After receiving complaints from students in instructor Bradley Lopez's Health Science 1 class, the American Civil Liberties Union mailed one of its own to Fresno City College where Lopez teaches. In it, they point out that Lopez is using his class to promote his personal religious views as scientific facts. While that would not be illegal in a private school, in a publicly-funded college like FCC, it's a violation of both the California Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. They cite the following as recent examples of the overtly religious and anti-LGBT teachings that Mr. Lopez presents as"science" and "fact": - Repeatedly referenced the Bible and used it as a teaching tool, for example assigning as homework a question as to Jesus’ genetic makeup.
- Shown a slide listing “homosexual facts,” including that homosexuality is a “biological misapplication of human sexuality” and said that the “recommended treatment” is “psychological counseling” or “hormone supplements.”
- Presented LGBT people as a burden on and/or threat to society, claiming, for example, that anything but a heterosexual union provides a “one-sided foundation for raising children.”
- Presented abortion as the killing of human beings, characterizing abortion - as "the leading cause of death in the United States" (because there are a million abortions a year).
- Quoted Psalm 139:13-16 of the Bible and described it as "empirical" evidence that human life begins at conception (in support of the claim that abortion is murder).
- Followed a slide on climate change in a presentation on “environmental health” with a slide containing a Biblical quote about the world ending in fire, and said “that is the real global warming we should be worried about.”
"Someone should realize you can't have a class like this presenting deeply held, and I'm sure honestly held, religious views as science," said Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. "This is not a situation where people are taking a seminar on religion. Folks taking this class think they are getting Health Basics 101."
Jacqueline Mahaffey, a 24-year old FCC student who took Mr. Lopez's class, had this to say, “I feel very let down by my school. I signed up for health science because I was interested in the subject, but what I got was hateful lecturing based on Professor Lopez’s personal beliefs. I am in school to learn, not to be indoctrinated with one professor’s religious views and anti-gay beliefs.”
The ACLU asks Fresno City College to reply to the complaint by Feb. 15th. You can read the ACLU's letter here (in pdf. format).
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1) Fresno City College (from their website)
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Comments
Let people who want to learn about lies and anti-gay propaganda find in a fundamentalist church (I'm sure Fresno has plenty of them) not in an Institution that should be putting forth scientifically proven truth. These are the outright messages that make LGBT folk feel outcasts and "less than." Could someone please give Prof. Lopez a lil' education? - gaysexpert.com
It's interesting how often those who disagree with Christians call them "hateful." Abortion is A leading cause of death, not necessarily THE leading cause of the death in the United States. Otherwise I'm not sure anything above is inaccurate or untrue, just perhaps unexpected and uncalled for if his teaching did not match up with the cirriculum, yet liberal atheistic professors are notorious for their deviation and indoctrination.
What amazes me about Christians who moan about abortion is: They don't mind giving birth to countless children while pushing ideas like this "a Biblical quote about the world ending in fire" and this "that is the real global warming we should be worried about."
You'd think they would consider abortion a blessing.
Réne Girard says:
"It's interesting how often those who disagree with Christians call them "hateful.""
Well, its a bit emotional. How about (for those to whom it applies) bigoted, self-righteous, irrational, and intellectually dishonest?
"Abortion is A leading cause of death, not necessarily THE leading cause of the death in the United States."
Surely not. Surely, the death of billions of sperm cells in each procreative act far outweighs the death of fetuses. They're living too. We normally talk about the death of people, not zygotes and so on.
" Otherwise I'm not sure anything above is inaccurate or untrue,"
Perhaps its because you're ignorant.
"yet liberal atheistic professors are notorious for their deviation and indoctrination." Really? Says who? Compare the deviance of liberal professors to clergy. The latter is far ahead.
It's ok to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. I can label myself as bisexual cause I do love the life and I make many friends from __B i M i n g l e . C o m-It's cool to talk anything freely there with like-minded person. I will support what we will do.
Great article Hugh. I believe in live and let live. No, I don't agree with abortion, but that is a personal choice for me.. I certainly wouldn't push my views on anyone else.. and to come down to it.. gay.. anigay.. bisexual... straight... we will all have to face our maker and the chips will fall where they will.
This guy has no business teaching since he is not teaching facts and is strictly teaching his personal opinion. I attended this college and I am ashamed that this idiot is/was employed there.
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