# Would this kind of religious persecution be allowed in college? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724 "2014-03-14T21:23:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/221 "2014-03-23T12:51:28Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Just point out the quote from Psalms 81 or 82 (depending on which version of the Bible one uses), and use the quote; “I said you are gods and sons of God”. also how Jesus backs this up in John 10. He could have wrote In parenthesis ( I don’t believe) God is dead. It would have been following the request and not denying his beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/222 "2014-03-23T15:22:26Z")
Would he even need the parentheses? Of course, I get the impression from the movie trailer that this is a situation for earnest and eager faith, not cleverness. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/223 "2014-03-24T06:09:36Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, cite me a religion that’s none of the above, and I’ll gladly use other criteria. My short answer is: Christianity. My longer answer: Well, oddly enough, for this I refer to Mohandas Gandhi (who also commnented “Western Civilization? That sounds like a good idea!”); he noted that European Christianity is the negation of the religion of Jesus. I’d be hard put to adduce anything he did or taught that was “irrational, harmful, or just plain stupid.” I know, of course, from long experience, that there are so many of you posting on this board who would strongly disagree with me; I’d have better luck trying to push a cat out from under a porch with a wet rope. I can only go so far. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/224 "2014-03-24T13:05:25Z")
Your opinion (or judgement, arguably) notwithstanding, I don’t see why I cannot or should not form my own judgments about Christianity, Gandhi, or anything else. As a side note, I personally see Gandhi as more of a political leader than a religious one, though the lines were extremely blurry and I admit my limited knowledge of the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/225 "2014-03-24T13:22:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Yeah, that was a bit long \<\_\< > > I think your view would be challenged much more so if the story gets bigger press, or if the situation was more well known. My view has been the law (Title VII of the CRA, as amended) since 1972. Pleny to time to challenge it, based on any number of cases. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > And I see it has happening already with the likes of Fox and its viewers self-segregating inside of an echo chamber. I think that in order to lessen that, we need to force expose people to other viewpoints, and forcing students to write something they might not necessarily believe is a good way of doing that. Yes, I leave the professor in charge because I believe they are more academically free than a dean or administration that I see as more cowed by outside pressures. There are enough professors and schools that I don’t find the student’s rights to be at all violated. We probably won’t ever agree on that. Good day to you! Nothing the student did prevented him from being exposed to other viewpoints. When human rights are at stake, outside pressure is a good thing. > [@Acsenray](#): > > This is actually offering less information that you might think. Percentages don’t translate well from one national system to another. For example, you might have countries in which 50-70 percent is sufficient to get you the highest ranking in the nation and if anyone claimed to have 90-100 percent, it would be laughed off as a joke. Very well, good to know. > [@monavis](#): > > He could have wrote In parenthesis ( I don’t believe) God is dead. It would have been following the request and not denying his beliefs. That would not be following the request, the professor was asking the students to affirm that they didn’t believe in god, so the professor could skip the religious parts of philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/226 "2014-03-24T13:30:39Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > That would not be following the request, the professor was asking the students to affirm that they didn’t believe in god, so the professor could skip the religious parts of philosophy. Well, it would be following the literal requirements of the request. If the prof wants to move the goalposts… ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/227 "2014-03-24T13:56:01Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, it would be following the literal requirements of the request. If the prof wants to move the goalposts… He specifically says to write three words: “God is dead”. Writing more than three would not be following the literal requirements of the request. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/228 "2014-03-24T14:05:18Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > He specifically says to write three words: “God is dead”. Writing more than three would not be following the literal requirements of the request. “Five is right out.” - _Book of Armaments_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/229 "2014-03-24T14:43:27Z")
So write three words, prefixed with Morse Code for “I do not believe that”. For that matter, write “God is -. — - dead.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/230 "2014-03-24T14:45:35Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So write three words, prefixed with Morse Code for “I do not believe that”. Because professors just _love_ it when students fuck around with direct instructions, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/231 "2014-03-24T14:53:06Z")
Some professors might applaud the lateral thought process involved. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/232 "2014-03-24T15:01:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Some professors might applaud the lateral thought process involved. Referring back to the professor from the link in the OP, how do you think _he_ would respond to gameplay like that? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/233 "2014-03-24T15:02:03Z")
If you’re not one of the 0.001% of college freshman in 2014 who knows Morse Code, how about you just say you have a religious objection? In the United States, that’s sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/234 "2014-03-24T15:09:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Referring back to the professor from the link in the OP, how do you think _he_ would respond to gameplay like that? Same as everything else - bitterly and from the wrong path. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/235 "2014-03-24T15:11:07Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > If you’re not one of the 0.001% of college freshman in 2014 who knows Morse Code, how about you just say you have a religious objection? In the United States, that’s sufficient. I reserve the right to respond to silly hypotheticals with mocking solutions. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/236 "2014-03-24T16:33:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I reserve the right to respond to silly hypotheticals with mocking solutions. Fair enough. I submit that reasonable accommodation is a better solution, but it’s of no use in mocking the silly hypothetical, I’ll grant you that. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/237 "2014-03-24T16:45:10Z")
Well, I look forward to the movie’s sequel, _GND 2: Josh Wheaton and the Reasonable Accommodation_. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/238 "2014-03-24T17:33:46Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I reserve the right to respond to silly hypotheticals with mocking solutions. Hypothetical or not, I found a practical use for Morse Code: My car was stuck in mud in a field (how I got there is another matter), and I used my car horn to signal an “SOS” to a passing police car for help. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/239 "2014-03-24T17:38:17Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Hypothetical or not, I found a practical use for Morse Code: My car was stuck in mud in a field (how I got there is another matter), and I used my car horn to signal an “SOS” to a passing police car for help. Just honking the horn repeatedly wouldn’t have attracted them?? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724/240 "2014-03-24T17:43:20Z")
Cops:car horns::moths:light bulbs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-kind-of-religious-persecution-be-allowed-in-college/683724.md?page=13)