Academic Bias

Millau Viaduct, France (A little scary?)

From the Albert Mohler program today:

http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2007-05-08

The Institute for Jewish and Community Research recently conducted a poll of American college professors, asking them to rate their feelings toward specific religious groups. The report points to one glaring fact -- a majority of the polled faculty members said they held "unfavorable" views of American evangelicals. Professor Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors, joins us on today's program to assess the significance of the study.

Albert Mohler states that Evangelical Christians and Mormons are the two most unpopular religious groups among professors...surprise, surprise. As soon as I heard that Evangelicals were first, I figured Mormons would be next. Evangelical Christians received a 53% unfavorable rating. Personally, I am both conservative and evangelical, but prefer to describe myself as conservative since it explains my basic theological understanding without the cultural baggage. I basically had to quit my first PhD appointment in England because I was told that I would need to change my Christian views to secular if I wished to pass. I was informed by my temporary advisor, a well-known philosopher of religion that I have quoted on thekingpin68 and in my dissertations, that I would not pass if I insisted on believing that God created the world even though the problem of evil existed. This man is an encyclopedia of knowledge but of questionable morality. When I wanted to transfer my appointment to an affiliated Christian college and receive the same degree from the University, this professor told the review board that he had never made any such comments and that I knew I could not do the work and therefore wanted to quit. Well, what garbage reasoning is that from an educated man? If I knew I could not do the work, why did I seek a transfer to a Christian college where I would have to do the same amount of work to earn the same degree from the same University? I would have loved to have gone public with this blatant mistreatment, but I needed to find another place to continue my education and have been affiliated with Wales for most of the time since.

Somehow miraculously I have managed to complete a 180 page MPhil dissertation,with no revisions after marking, and the theoretical portion of a PhD, even though I know I cannot do the work.

Seriously, I thank God for all his help.