for discussion in the ZOE progressive Christian campus ministry network
11-16-23
Jim Burklo
Dear campus ministry colleagues in the ZOE network:
Higher education is under attack.
And we are unusually gifted with the ability to defend it.
Right-wing “cancel culture” warriors are actively working to take over colleges and universities across the country. Florida makes the news as its governor appoints ultra-conservatives with dubious academic credentials to manage state-supported schools. But the phenomenon is spreading. Reactionaries blame universities for producing so-called “woke” students who then go on to vote for progressive candidates. Taking control of higher education is a holy grail of right-wingers who want to stanch the current flow of young people away from their regressive social and political agendas. Their goal is to get “parity” in the classroom for their points of view – which inevitably will result in a degradation of education, because their positions are mostly rooted in falsehood. They aim to end faculty tenure, weaken or eliminate shared governance of universities by faculty, and intimidate or fire professors perceived as liberals.
This accelerating movement intersects with current events to gather a perfect storm on campuses across the country. The Israel/Palestine conflict has spread to universities and colleges in the form of confrontations between students and among faculty and staff. In a conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, powerful voices demand the silencing of students who call for an end to the bombing of civilians in Gaza and for an end to the occupation of Palestine.
Another version of cancel culture, on the left, erodes the right to free speech on campus for which students struggled so valiantly in the 1960’s. A substantial number of students and faculty want to ban, suppress, or drown out speech that is perceived to be politically incorrect. Forgotten by many is principle that the answer to bad speech is better speech, and that higher education must allow space for uncomfortable conversations.
To stir the storm further, a pernicious fundamentalist Christian movement has higher education in its cross-hairs. It is closely bound to the conservative political movement’s attacks on colleges. It seeks “dominion” over the “seven mountains” of culture – one of which is education. Increasingly, the rhetoric of this dominionist movement is openly anti-democratic and violent, advocating a takeover of the country’s institutions by any means necessary. Fundamentalist campus ministries are the beachhead of this kind of Christianity at colleges and universities. They are openly hostile to the mission of the schools where they operate, telling their students to ignore what they hear in the classroom and adhere to their version of “Bible truth” instead. Evangelical Christianity is in steep decline in America, but that makes it more dangerous. Instead of blaming its backward doctrines for its loss of adherents, its leaders blame “demonic forces” – including professors and progressive Christians – who must be crushed at any cost.
Higher education is in a lot more trouble than college and university presidents are willing to admit. They have multiple constituencies and sub-groups to placate, each with divergent interests: politicians, donors, parents, students, and faculty. Administrators are taking flak from all sides, discouraging them from standing up for the best interests of their institutions.
But progressive Christians on campus can and should speak out in defense of secular higher education.
Our voices matter because we created secular higher education in this country! Very many prestigious colleges and universities, both private and public, began with the sponsorship of what are now known as progressive Christian churches. As they developed, we liberated these institutions from identification with our denominations, because we believed in the mission of secular higher education. To this day, we continue in this commitment, situating ourselves on these campuses as progressive Christian communities of students, celebrating the compatibility of our faith with the untrammeled inquiry of the secular academy.
Progressive Christianity and secular universities co-created each other. As science began to flourish at European universities, scholars began to train that approach on the study of religion. Our forebearers were the Christians who embraced the resulting new insights of critical, historical biblical scholarship. In turn, we established many prestigious universities and colleges in this country.
While we challenge our colleges and universities to serve the common good rather than subordinate themselves to moneyed interests, we have always supported their commitment to academic freedom.
So we are friends of secular higher education, which needs friends more than ever - especially friends who are able to articulate and promote a moral case for its well-being and flourishing.
Our voices matter because we follow the Christ, who leads us to the truth that sets us free. Truth that isn’t bound by doctrine or dogma. Truth that, as it is progressively revealed, casts more light on our tradition and affords it new interpretations. Truth that calls us to deeper love for all people and beings, and for our planet, manifested in action for peace and justice. Truth that emerges from critical examination, tested propositions, through emerging consensus.
The missions of progressive Christianity and of secular higher education are compatible and mutually supportive. And in order to remain that way, the academy must be free from religious control and free from political manipulation. Progressive ministries on campus speak out and act independently and prophetically, calling higher education to account for the common good – and defending it from those who would degrade it.
In Defense of Academic Freedom:
A Progressive Christian Manifesto (draft)
(This is a conversation-starter --- for discussion at our ZOE Zoom on December 5. How would you change/refine it?)
We are progressive Christian students and ministry leaders on campuses around the United States. We are deeply concerned with the serious threats to academic freedom and freedom of expression aimed at our colleges and universities today. As the current generation of the progressive Christians who founded so many prestigious institutions of secular higher education in years past, we feel a special obligation to protect our legacy today.
We are united in resistance to the current right-wing movement to take control of our schools. Its proponents seek to indoctrinate students and drive out professors who don’t support their agenda.
We oppose all attempts to inject right-wing dogma into curricula. In the classroom, we support debate about what is debatable, and we stand up for the right to debate what’s not debatable in the quad outside the classroom.
We are united in support of academic freedom, tenure protections for professors, and governance shared between faculty and administration. We oppose politically-motivated attempts to harass or fire our professors.
We follow Jesus, who leads us to seek truth wherever it may be found – even if it contradicts our assumptions and beliefs, even if it might be revealed by people who do or say things that cause us discomfort. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, and that begins by listening to them. We believe that the answer to offensive speech is kind speech, not the suppression of speech.
Academic freedom and freedom of expression are inseparable from our religious freedom on campus. Our faith moves us to join our fellow students and our faculty in protecting the integrity of our colleges and universities from those who would turn them into right-wing echo chambers.