The University of California admissions policy denying the academic validity of some courses taken at a Christian high school is constitutional, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled this week. This decision upholds that of the U.S. District Court of Los Angeles in a case in which the Association of Christian Schools International argued that the policy discriminated against students who had taken biology, history, English, government, and world-religion courses at Calvary Chapel Christian School.
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12 Responses to Federal Court Rules for U. of California, Against Christian Schools’ Course Work
lslerner - January 14, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Good news! The University needs to be in charge of its own academic standards. And they ought not to be forced to accept for credit courses that teach that, in between the six-day swinks of creating the universe, Jesus took out the time to write the US Constitution.
11250382 - January 14, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Ignorance knows no bounds – I guess a terminal degree does not equal tolerance. That is not what Christian schools teach. Because they include religion does not mean they exclude secular issues.
msmith2010 - January 14, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Actually, I think that’s exactly what some of them teach (and other things). UC didn’t want to accept the courses and the courts agreed because the Christian School did not “treat the study of religion or ethics from the standpoint of scholarly inquiry, rather than in a manner limited to one denomination or viewpoint.” I think lslerner was just trying to be more humorous in pointing that out…
marvchron - January 14, 2010 at 11:59 pm
It is interesting how people can make comments about what is being taught at Christian schools when they themselves have never been near one. The curriculum at such schools is not limited to what one’s prejudices and preconceived notions dictate. Visit such a school before you make pronouncements about what is taught and the overall instructional climate. That would be a much sounder approach than making claims from one’s ignorance.
wigbold - January 15, 2010 at 9:13 am
Having been involved in Christian Schools in Canada and the Netherlands, both as student and in board positions, this decision does seem over the top. From the article it involves biology, history, English, government, and world-religion. With that many credits disallowed, this seems to effectively discriminate against this school. Here in Canada we’re used to stringent supervision of Christian schools, more frequently than public schools, including close review of exam questions. The government then OK’s the credits (or not!), and Universities typically follow suit. (Localized experience only)PS I am reacting here without full information, since I can’t see the details of Calvary Chapel’s curriculum on-line beyond the titles, and can’t find the 9th circuit ruling. If msmith2010 is right, I would still have an issue with disallowing the english, and potentially history and government credit. As I said, on the surface, the ruling seems over the top.
texastree - January 15, 2010 at 10:02 am
RTA (Read the Article). That’s you, #5. The blog post is incorrect, there is nothing in the ruling (clearly linked) regarding English, government, etc. courses.Only that a class teaching religion or ethics from just one viewpoint (whether’s it’s Richard Dawkins’ or L. Ron Hubbard’s viewpoint) would not be considered scholarly, and that it would therefore not count for admission the way a scholarly class would. Although this will probably lead to a small minority of Christians who gnash their teeth and whine that they’re persecuted, this ruling really protects them, because it clearly reiterates that to be scholarly, religion has to be treated as the multifaceted, complex subject it is. Frankly, I feel sorry for these kids who are never exposed to other religious viewpoints from a scholarly basis, alongside reiteration of what “we believe”. Besides not learning to play well with others, they have a really difficult time adapting to a truly multicultural school like UC where people have different answers. You can still have your “L. Ron on God” classes at a Scientology related school, just like you can have Bible study or Chapel, or whatever. It just doesn’t count for ethics / religion course credit the same way “Intro to World Religions” might.
franfac - January 15, 2010 at 11:50 am
Regarding what “Christian” schools teach…It seems to me that any Christian ethics, or ethics in general, disappear completely during athletic competitions. Fans, coaches, and players in “Christian” schools, in my observations, are among the ugliest in terms of sportmanship. So what happens to all that education? Does one from a “Christian” school apply the ethics supposedly acquired only under certain, rare instances?
channch - January 15, 2010 at 2:12 pm
marvchron, what’s really interesting is that people (read you) make assumptions regarding the personal experience of other posters (read complete strangers) with christian schools. I for one spent my entire elementary and high school education in a christian school and am in complete agreement with the court’s ruling. While the courses taught are by and large held to a rigorous academic standard, the religion courses of some christian schools (and I say some because I can not make assumptions about all christian schools based on my sole experience) are taught from a narrow perspective that are largely inconsistent with the academic standards held by insitutions of higher education. The religion courses that I took there taught me, for instance, that we would all be persecuted at the end of times and that at the beginning of time it was “adam and eve, not adam and steve.” Certainly this is not the type of preparation for entering higher education, in the form of academic credit, that these institutions should be legally forced to accept. If these decisions were being made as a sweeping denial of any student from the christian school, the case would have merit. However, it is crucial that the admissions process include the evaluation of a student’s academic record on a course-by-course basis, as is the case in this ruling.
cu_alum - January 15, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Several commenters have misunderstood the issue. UC is denying credit only for particular courses at one particular school. And it is doing so because the courses are deficient, not because the school is Christian. Commenters have correctly noted that Christian high schools often deliver superb educations. No one is denying that. But some short-change their students, just as do some non-Christian high schools. The fact that this particular school is Christian does not immunize it from scrutiny of its academic offerings. That is what the court case was about.
missoularedhead - January 15, 2010 at 11:28 pm
I have seen some of the textbooks used at Calvary Chapel school, and the information contained within is not only biased, but factually incorrect. I’m all for religious tolerance, but the texts used are so egregiously biased as to be detrimental to the students who are taught their contents and then come to a UC. Oh, and just for perfect clarity, I know one of faculty members who was part of the decision to disallow these books. He is certainly not some atheist liberal out to ruin Christianity, and the decision was made, as most of his decisions are, with careful consideration and due deliberation.
amnirov - January 17, 2010 at 9:35 am
Religious schools should not exist. There’s no greater source of human misery than religion. They should all be banned.
wigbold - January 18, 2010 at 9:59 am
Thanks texastree. I only had the shorter free article, not the subscription one. Usually that is obvious, but it was not here. Sorry.