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Adjunct Prof of Catholic Thought Fired Over E-Mail On Homosexuality and Natural Law

By Howard M. Friedman

Fox News reported Friday that the University of Illinois, Champaign, has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Introduction to Catholicism and Modern Catholic Thought because of an e-mail he sent to a student explaining the Catholic position on homosexuality. The professor, Ken Howell, who also then lost his job at an on-campus Catholic center, was not renewed at the end of Spring Semester after a student complained that an e-mail Howell sent to his students preparing for exams amounted to hate speech. Howell wrote: "Natural Moral Law says that Morality must be a response to REALITY. In other words, sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same." Howell has taught at the University for nine years. He says he makes it clear to his students that he believes the Church views he teaches, but that students will not be graded on the basis of whether they believe them. The University said that Howell's e-mail violates the University's standards of inclusivity.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on July 12, 2010 (boomark / email).