tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200695884821043678.post659860641678492356..comments2023-05-09T06:29:08.695-04:00Comments on ThatsNotHistory: notstatisticsthatsnothistoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110917693817717046noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200695884821043678.post-64301947224358044922012-01-26T19:38:56.150-05:002012-01-26T19:38:56.150-05:00That gave me serious flashbacks! I remember when ...That gave me serious flashbacks! I remember when there was talk of an "academic freedom" bill in my state, defined as the freedom of conservative students to get any professor they didn't like fired. The discussion in the department meeting came down to, 'no one is going to tell you how to teach your class, but be aware that you may be being watched.' Very creepy.<br /><br />I agree that this is a very similar issue, but not quite identical. Political attitudes are, in some ways, more specific than religious ones. You wouldn't expect most science courses to challenge political views in the same ways that they do religious ones. Studying political history doesn't challenge the truth of your convictions on contemporary politics, but learning about the mutability of religious beliefs and practices over time does challenge the notion of an unchanging, universal, spiritual truth. Issues of what is good or moral crop up all over the curriculum, far more so than political relevance. <br /><br />So maybe he's right. But then, maybe he's not. The studies you cite are a good indication of whether a college education has a direct impact on religious faith, and based on those studies he's probably wrong. Which is why, if he's going to make the argument he does, he needs direct evidence on that exact subject, and I want to see it.thatsnothistoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06110917693817717046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7200695884821043678.post-51747456839082365222012-01-25T22:53:56.700-05:002012-01-25T22:53:56.700-05:00Here's evidence: a thorough study of changing ...Here's evidence: a thorough study of changing student attitudes in college and professorial influence that shows.... <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/11/students-academics-leftwing-politics" rel="nofollow">nothing</a>. If anything, they move away from us.Jonathan Dresnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356112719229675996noreply@blogger.com