They can be seen gathered at the lounges in front of the Price Center ballrooms, talking intently, Bibles opened on their laps, or at Library Walk encouraging passersby to sign up and join their groups. It seems like you can find them everywhere. The presence of religious organizations on campus is undeniable. But the relationship between universities and religion is growing increasingly contentious.
This conflict has surfaced between the University of California and the Association of Christian Schools International. The ACSI, along with six students from the Calvary Chapel School in Murrieta, Calif., filed a lawsuit alleging that UC admissions policy discriminates against students from high schools that teach traditional Christian viewpoints by not accepting classes offered by the schools.
The University of California determined that certain courses from Calvary Chapel School did not meet the system’s college preparatory “a-g” requirements, which were meant to ensure that students applying will be prepared for UC-level courses.
“What we are trying to do is make sure that the UC is following constitutional requirement[s] by looking at preparedness of students when evaluating courses,” said Jonathan McCants, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. “The UC should not look at which perspective a course agrees with but how well they prepare a student.”
By rejecting the courses, the plaintiffs argue that the University of California is discriminating against a single religious perspective. The ACSI represents 800 religious schools in California and 4,000 schools nationally.
“The most important part of the lawsuit is that the UC is singling out one viewpoint and that’s the Christian viewpoint,” McCants said. “Other viewpoints have gotten approved, but one perspective was singled out to be noneligible.”
According to a statement released by the UC Office of the President, the rejected courses included primary texts that did not meet the UC guidelines. The Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, a committee within the UC Faculty Senate, establishes the policies in the admissions process, including course requirements for eligibility.
“The question the University must confront in reviewing these texts is not whether they have religious content, but whether they provide a comprehensive view of the relevant subject matter, reflecting knowledge generally accepted in the scientific and educational communities and with which a student at the university level should be conversant,” a UCOP press release stated.
The lawsuit alleges that B.O.A.R.S. implemented a policy that would not accept certain biology and physics textbooks because of the way the texts approached topics such as evolution and creationism.
UCOP maintains that the books in question were rejected not because of the religious content but because the texts did not meet the university’s standards for effectively teaching the subject matter.
“In the books in question, the publishers themselves acknowledge that the primary goal is to teach religious doctrine rather than the scholarship that is generally accepted in the relevant field,” according to the UCOP statement.
Students who do not meet the requirements do have other options, including taking a class at a community college, taking standardized tests or becoming eligible for admission by exception.
According to UCOP, 43 courses covering all disciplines, including science classes at Calvary Chapel, have been approved in the past for the a-g requirements.
However, McCants said that the university’s recent dismissal of certain courses limits schools to offer certain classes that students might be interested in.
“Students would have to forgo opportunities to take courses that they would like to take,” McCants said. “Schools won’t have the ability to teach courses they want to teach and that includes the perspective they want to teach.”
The recent conflict between the University of California and the ACSI once again raises questions about the role of religion in schools. Notre Dame University history professor George Marsden says that the issue is a complicated one — but it wasn’t always that way. Marsden’s book, “The Soul of American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief,” tracks how the relationship between universities and religion has soured over the years.
Historically, most universities were founded based on the beliefs of traditional Christian views. Marsden said that in the 19th century, most universities had clergy as professors, including state schools.
“UC Berkeley was a Presbyterian school,” Marsden said. “It was later given to the state but it retained the same faculty and even the same religious observances.”
According to Marsden, the changes are due to a shift toward a more pluralistic society.
“This trend forces universities toward the secular direction,” Marsden said. “But the university is a good place where all sorts of issues and philosophies can be discussed.”
The lawsuit also touches upon the influence of religion in scientific thought. It claims that the university is more concerned about the fact that the courses presented Darwinian evolution and then “gave scientific reasons why Darwinian evolution may be false” and why Biblical teaching is more accurate.
When it comes to such a debate, some suggest that both the concepts of creationism and evolution should be given a chance in the vast academic arena of a public university.
Randy Giusta, area director of Young Life, a religious organization that pairs college students and high school students for a mentoring program, acknowledges the immense sea of debate on the issue of separating religion in a public university. But he believes there is room for more options for young students who deserve the chance to develop their own opinion on the topic.
However, Guista recognizes that teaching theories of evolution to high school students is different compared to a university setting.
“In high school, the issue is more sensitive,” Guista said. “In college, students are typically adults.”
Eleanor Roosevelt College senior Praise Lee, a member of the Korea Campus Crusade for Christ, said that there are times when her religious beliefs clash with professors and the things discussed in class.
“It’s hard, especially in the classroom, especially when religious topics come up and especially when professors talk about something I don’t believe,” Lee said. “It gets me frustrated.”
Lee also said that the university should be more open to religion and not limit students on classes.
“I don’t think that [students in Christian schools] should be limited,” Lee said. “And not just for Christian classes, for any type religion, students should not be limited just because [religion] doesn’t fit.”
