Should a professor of, say, economics, openly profess his Catholicism in the classroom? Most of us probably would say no. But what about a philosophy professor? Does it depend on which class he's teaching?FIRE is advocating for a professor at Lakeland Community College, a public school near Cleveland, who has had his courses reduced, has had another faculty member monitor his teaching, and been told by his dean that he "would be happier in a sectarian classroom." Putting a disclaimer about his religious beliefs on his syllabus did not help -- in fact, it made matters worse. Here's a copy of the letter FIRE sent to the school; so far there has been no response.

I know I have some local readers with experience in this and I do not. I recall my wife taking a course on the New Testament here from a Lutheran pastor, who took great pains to keep the discussion away from doctrine. Instead, at Lakeland the professor was open about his religion not in a class on the Bible but an intro to philosophy course. FIRE is citing Rosenberger as the law here.