<p>^I agree with HM. My freshman English teacher let us know that she had been raised Catholic but had seen the error of her ways. She had become an atheist. She went on and on and on. I remember thinking, “Huh, is it OK that she’s talking like this?” but I knew better than to say anything. If I’d been Catholic, I probably would have been more upset.</p>
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Oy vey. Really, people?</p>
<p>It is amazing what people will worry about. Get over it. </p>
<p>Too sensitive…he’s not imposing anything on your son, rather he may personally believe that his (the prof) abilities are owed to a higher power and acknowledges this in his closing. More personal to the prof and less directed to anyone else…</p>
<p>Just because he signed his letter “In Him” doesn’t mean he’s going to do something like insist everyone hold hands at a college dinner and pray. There is also a possibility that this will go no farther than signing an email.
He’s a college professor, but this is his e mail. This doesn’t mean he can say what he wants or be lecherous, and I wouldn’t tell my child a professor can say whatever he wants in his e mails. I would consider each case on an individual basis.
I’ve seen this sign-off before, from a friend. I know that there is a distinction between a friend and a college professor, but it was simply a reflection of who this person is. We both accepted that we were different religions and had different ways of expressing that.
This may not be the norm for professors at a secular college, but I’d let it go. </p>
<p>I’d probably let it go but I too find it inappropriate and would probably make my daughter feel less comfortable with the professor. Hopefully the prof teaches religion and not biology…</p>
<p>@sally305 stated, “If a professor signed his correspondence with “Allahu Akbar!” I guarantee a contingent of students/parents would be outraged. And we would be hearing about it on Fox News.”</p>
<p>Your example is really not analogous; not even close in any way, shape, or form. </p>
<p>Last time I checked, “In Him” is not the predominant cry-out just before someone blows up people or kills others in a multitude of ways. Therefore, I agree that “Allahu Akbar” should be taken a lot more seriously, as it is synonymous now with much death, and its utterance precedes murder as a regular occurrence. </p>
<p>When “In Him” gets to such an inhumane threshold, let me know.</p>
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<p>This is exactly my point. Because of the power imbalance, a student who might be offended by a professor’s outward display of religion might just smile and nod, or even say things he or she did not believe just to keep the peace.</p>
<p>awcntdb, millions of Muslims around the world say “Allahu Akbar” every day for completely harmless and innocent reasons. And every day “Christians” do awful things in the name of their god, whether they say “In Him” beforehand or not. The whole point is that using an overtly religious phrase provokes a response in the listener that goes beyond more neutral expressions.</p>
<p>It’s possible it was just a mistake–the prof might have been sending emails to other people, where “In Him” was an appropriate closing, and then just closed the email to the student while on “auto-pilot.” I suggest this possibility because I once sent an email to my husband with the closing “Best regards,” Not intentional, I assure you–just too close to the end of the semester.</p>
<p>My friend, who signed his letters “In Him” has a science backrground and could teach biology.
I think we’re making all kinds of implications about this professor, but really all he did was sign an e mail “In Him” and that’s all we know about him. </p>
<p>I can’t believe beyond saying, “That’s weird,” anyone would give two flips about this. Good grief.</p>
<p>@Sally305 - Just because millions say it harmlessly does not mean around certain other people it is harmless. </p>
<p>Shouted in the middle of an airport or in a plane or state carnival, the phrase should not be naively viewed as harmless. All the moral relativism in the world will not change now how that phrase is used, and what it is connected to. Again, last time I checked, “In Him” is not a battle cry to precede murder, and thus is very different than “Allahu Akbar.” </p>
<p>hey, we all would likely chuckle if the sign off was, “in her”</p>
<p>^^ Or the prof gets sued for sexual harassment. The people who see this kind of stuff stuff as offensive will find sonething by which to be offended. They do need to get a life, really. </p>
<p>@awcntdb - it’s one thing to have the opinion that closing an email with “In Him” is harmless. It’s another to suggest that people who disagree (as many thoughtful posters here do) need to “get a life, really.” </p>
<p>Why all this snark toward the OP? She was just saying it made her feel a little weird, not that she was thinking of storming the barricades. A college professor in a secular college signing off with “In Him” is well outside the mainstream. I wouldn’t be traumatized or horribly offended, but I’d find it weird too. </p>
<p>I don’t think it is remotely the same thing as wearing a religious symbol. Dress is a form of self-expression. E-mail is a form of communication. Part of communicating effectively is tailoring your message to an audience. I don’t care if the sign-off is “In Him,” “Shabbat Shalom,” or “Your Comrade” - applying those messages to a general audience is a sign that you’re not really thinking about the person at the other end of it, or that you simply assume everyone is a member of the group for whom it would be appropriate. </p>
<p>Funny thing is, I’m not usually that fussy on church/state issues. This one just seems off to me - not as a legal thing, but as a human interaction thing. </p>
<p>Once I got Namaste from a gentleman who did yoga. It was weird, but I didn’t feel pressured to begin practicing yoga. I agree it’s odd. Nothing more, though. </p>
<p>@blprof - I give you that. My comment was directed at people who seem to find offense in just about anything. I do agree not all posters who disagree exhibit such tendencies. </p>
<p>I’m clueless enough to 1) not even understand the meaning of the sign-off until I read this thread, and 2) brush it off as a quirk of the professor. I don’t see it as threatening, so while maybe inappropriate, it’s not worth anything more than a mental raised eyebrow.</p>
<p>Now if subsequent emails push his beliefs forward, then I may become alarmed. In other words, let it go for now but keep it in the back of your mind when dealing with the proof.</p>
<p>Not worthy of concern, but I don’t like it either. I have a strong Christian faith, but view this sort of thing as a cheap and cowardly attempt at evangelism that assuages the conscience of the individual, while having scarce impact on its intended audience beyond annoyance. Your prof. was not bold enough in his belief to write the actual name of Jesus, and so wimped out by using the pronoun. I agree that this gives you some valuable information about him to keep in mind when writing papers, etc. </p>