Academic freedom at Brigham Young University
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Academic freedom at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
(BYU) has been the subject of several controversies, mostly focusing on its religious nature. In 1992, BYU issued a statement limiting
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
in certain areas, including language that attacked
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church), and language that violates the university's
honor code A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding honor that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by cer ...
. Since this statement was released, BYU has received continued accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which specifically approved of the statement, as it was typical of many religious institutions. In 1997, the
American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...
(with a membership of about 47,000) criticized BYU based on the wording of the new statement, as well as then-recent controversies involving several professors allegedly denied their academic rights. Cecilia Konchar Farr, David Knowlton, Gail T. Houston, were among the more notable controversies, although BYU has stated that these professors' discharge was based on issues other than academic speech. On another side of the issue, James D. Gordon III, one of the key administrators in the 1990s issues, has argued that there is institutional academic freedom, the ability of an academic institution to define its goals and objectives, and that a private institution like BYU should be fully free to pursue such.


Academic freedom issues


University standards

In a 1971 speech to a BYU faculty group,
Martin B. Hickman Martin B. Hickman (May 16, 1925 – October 14, 1991) was the first dean of Brigham Young University's (BYU) College of Family, Home and Social Sciences. Biography Hickman was born in Monticello, Utah. He graduated from Logan High School and beg ...
, then the dean of BYU's College of Social Sciences, argued that the decision to join the BYU faculty reflected an acceptance of the values of the university and thus anyone who joined the faculty with this proper mindset would not have any academic freedom issues while there. In 1992, BYU drafted a new Statement on Academic Freedom. After receiving comment from faculty and others, the document was implemented on September 14, 1992. This document specified that: "Because the gospel encompasses all truth and affirms the full range of human modes of knowing, the scope of integration for LDS scholars is, in principle, as wide as truth itself." However, citing BYU's role as a religious institution, the document allowed limitations to be placed upon "expression with students or in public that: # contradicts or opposes, rather than analyzes or discusses, fundamental Church doctrine or policy; # deliberately attacks or derides the Church or its general leaders; or # violates the Honor Code because the expression is dishonest, illegal, unchaste, profane, or unduly disrespectful of others. "...The ultimate responsibility to determine harm to the University mission or the church, however, remains vested in the University's governing bodies—including the University president and central administration and, finally, the board of Trustees." Also in 1992, BYU began including a clause in its faculty contracts requiring Latter-day Saint faculty to "accept the spiritual and temporal expectations of wholehearted Church membership". In 1993, contracts further required Latter-day Saint faculty to "maintain standards of conduct consistent with qualifying for temple privileges" (referring to entry into LDS Church temples, for which one must meet standards of activity and behavior in the LDS Church). In 1996, Latter-day Saint faculty were required, as a condition of employment, to obtain the yearly endorsement of their local ecclesiastical leaders certifying that the faculty were temple-worthy. BYU does not allow off-campus groups to use the campus for protests or demonstrations. On-campus groups and students must apply for a permit.


Northwest Association

In 1996, the Northwest Association of Schools and of Colleges and Universities (Northwest Association) reviewed BYU's academic freedom statement and renewed its accreditation. The Northwest Association specifically approved BYU's academic freedom statement. Such accreditation standards permit "religious colleges and universities to place limitations on academic freedom so long as they publish those limitations candidly."'' THE ISSUE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM: AN INTERVIEW WITH JIM GORDON'

/ref> In addition, the Northwest Association investigated "almost all" of the allegations that the AAUP had asserted regarding other individuals, concluding that the University had not violated academic freedom.


American Association of University Professors

BYU's academic freedom policies have been criticized by the
American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...
(AAUP). In 1997, they issued
report
documenting the cases of several professors, concluding "that infringements on academic freedom are distressingly common and that the climate for academic freedom is distressingly poor." The AAUP report also contained, as an appendix, a response authored by the BYU administration, which argued that BYU had the right to limit academic freedom in order to preserve the religious character of the school, a right implied by a 1940 AAUP statement and generally followed until 1970. In particular, BYU compared itself to Gonzaga University, a Jesuit institution which prohibited "open espousal of viewpoints which contradict explicit principles of Catholic faith and morals." BYU also stated that the academic freedom judgement process lacked transparency and objectivity. The AAUP's decision remained, however. In 1965, the AAUP had stated that "satisfactory conditions of academic freedom and tenure now prevail at Gonzaga." In 1970, the AAUP had adopted a statement of ''Interpretive Comments'' in which the AAUP had stated, "Most church-related institutions no longer need or desire the departure from the principle of academic freedom implied in the 1940 ''Statement'', and we do not endorse such a departure". In 1998, the AAUP voted to censure BYU, which remains on a list of censured institutions together with 46 other universities. The AAUP's refusal to accommodate religiously affiliated institutions of higher learning in connection with desires to protect religious traditions in line with its own 1940 statement - in contrast to that accommodation by the Northwest Association - has been criticized.


Case studies

Soon after adopting their statement on academic freedom in 1992, BYU took actions which some have viewed as related to the implementation of the new academic freedom policy. For example, in late 1992, BYU's board of trustees vetoed without comment a BYU proposal to invite
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner and
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
professor
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (born July 11, 1938) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian specializing in early America and the history of women, and a professor at Harvard University. Her approach to history has been described as a tribute to ...
, an active feminist, to address the annual BYU Women's Conference. Since that time
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (born July 11, 1938) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian specializing in early America and the history of women, and a professor at Harvard University. Her approach to history has been described as a tribute to ...
has been invited and spoken at BYU including as recently as 2017. In some cases since 1992, BYU has dismissed, denied continuing status, or censured faculty members who have taken critical positions relating to official LDS Church policy or leadership, as well as those who for personal reasons did not pay a tithe to the LDS Church. In 1993, BYU revoked the continuing status to Cecilia Konchar Farr, who had publicly advocated a pro-choice position on abortion. Farr was hired as an English instructor and some felt her positions of pro-choice were irrelevant to her assignment with the school. David Knowlton, who had discussed the church's missionary system at an independent Mormon forum, as well as making disparaging remarks about LDS architecture did not have his contract renewed. Officially, BYU spokespeople generally framed the actions in the cases of Farr, Knowlton, and Houston as relating to the quality of the professors' scholarship, and sometimes to unspecified misbehavior, rather than the controversial content of the affected professor's academic activities. In 1996, BYU dismissed Gail T. Houston, an English professor, despite positive votes from her English Department and the College Committee. One of the reasons for this action was her advocacy of prayer to Heavenly Mother. Also in 1996, professor Brian Evenson resigned in protest after receiving a warning from BYU administration over some violent images in one of his short stories. Nevertheless, some critics viewed these dismissals as a kind of purge. Some of the professors dismissed for academic reasons claim that their publishing credentials were stronger than many of their colleagues. In 2006, part-time faculty instructor
Jeffrey Nielsen Jeffrey Nielsen is founder of the Democracy House Project, and a published author. He is also a philosophy instructor at Westminster College, Salt Lake City; and Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah. He is perhaps best known for being both a suppo ...
's contract was not renewed after he wrote an op-ed piece in the June 4 ''
Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...
'' which criticized and opposed the LDS Church's stance on
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. Darron Smith, an African-American, taught a course called "The African American Experience" from 1996 to 2006, when his adjunct faculty contract was not renewed. According to Smith, his termination was a direct response to his criticism of how the LDS Church has treated black people. In 2011, BYU placed
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
professor
Steven E. Jones Steven Earl Jones (born March 25, 1949) is an American physicist. Among scientists, Jones became known for his research into muon-catalyzed fusion and geo-fusion. Jones is also known for his association with 9/11 conspiracy theories.Stephen E At ...
on paid leave in connection with an internal investigation that a paper he authored on the causes finding that the World Trade Center towers fell on 9/11 because of pre-set explosives might not have met "scientific standards of peer review" and his failure of "appropriately distancing himself" from the University in his statements regarding his explosive theory. Mr. Jones accepted early retirement while the investigation was in its early stages. In February 2012,
Randy L. Bott Randy L. Bott (born 1945) is a former American professor of religion at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, United States. He taught classes on Missionary (LDS Church), missionary preparation and the Doctrine and Covenants, and wrote doc ...
made controversial racial statements that appeared in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' where Bott pointed to a passage in Mormon scripture that suggested to him that Cain's descendants were marked with dark skin and were prohibited from holding the priesthood. These statements were censured or condemned by BYU Administrators and the LDS Church and the Professor retired from BYU shortly thereafter. In 2021, the
Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...
noted the tension between faith and scholarship (such as openly teaching
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
), and how the LDS Church now calls for a retrenchment which BYU professors fear.


References


External links


Current version
of BYU's statement on academic freedom {{DEFAULTSORT:Academic Freedom At Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Academic freedom Mormonism-related controversies