Wheaton College in Illinois said earlier this month that itâ??s initiating termination proceedings against Larycia Hawkins, the tenured associate professor of political science who wore a hijab during Advent and publicized her gesture in what she said was a message of solidarity with Muslims. The evangelical Protestant college said it objected to the way she described her action on her Facebook page, specifically Hawkinsâ??s assertion that Christians and Muslims worship the â??same God,â? and soon put Hawkins on leave to investigate the incident further. Wheaton eventually said it would move to fire her, as sheâ??d violated its Statement of Faith.
Such statements are par for the course at evangelical Christian colleges. By signing them, professors voluntarily commit to living out the ideals of the institution. But what exactly does that mean? Are professors bound to just whatâ??s on the page, or do such statements outline more implicit commitments? Are such statements compatible with academic freedom, and are they ever used as a veil for other agendas?
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