The 1911 modernism controversy at Brigham Young University was an episode involving four professors 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), who between 1908 and 1911 widely taught

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

higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

of the Bible, arguing that modern scientific thought was compatible with

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Mormon theology Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to vari ...

. The professors were popular among students and the community but their teachings concerned administrators, and drew complaints from

stake presidents A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

, eventually resulting in the resignation of all four faculty members, an event that "leveled a serious blow to the academic reputation of Brigham Young University—one from which the Mormon school did not fully recover until successive presidential administrations."

History

In 1907, BYU president George H. Brimhall began hiring a new group of faculty to increase the academic reputation of his school. Joseph Peterson was hired to teach psychology, and his brother Henry Peterson hired as the director of the College of Education. Joseph Peterson was the first Ph.D on the faculty of BYU. In 1908 and 1909 Brimhall hired

Ralph Vary Chamberlin Ralph Vary Chamberlin (January 3, 1879October 31, 1967) was an American biologist, ethnographer, and historian from Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a faculty member of the University of Utah for over 25 years, where he helped establish the School of ...

and his brother

William Henry Chamberlin William Henry Chamberlin (February 17, 1897 – September 12, 1969) was an American historian and journalist. He was the author of several books about the Cold War, communism, and foreign policy, including ''The Russian Revolution 1917-1921'' (19 ...

, to teach biology and philosophy, respectively. The Chamberlin and Peterson brothers, while devout Mormons, actively sought to increase the intellectual atmosphere of the university and community, facilitating discussion and debates on evolution and the Bible, and sought to convey that evolutionary ideas and Mormon theology were not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary. Horace H. Cummings, the superintendent of the church schools, felt especially that teaching religion from non-Mormon sources and teaching evolution was contrary to Latter-day Saint teachings. The four instructors' courses were popular among students and other faculty, but university and church officials accused the professors of promoting heretical views, and in 1911 offered the Petersons and Ralph Chamberlin a choice: alter their teachings or lose their jobs.Bowen, Craig H. (1995). ''cademic Freedom and the Utah Controversies of 1911 and 1915.'' Unpublished Master's thesis, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Privately, Joseph B. Keeler told Ralph Chamberlin he could stay, but he refused, as the Petersons weren't given the same offer. This ignited a great deal of controversy in the school and surrounding community. The students of BYU overwhelmingly supported the professors, and a petition of support signed by at least 80% of the student body was submitted to BYU officials and reprinted in 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 ...

'', Salt Lake City's largest secular newspaper. Unwilling to change their teachings, the Petersons and Ralph Chamberlin left the university in 1911, while William remained for another 5 years, resigning in 1916. The loss of the faculty represented an intellectual loss to the university, and a stifling effect on students as well as faculty.

Milton Bennion Milton Bennion (June 7, 1870 – April 5, 1953) was an American educator and a university and educational administrator. Biography Bennion was born in Taylorsville, Utah Territory. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Utah in 1897 an ...

, writing in March 1911, called the conflict the most significant event in Utah's recent educational history.

Ann Weaver Hart Ann Weaver Hart (born 1948) is the 21st, first female chief executive and former president of the University of Arizona. She is the first woman to hold the position, which she assumed on November 30, 2012. Previously, Hart was the ninth presiden ...

wrote that the 1911 BYU controversy made Utah comparatively less emotional and reactionary than other parts of the country during the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. At the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in Salt Lake City a similar controversy — what some at the time described as 'a tempest in a teapot' — erupted four years later in February 1915. There, the dismissals of two professors and two instructors by President Joseph T. Kingsbury — and the subsequent resignations of 14 faculty members in protest — launched 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 ...

' first institutional academic freedom inquest, spearheaded by AAUP founders

Arthur O. Lovejoy Arthur Oncken Lovejoy (October 10, 1873 – December 30, 1962) was an American philosophy, philosopher and intellectual history, intellectual historian, who founded the discipline known as the history of ideas with his book ''The Great Chain ...

and

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

. The 1911 BYU controversy — involving some of the same professors, including the Peterson brothers and the Chamberlins — led in part to the University of Utah debacle. As a result of these intertwined academic storms, the AAUP published the document now known as the 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure. Appearing in the inaugural December 1915 volume of the ''Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors'', this became the AAUP's foundational statement on the rights and corresponding obligations of members of the academic profession.

History

See also

References

Further reading