freedom of speech on campus Archives

January 19, 2022January 19, 2022

Censorship on American College Campuses

We have conducted seminars on university and college campuses since 1968. But, unfortunately, in recent years, we have experienced and seen in the media increased censorship on American college campuses.

In 1968, we could go onto virtually any university campus, rent an auditorium or classroom, and give a presentation of evidence for the existence of God. We could prepare and distribute posters on the campus and advertise in the student newspaper. Workers could pass out brochures and invite students and faculty to attend.

Our sessions always included a question/answer session. We did this on hundreds of university campuses, including major state and private schools like Stanford, Princeton, University of California, Virginia Tech, University of Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State. These sessions were associated with a local Church of Christ or campus group and brought in a sizeable audience.

In the past ten years, we have seen a militant attempt by these schools and others to stop presentations like ours. An organization called the “Foundation for Individual Rights In Education” (FIRE) has released a report about the state of free speech on college campuses that is very critical of American education. They evaluated 481 colleges and universities on a scale with 100 meaning a totally free-speech campus. The colleges studied were all under 73 on that scale. That says a lot about censorship on American college campuses.

One of the highest-ranking schools was Texas A & M. President Michael Young of A & M said, “A free exchange of ideas is not only the cornerstone of our democracy, it is the surest path to truth, discovery, and scholarly advancement.” How can a young person grow and expand their understandings of others if the university only promotes what The Atlantic magazine calls a “New Puritanism.”

The Dallas Morning News” summarized this situation by saying, “…we should prepare our students to enter a world where they are unafraid to consider and discuss ideas from many perspectives. That is simply not the case on too many college campuses, where an orthodoxy of thought, usually but not exclusively progressive, has led students to silence themselves, each other, and their professors and administrators.”

Jesus Christ challenged his listeners with questions. See, for example, Matthew 17:25, 18:12, 21:28, and 22:42. Censorship on American college campuses does not allow the free exchange of ideas, especially when someone tries to present a Christian view.

References: FIRE website and South Bend Tribune, 12/22/21, page 5A.

November 29, 2020November 28, 2020

Supreme Court Will Hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s Case

This year, one issue not getting media attention is whether college officials can censor public speeches that promote religious issues on campus. In many cases, students promoting Christian values or Christianity as a life choice have been punished or expelled for doing so. Most of the cases have been settled out of court, but the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s case.

Uzuegbunam is a young man who was talking about his faith in Christ at Gwinnett College in Georgia. College officials stopped him and disciplined him for his words. The college maintains that the constitution does not protect speech sharing religious beliefs, and Chike Uzuegbunam filed a lawsuit against the school.

This denial of free speech is becoming increasingly common across the United States and many countries in Europe. The position of many colleges is, “If I don’t like what you are saying, I have the right to shut you down.” At Georgetown University, a club called Love Saxa, which promotes Christian views of sexual conduct, was eventually driven off the campus. In Finland, a lady who opposed Church participation in a Gay Pride event is being threatened with two years in prison for promoting what the government sees as “ethnic agitation.”

Uzuegbunam’s case will bring before the Supreme Court the question of whether universities can ignore the First Amendment and shut down religious speech on campus. This subject has enormous implications for the whole country. Does the government or universities have the power to stop religious proclamations in public?

In her 1903 book The Friends of Voltaire, Evelyn Beatrice Hall described Voltaire’s attitude toward a book he disliked in this way: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” That has become a mantra of freedom of speech, but that viewpoint is being challenged today. For Christians trying to follow the example and command to preach the gospel, this discussion is critical.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chike Uzuegbunam’s case, and you can learn more about it HERE.

June 2, 2018June 30, 2018

Freedom of Speech on Campus

We object to the loss of liberty in other parts of the world, but we have our own battles taking place on American soil. Freedom of speech on campus is one area of concern.

Georgetown University is the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. In the fall of 2017, a pro-family student organization named Love Saxa was attacked by LGBT students for promoting pro-family values in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The university investigated the challenges to Love Saxa and found them groundless, but took the student money intended for Love Saxa and gave it to LGBT organizations on campus.

Members of a student group called Young Americans for Liberty were arrested for passing out copies of the United States Constitution to students on the sidewalk at Kellogg Community College in Michigan. This seems hard to believe since the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedom of assembly. Only after the YAL won a legal suit did the college administration allow the freedoms that the Constitution guarantees.

Administrations of colleges and universities have been restricting freedom of speech on campus, but mostly when it relates to religious or conservative views. Tomorrow’s leaders are being trained to accept only the views of their liberal colleges. The persecution of religion in America today flies in the face of the constitution, and we are reading of case after case where Christian churches and organizations are facing persecution in this country on a daily basis.

The greatest single way to fight this persecution is by making people aware of what is happening. Most Americans, if they know what is going on, will stand against government control and restriction of free speech, including freedom of religious groups.
–John N. Clayton © 2018