Catholicism, Homosexuality, Hate Speech, and Incompetence
The Nation
13 July, 2010
http://www.thenation.com/blog/37384/catholicism-homosexuality-hate-speech-and-incompetence (http://www.thenation.com/blog/37384/catholicism-homosexuality-hate-speech-and-incompetence)
Kenneth Howell, an adjunct professor of religion at the University of Illinois, has been let go after sending his students an email about Catholic moral theories of homosexuality that one student described as "hate speech."
Debate on the firing has proceeded along two lines of dispute — firstly whether Howell's perceived bigotry places him outside the protections of academic freedom, and secondly whether the concept of academic freedom can even be properly applied to an adjunct faculty member with a semester-by-semester contract.