Public University Professors Don’t Have the Right to Evangelize, Judge Rules

JACOB GERSHMAN blogs.wsj.com Public university professors don’t have a First Amendment right to preach their faith to their students, a federal judge has ruled. The case involved a lawsuit brought by Thomas Payne, an associate professor in the criminal justice department of the University of Southern Mississippi, who claimed the school retaliated against him for engaging in religious speech. Mr. Payne said he was denied a promotion, received negative performance evaluations and told his contract would not be renewed after a graduate student of Hindu background complained about the evangelical tone of his instruction. He supposedly told the student that “anyone who is not a Christian is going to hell” and asked students to “pray about certain issues” brought up in class, according to court papers. Mr. Payne didn’t dispute the comments attributed to him, but told the court he was punished for expressing his Christian faith. to read more: blogs.wsj.com