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Professor threatened to fail student for citing Bible in presentation, attorneys allege

A University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County student has demanded an apology from her professor, alleging the scholar threatened to fail her and her two peers for citing the Bible in a presentation on the impetus for crime.

Student Rachel Langeberg is represented by Liberty Counsel, whose attorneys in a June 23 demand letter to the university claimed Professor Annette Kuhlmann is guilty of “viewpoint discrimination and open hostility toward religion.”

Langeberg had attempted to cite the Bible in a presentation on what compels people to commit arson for her “Crime and Criminal Justice” class during the spring, the letter states.

She had aimed to contrast “competing worldview explanations for the causes of the crime of arson: various sociological explanations favored by [Kuhlmann], such as environmental causes (like the availability of matches), and Biblical explanations, such as the internal ‘bent’ to do wrong present in every human heart, otherwise known as the ‘sin nature,'” it added.

The demand letter states the professor’s written response to that was as follows:

Starting with slide #9 you use religion and the bible [sic] as a source. While I can personally appreciate and respect your religious life we are living in a society that separates church and state; the University of Wisconsin is a secular institution. Religious contemplations and the bible belong to a different realm and not academic sources. So your argumentation along Christian lines, including the slides you designed in relation to it, are inappropriate for this presentation. I will not allow you to present unless you change this. You will also fail your presentation if your discuss religion in connection with it.

The letter explains that, in the end, Langeberg removed the Bible references so as to not have her classmates fail the project. Nevertheless, the student still demands recompense, as her attorneys say the professor “crossed the line from scholarship to censorship.”

Said Liberty Counsel Attorney Richard Mast in a press release: “On numerous occasions, the Supreme Court has upheld students’ First Amendment rights in the public schools. The Constitution does not ‘require complete separation of church and state; it affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance, of all religions, and forbids hostility toward any.’ Lynch v. Donnelly. Moreover, ‘teachers must be sensitive to students’ personal beliefs and take care not to abuse their positions of authority.’ Farnan v. Capistrano.

“Students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they sign up for classes at the University of Wisconsin,” Mast added. “It is blatantly unconstitutional to restrict student religious speech or threaten a failing grade for religious content, where the speech or content is otherwise academically appropriate for the assignment.”

Liberty Counsel is demanding a written apology from Kuhlmann to “Langeberg’s team for censoring their presentation based on her perception of and hostility toward religion,” as well as a note to the entire class that the scholar had “made a mistake in the law.”

In a statement to The Blaze, University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County dean Dr. Tracy White said:

“We have reviewed the matter, and we appreciate the dialogue that has involved the student, her family and the professor. We are not in a position to discuss the matter further, out of our need to respect the student’s privacy, in accordance with federal law. Our campus and classrooms are and always have been inclusive places that respect diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and the need to maintain the highest academic standards.”

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About the Author
Fix Editor
Jennifer Kabbany is editor-in-chief of The College Fix.