Table of Contents
Missouri State Violates Freedom of Conscience
Last week ݮƵAPP asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “take action against political litmus tests in America’s schools of social work.” HHS requires its social workers to have degrees from schools accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, which requires its schools to “integrate social and economic justice content grounded in an understanding of distributive justice, human and civil rights, and the global interconnections of oppression.”
At Phi Beta Cons, David French, former ݮƵAPP president and current Director of the Alliance Defense Fund’s Center for Academic Freedom, of the threat posed to freedom of conscience by such ideological litmus tests. Emily Brooker, a Christian student at Missouri State University (MSU), was required by her professor to send a signed letter to the Missouri state legislature supporting homosexual foster parenting and adoption. As French writes,
No public official — not even the President of the United States — can require an American to publicly advocate for policies they find objectionable. The right not to speak is one of our most basic and morally vital civil rights.
According to French, Emily refused to complete the assignment and the professor relented. However, shortly thereafter she was accused of violating MSU’s “Standards of Essential Functioning” and subjected to a lengthy interrogation where she was verbally attacked by faculty members. The Alliance Defense Fund is currently filing suit against MSU.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
‘I hate freedom of opinion’ meme leads to sentencing in German court
A meme lands a German editor in court, a U.S. academic faces trial in Thailand, and censorship crackdowns rage from Nigeria to Hong Kong.
Revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status will threaten all nonprofits
Targeting Harvard’s tax-exempt status for its views isn’t just political payback — it’s a threat to every nonprofit’s right to dissent.
Grandpa’s advice for the new wave of American censors
When Iowa officials try to silence citizens for asking tough questions, it's not just bad policy — it’s an insult to an entire generation of WWII vets and the freedoms they fought to defend.
ݮƵAPP POLL: Only 1/4 of Americans support deporting foreigners for pro-Palestinian views
The latest National Speech Index also finds that the number expressing “little” or “no” confidence Donald Trump will protect First Amendment rights has risen 10 points since his inauguration.