Wheaton College, a leading evangelical institution, finds itself in the headlines this week after placing a professor on leave. The professor, Larycia Hawkins, wore an Islamic hijab (female head-scarf) and articulated sympathy for Islam as a religion on her Facebook page. Wheaton drew strong feedback when Hawkins’s actions and views became public, and the college referenced its statement of faith in placing Hawkins on leave.
I was puzzled by several responses, including this one from Jonathan Merritt, which seems to argue that Wheaton’s action means it isn’t fulfilling its academic mission as the “Harvard of evangelicalism.” I confess this confuses me, because Wheaton is an evangelical school. It is not Islamic. It has an evangelical statement of faith. It’s a very good statement, I must say. Here’s how it starts out:
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