Inside Higher Ed has published an intriguing essay by Timothy Larsen, a professor at Wheaton College. He discusses the experience of a Christian student at a public university who encountered hostility (and poor grades) when he wrote about his faith. Larsen also shares his own experience with prejudice when he submitted a book manuscript to the Yale University Press. He quotes from the anonymous peer “reviews.” For example, a reviewer who agreed to accept the manuscript (based on T. S. Eliot’s The Idea of a Christian Society) explained his decision thus: “It is worth considering why ideas we find not just impossible to believe but even impossible to believe that others believe — such as the ideology of the Taliban or Saudis — have such appeal.”
I think it's perfectly reasonable to discuss your faith in a classroom, but what you write still need to be consistant with the goals of the class. For instance, I once graded a paper a Christian student had written about Israeli-Palestinian relations. The assignment required that in the conclusion, the student write what solution they think is possible for the region. The student in question had written that he/she thought that Jesus's immanent return made the matter moot. How in the world am I supposed to grade that while still respecting the student's deeply held beliefs and faith?
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