultural and racial diversity.” These executives of “Diversity, Inc.” demand high salaries to bravely combat the forces of religious faith, which fuel the bigotry of God-fearing Georgia rednecks at places like GCSU. If they didn’t, the State of Georgia might be faced with an outbreak of monkey trials and cross burnings. That could hurt Georgia tourism badly.
But Kaufman misses a golden opportunity by asking the university community whether they agree that the interference of religious faith with academic freedom is “widespread at GC&SU” or “to the contrary, fairly isolated.” This question is incomplete and simply measures two degrees of the same belief, rather than one belief and another that is “to the contrary.”
Imagine the following survey question:
Please indicate whether you, a) strongly agree, or b) slightly agree, with the following statement…
George W. Bush is an idiot.
Obviously, there are those who “slightly disagree” and “strongly disagree” with the above statement. But, why measure those contrary opinions when you’ve already made up your mind?
It is my contention that the belief that academic freedom is sometimes used as an excuse to suppress deeply held religious beliefs is also one worth measuring. And maybe the Coverdell Institute at GCSU can get some more of that corporate funding by seeking anecdotal evidence of the suppression of such religious beliefs.
As you read the following excerpts from the Pace University student newspaper (which I am sending to [email protected] ), decide whether there is a growing intolerance towards Christianity, which comes from liberals who preach tolerance, diversity, and the need to respect perspectives other than one’s own:
…With last year’s box office flop The Passion of the Christ failing to receive any attention and with scientific nonsense diluting the minds of citizens and students alike, the time has come to bring to attention the teachings of the unknown prophet, messiah and handyman Jesus Christ.
…Last week, students were saved by “Jesus Awareness Week,” a five-day, back-to-back radical good time filled with events and seminars geared toward spiritual “education” and prevention techniques for students to avoid burning in Hell for all of eternity. Events included a gathering at which students discussed their thoughts on God, a seminar on personal spirituality, a session aimed at teaching students about PCF and a “prayer journey.”
The whole holy hubbub ended with some of the participants flocking to a 30-hour famine to honor, suffer, rejoice and reflect.
…The week-long God-a-thon was broadcast vibrantly on the sidewalks surrounding the school in chalky, neon graffiti.
…“I think it’s shit,” sophomore Alex Colon said. “I don’t even understand why they’re having it.”
One question students asked, “Does this belong on our campus?”
It is difficult to answer since the University does not have a religious affiliate. Because Pace is a private university, it remains immaculately secular. All student clubs and organizations have the right to hold such events, no matter how adverse their opinions. That is, of course, unless they are Godless heathens. Students who oppose organizations such as PCF and their doings should remember one thing: our nation was built upon freedoms and liberties. If you do not accept Jesus into your heart, go back to whatever awful country you came from.
…There is no doubt that students benefited from this past week’s eye-opening events. Pacers came out in masses to celebrate the life of Jesus H. Christ. Thanks to the PCF, the Christian faith rose from obscurity to enjoy five days in the spotlight. It was wonderful to see a brief abandonment of reason, logic, scientific discovery and progressiveness at our institution of education.
Is the hatred of Christianity making civil, balanced discussions virtually impossible on your college campus? If so, do not despair. Call the Ford Foundation today!
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Mike S. Adams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on October 30, 1964. While a student at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX, his team won the state 5A soccer championship. Mike Adams graduated from C.L.H.S. in 1983 with a 1.8 GPA. Mike Adams was ranked 734 among a class of 740, largely as a result of flunking English all four years of high school. After obtaining an Associate's degree in psychology from San Jacinto College, Mike Adams moved on to Mississippi State University where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. While living in the fraternity house, his GPA rose to 3.4, allowing him to finish his B.A., and then to pursue a Master's in Psychology. In 1990, Mike Adams turned down a chance to pursue a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia, opting instead to remain at Mississippi State to study Sociology/Criminology. This decision was made entirely on the basis of his reluctance to quit his night job as member of a musical duo. Playing music in bars and at fraternity parties and weddings financed his education. Mike Adams also played for free beer.
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Upon getting his doctorate in 1993, Adams, then an atheist and a Democrat, was hired by UNC-Wilmington to teach in the criminal justice program. A few years later, Adams abandoned his atheism and also became a Republican. He also nearly abandoned teaching when he took a one-year leave of absence to study law at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998. After returning to teach at UNC-Wilmington, Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award (issued by the Office of the Dean of Students) for the second time in 2000.
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After his involvement in a well publicized free speech controversy in the wake of the 911 terror attacks, Adams became a vocal critic of the diversity movement in academia. After making appearances on shows like Hannity and Colmes, the O'Reilly Factor, and Scarborough Country, Adams was asked to write a column for Townhall.com.
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Today Mike Adams enjoys the privilege of expressing himself both as a teacher and a writer. Mike Adams is also an avid hunter and reader of classic literature. Mike Adams published his first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. His second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus, was published in 2008.
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