When Damon Linker taught political philosophy at Brigham Young University, his contract required that he, one of few non-Mormons at a college run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "abide by the university's strict honor code, which mandated that I shave my beard, refrain from uttering curse words, and forswear alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea for the entire duration of my employment."
Yet strangely enough, he discovered that within a system of strict behavioral requirements, academic freedom flourished. "I was perfectly free to teach whatever I wanted in the classroom. And I did," including the radical writings of everyone from Machiavelli to Rousseau to Nietzche and his suggestion that "God is dead." When a singular complaint arose about a scandalous scene in Aristophanes' The Clouds, the department chair let Linker know "that I had his support. There was no reprimand" -- nor demand for trigger warnings or syllabus alterations.
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