The College Fix

‘They don’t want it taught from a Christian perspective’

An outspoken Christian professor at Arizona State University who has taught an “Introduction to Christianity” class on and off for 24 years said his class was essentially canceled recently.

As part of an overall general education review underway at the public university, Professor Owen Anderson’s longtime course on the Christian religion had its general education designation revoked because of objections some peers had over how he teaches the topic.

If a class does not have a general education designation, most students won’t enroll and his college will be hesitant to offer it because it won’t attract many students, Anderson told The College Fix in a recent telephone interview.

At issue is the way Anderson teaches the course, he said: “They don’t want it taught from a Christian perspective.”

Arizona State University’s media relations department has not responded to two emailed requests over the last week from The College Fix seeking comment on this issue.

Anderson is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against ASU earlier this year alleging that its mandatory DEI trainings violate state law. He told The Fix he believes that influenced his peers to reject his Christianity course for GE approval.

Anderson said he had planned to offer it next spring.

He provided The College Fix with a copy of a Sept. 12 memo from Professor Richard Amesbury, director of ASU’s School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, who states Anderson’s course will only be reconsidered for a GE designation if the syllabus is modified.

Anderson also provided The Fix with a memo that spelled out concerns with his syllabus written by Julia Sarreal, associate professor in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.

“The syllabus reflects a Christian way of teaching Christianity, which is to say the course does not adequately provide the kinds of critical, reflective, disciplinary skills that students need to have in order to study religious traditions,” her memo states.

“Furthermore, the focus on ‘Western Civilization’ is problematic. It is true that Christianity has been ‘influential’ in European history, it has also been deeply influential elsewhere in ways that are completely ignored in the syllabus,” she added.

Sarreal also took issue with how Anderson teaches about the Old Testament, saying Anderson inadequately distinguishes between Christian and Jewish understandings of those texts.

Anderson has provided a substantial rebuttal to the concerns and said he will not make changes in violation of his academic freedom.

“Is there any other instructor under such scrutiny,” he said. “What if there was a LGBTQ instructor teaching a gender and religion course? Do they get asked: ‘Is your sexual philosophy shaping how you teach the class?’”

What’s more, usually the religious studies department prefers when a scholar is of the belief system they’re teaching about, such as a Muslim teaching a course on Islam, because it provides the students with inside and unique insights, he said.

Christian scholars and anyone who cares about academic freedom, I need your help. Please help me share widely to expose what is going on at ASU. @HdxAcademy @CollegeFix @prageru @megbasham @ConceptualJames pic.twitter.com/yDPIqyYl5i

— Dr Owen Anderson (@dr_owenanderson) September 6, 2024

At the end of the day, Anderson said, he’s not asking students to come to the front of the class to accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, and he will not cower to the discrimination he alleges he faces.

“How many times do I lose my academic freedom,” he said. “This is only directed one way — toward Christians and Christianity.”

“Students are in the same situation,” he added, “and I want them to know it’s OK to say something. You don’t have to be steamrolled.”

MORE: Conservative professor sues ASU over its mandatory DEI training

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