To the Editor:
David Sheffield's '11 column "God and Man at Brown" (Sept. 21) attempts to convince us that religion has no place in academia and prohibits proper learning by adhering to fallacious beliefs in such things as creationism.
Unfortunately, where Sheffield goes wrong is in his critique of the dogmatism that many religious institutions strictly adhere to, whilst squelching not only creative elements of learning but also fundamentally logical and reasonable scientific theories. It seems that Sheffield's own dogmatism, and perhaps the dogmatism of many of Brown's more liberal policies, could be equally "religious" in nature.
I could argue that the Open Curriculum allows certain people at Brown to ignore many scientific and foundational portions of academia. In this sense, our own tolerance of academic liberty may also cause ignorance.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. We believe in academic freedom and choice; in many respects, this frees us to pursue our passions and makes taking science classes or English courses more meaningful. I think Sheffield should allow the folks at Liberty (who willingly attend and teach at a conservative Christian institution) to do the same — pursue their passions and explore what they find most meaningful, their relationship with God.
Christopher Unseth '11.5
Sept. 24
