Can My Professor Teach me about Faith?

College Confidential Community
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<p>I am in the USA. I am taking a public college course. It is Physical Anthropology. A science course. My professor is a Doctor. He insists that to understand the origins of mankind, we need faith and belief. I told him I disagree, and inquired where in the scientific method was faith? He said faith is number one. Faith solves all answers and all questions about life and science.</p>

<p>Is this legal?</p>

<p>I asked this on Yahoo Answers and Reddit and everyone agree that faith is the key to science and the origins of mankind! But it is not! I have studied this before. I know the scientific method does not teach faith!</p>

<p>I would just drop the class, but it is the only class, and the only section of the class I can take for transfer to State University. If I do not finish this class, I will be waiting another year to get into Uni. I am almost 40, with a bunch of kids. I don’t want to wait around another year. In fact, I plan to have my BA by the end of next year.</p>

<p>What can I do? Can he drop me for not having faith? Is it legal to teach that faith is the key to science? I thought it was the opposite?</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

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<p>It may be an unconstitutional abridgment of your rights. The severity depends on the circumstances. If it happened once, in a short, private chat, and you will never be tested on the idea, then the remark was inappropriate, but not a big deal. If the professor is using a noticeable amount of class time to present this idea, that is more serious. It would be the most serious, and perhaps even grounds for termination, if any part of your grade depended on your agreement with, or even your understanding of, this stuff.</p>

<p>If it is possible to ignore these remarks, I suggest you do so. If you want to sign a complaint, do it after the semester, so there is no possibility the professor could punish you. An unsigned complaint with no evidence will probably be ignored.</p>

<p>If you think he will do it again, and it’s directed at the whole class, not just you, take some video on your phone. Sending it to the department chair should be enough to get the professor to stop.</p>

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<p>Do you really want to take the time and effort to go after this teacher? You are in school and you are a father of several children? It would seem to me that this time is better spent with those kids and your studies.</p>

<p>This is an anthropology class, so it also studies human adaptability and behavior in evolutionary context. The unique thing about humans is that they are self aware, and since the beginning of time, they have pondered this, their place in the world, how they got here and how it all happened. There are characteristics that humans have that make them different from other animal species. They have language, they love, they mourn, they hope and they have faith. None of these are easy to explain scientifically.</p>

<p>I don’t know what this professor said about faith, but he isn’t necessarily promoting a religion, and even if he did discuss religion in class, in the context of anthropology, it may not be a legal violation of your rights. Faith isn’t necessarily religion. </p>

<p>When you leave the house each day, you have faith you will return home to your kids, and they have faith you will too. Scientifically, this isn’t 100% certain. Still, probablity is on your side and you have faith that the odds are in your favor. When you became a father, you had faith that you would love your kids and they would love you. When you take a medication, even if it may not work 100% of the time, you have faith it will work for you. </p>

<p>There is faith in every discovery, because a discovery is new- something people don’t know existed. People once believed the earth was flat, but the early discoverers had faith they wouldn’t fall off the edge even though there was no proof. Jonas Salk took a leap of faith to develop the polio vaccine. He had the science background but no proof that he could do it. We sent a man to the moon on faith that the spaceship would make it. Yes it was built on scientific principals, but few things work 100% of the time. </p>

<p>You could also have faith in yourself that no matter what this teacher says or believes, it won’t change what you believe or your choice to not believe. You can do your work, pass, and go on to university, and spend the extra time with your kids, or use it to go after an anthropology teacher.</p>

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<p>If you honestly believe that he is judging you based on your faith or is convincing others that his religion is true, then you can contact the Freedom From Religion Foundation <a href=“http://ffrf.org/”>http://ffrf.org/&lt;/a&gt;. It is not okay for him to mix religion with science in a classroom setting.</p>

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<p>I completely agree that no teacher should be pushing his own brand of religion in any public classroom, and it is not appropriate for a science class. My examples were meant to help you distinguish between religion and characteristics of humans. There is a difference between a science class like physics and one like anthropology which also considers the evolution of human behavior. I’m not sure what this professor is saying from your post. </p>

<p>If this professor is preaching religion in a public classroom, then I don’t think he’d last very long in his job. Most professors should know better. If he really is pushing his personal religion, you have every right to report him. You would not be the only one. He absolutely can not require you to adhere to any religion in order to pass the class.</p>

<p>However, even if he is talking about religion, you have a dilemma. You’re a busy parent ( sorry if I assumed dad and you are a mom) and you are in a hurry to get your degree. If you take the time to go after this professor, then you could take longer to get it. </p>

<p>It is possible to disagree with a professor and still decide to pass the class if it is in your best interest to do so. If you are 40 years old, you probably have a good idea of what you believe and what you don’t, and have met others who feel differently without it having any influence on you. If you turn him in now, the class might be disrupted and not offered if someone else isn’t immediately available to teach it. You could also choose to turn him in later. </p>

<p>The choice is yours, but sometimes you just have to pick your battles. </p>