Professor sent email with religious message -- is it crossing a line?

Student Lounge College Life
21

A public university is the voice of the state.

I believe that there should be a brighter line of separation between state and religion even than there is.

For example, the original Pledge of Allegiance did not include “under God.” That was added in the 1950’s. Not only did this change insert a deity, it also broke up the powerful grammatical and semantic order of “one nation, indivisible.” I think God does not belong in the pledge. Or on the penny. One can be a very proud citizen of the United States and believe strongly in the United States’ system of government, without believing in God.

I enjoy putting both a Christmas tree and a menorah in my own house, but I do not think either belongs on public property. Courts have ruled that public entities like public schools and towns can have one as long as they also have the other. Well, okay, but who says everyone is either Christian or Jewish? What about Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jehovah Witnesses, and atheists? Is it not also their school? Their town? Their nation?

One can wish students well and a joyful season without bringing God into it. One can decorate a school lobby or a town green with religion-neutral seasonal decorations like bright lights, snowflakes, snowmen, etc.

As far as private beliefs go… people can believe whatever they want. And if some random person on the street wishes me Merry Christmas or Happy Easter, I just take it as they are being friendly and assuming everyone believes what they do, and I just smile and say Merry Christmas back to them.

But religion does not belong in the public sphere. Public entities- schools, courts, towns, our nation- belong to ALL their citizens, not just the majority.

22

Wouldn’t bother me in the least. After having my kids in the public schools and listening to a lot of political opinion that people used like religions to sell their opinions/and morality, our family is immune. We listen with an open heart, know what we believe in and if someone tries to pontificate in school, on the daily news, on Facebook etc, we usually ignore them. Occasionally, I will just say those are not my beliefs and walk away. It works great.

If my kids received that message, they would likely look up the verse or meaning in the context of that religion to try to understand it. So would I. No one else’s belief bothers me enough to silence them. I currently have a client who is an atheist and he has been telling me about some of his perspectives. It has been very interesting to me. BTW, I am not an atheist.
Being offended easily by everything IMHO means that your mind isn’t open enough to try to understand another perspective.

23

I don’t get the problem with religious choral music. A LOT of music that secular choirs perform is religious in nature.

24

To the OP. If you feel you need to say something then do it after your grades are out. There is nothing wrong with a short note on how much you enjoyed his class but the “copy and paste 5 lines here” affected you the wrong way and why. Wishing him and his family Happy Holidays.

Maybe he got carried away and maybe not but expressing your view to him seems to be a very mature act.

25

In public universities, there are plenty of such courses – but aren’t they supposed to be taught in a non devotional way (i.e. not promoting the establishment of religion from a government entity), unlike the devotional religion courses that may be found at religious schools?

26

I agree with the OP, that (a) it would bug me too (I am of a different faith) and (2) no you are not crazy. Is this a professor in your major dept or another dept? I might respond diffferently if it is in vs not on your major department .

27

Unless there’s blatent evidence of favoritism or discrimination based on religious beliefs, I’d say no harm, no foul. Liberal profs shared their beliefs in my classes all the time and it didn’t affect me.

28

Hi guys,
Sorry not to respond for a while; I got a little busy studying for finals.

Since the semester is already over, it seems a little “too late” to say anything, so I guess I’ll just let it go. @jym626 , the professor isn’t in my major department & I’m almost 100% certain I won’t take a class in that department again (it’s a fine arts class).

However, as a matter of principle, I’m still not a huge fan of what was said. As @TheGreyKing said, I just don’t feel that religious statements belong in a public classroom, regardless of whether I agree with them or not (and @privatebanker , I would feel the same way if he wrote a paragraph saying “And that’s why I support President Trump for 2020.” If it’s not relevant to the class, I don’t think it should be discussed). Personally, I don’t think it matters that I also celebrate Christmas or that Christianity is a large religion in the US – I would feel the same way if he was talking about Hinduism or atheism or Pastafarianism, because not everyone follows the same religion.

After more reflection, I think what’s really “bothering” me is that the email is just a particularly strong example of a broader trend on campus…the student body is mainly Christian, which is fine, but people are a little more “evangelical” than I suppose I’m used to. Multiple people have told me they’re trying to “convert” their roommates (!), whereas I grew up in a very religiously-diverse area and had/have friends from many religions. Similarly, I’m used to more of a “snowflakes and happy holidays” style of winter decorating, whereas my university has multiple large Christmas trees & plays Christmas music in the cafeteria/at events (including Ave Maria. Maybe it just slipped through the Spotify playlist, but seriously?). I’m not trying to be overly sensitive – I enjoy listening to the Christmas music, I love the decorations, I don’t care if my professors ends their emails with “Merry Christmas” – but I don’t think it’s 100% secular either.

@Publisher If you’re interested (or anyone else), I can PM you the email. (I know I’m paranoid, but I don’t feel comfortable posting the whole thing for privacy reasons.)
Yes, he tried to broaden it beyond religion, but it wasn’t the sort of thing you would accidentally write simply out of emotion, IMO.

In short: Thanks for the advice, everybody. I’m still irritated, but I guess I’ll let it go. Happy December :slight_smile:

29

OP, I commend you for figuring out why this “stuck in your craw”.

If you are up for some reading over your break, I highly recommend "The Unlikely Disciple ". It’s hilarious. It’s the story of a Brown student who takes his year “abroad” at Liberty U. Not your situation but similar. He also has some great insights and a way of seeing and embracing the positive in it.

30

I am glad you feel you have gotten some distance on it, but the department administration cannot address an issue if they don’t know about it. Just sayin’. Your posts here are delicate and carefully written, so surely you will do the same if you make the department chair aware of the content of that email.

31

@SuperSenior19: Yes, I would like to read the actual 5 sentence paragraph and it will remain confidential other than a possible broadly worded comment about it.

32

I have read the entire message. It is warm, positive, caring, & sincere. Shows concern & respect for the students.

If just one word was deleted from this message, then this thread would not exist.

33

@Publisher - But the OP said

Sounds like there is more than “one word” that is inappropriate in that email. I haven’t read the email and don’t wish to, but if there is a direct reference to Jesus, the bible, or Gods love, that’s overstepping.

34

It sounds like the professor meant well. Do not choose to be offended unless you know for certain that the speaker/author did not, and your life will be much happier. There will be far more opportunities for both after you graduate than you can imagine.

35

Perhaps if two words, rather than one, were deleted than the email would not be the subject of this thread.

It is a beautiful, caring message.

P.S. Is there really a problem with a college professor referring to an historical figure and to the most widely read book in the world ?

36

OP, it is not always all about you. A famous professor once told me that it is impossible these days to teach without offending someone about something, so he didn’t even try anymore. There is no doubt some of your own actions or words have offended those around you, too. Live and let live.

37

@jym626: Do you really think that the words “peace” and “hope” are offensive in a college–whether public or private-- setting ?

Also, the email does NOT refer to “the afterlife”. The email refers to life after college ends. The OP misinterpreted the email.

38

I’m not sure why this is even a topic. So someone wrote something that the recipient didn’t appreciate. And…?

39

@publisher- if, as the OP said, the email referenced “Jesus and the bible and gods love” it has no place in the correspondence to students.
I simply quoted the OP without dissecting their sentence, that referenced the other wording. Its too early on Sunday to have to do that specific cut and pasting, lol. But if you took a millisecond to read what I wrote, this was my concern:

You may think the email is “beautiful and caring”, but the OP did not. Their feelings matter, as the recipient of the email and lower in the faculty/student power dynamic.

40

The issue is that it occured in a state school setting. The email does mention the word “God” and some may find that that violates the Constitutional mandate of separation of church and state.

Nevertheless, all of our money includes the motto: : “In God We Trust”.

It is a sweet & sincere parting message from a very caring professor who throughout the term has included caring messages about mental health in his communications with his students.

P.S. The message is about perspective and that there is life after college. In the context of concern about students’ mental health, this is an appropriate message, in my opinion.