Religious studies professor releases statement regarding class, teaching style

This is the first public statement from Dr. Alison Downie, a religious studies professor who became a topic in the news after one of her students discussed a controversial topic with Fox News in a March 12 article.

Stories circulating in various social media and internet sites about a course I am teaching have presented a one-sided narrative. The most widely circulated stories are full of inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and outright fabrication. 

I am therefore issuing a written statement to present accurate information about this course and my teaching. I cannot, however, specifically dispute particular reports in the media, because, unlike students, I am bound by FERPA law which mandates that I cannot speak about any particular student behavior or classroom session. I am able, however, to explain the purpose and general content of this course, as well as how I teach.  

But first, why have people evidently not familiar with Religious Studies as an academic discipline made judgments about the legitimacy of this course and my teaching in public venues?  

Here’s why.  

When confidential university documents were posted on a Facebook page, a social media campaign began in which people were free to invent statements I could not, as a matter of professional integrity, dispute, no matter how egregious the claims.  

On the very day of an academic integrity board hearing, a story was spread across the internet sites of groups which are on nationally monitored hate watch lists. Also on the very day of the hearing, vile, obscene, and threatening tweets circulated on Twitter feeds well-known for hate-filled rhetoric.  

I have watched in silent horror and outrage as the President and Provost of the university, my departmental colleagues, professors in other departments who spoke on my behalf in social media, our department’s administrative assistant and undergraduate student office workers and I have all received uninformed, vulgar, vicious, and threatening communications. 

All these good, hard working people at IUP, for whom I have immense respect, have been subjected to harassment and attempts at intimidation, all as a result of a one-sided story being passed around, first by hate groups, and then out into various media outlets, with additional embellishments to the story in subsequent interviews and reports. 

So what is this class all about? And how do I teach? 

Here is part of the course description as it appears in my course syllabus: “Selecting representative diverse thinkers, this course requires students to understand a range of Christian perspectives, while focusing upon the selected three themes [self, sin, and salvation], in order to provide for depth of analysis. Students will gain an understanding of Christian history and tradition as well as an understanding of the many contemporary challenges evident in diverse Christian positions.” 

We discuss Biblical texts and early Christian thinkers as well as the positions of those in major Christian traditions writing about these topics today. We consider these questions: How do Christians understand what it means to be made in the image of God?  Is sin best understood as a wrong act of an individual, or a condition inherited from Adam and Eve or systemic and structural forms of injustice? Is salvation about going to heaven after death or about how one lives in the here and now?  

There is not and never has been one answer to any of these questions in Christianity.  

Students are expected to listen to and understand a variety of approaches in order to develop depth of understanding of the complexity of Christianity, beyond one historical period or a particular church or Christian group. 

When I have the opportunity to teach a small, upper level course such as this, I rarely lecture; instead, I craft various structures in different sessions so that all students, especially those most hesitant, feel welcome and able to have a safe space in which to speak, as we discuss class material. 

I also occasionally use short video clips as a way to have Christians speak for themselves in class, in lieu of guest speakers. In a university setting, students are expected to have the maturity and self-regulation necessary in order to listen to, understand, and respectfully discuss positions which they may find threatening or with which they may disagree.  

Students are often surprised to discover the extent of the diversity of experiences and teachings among Christians, and students are expected to pay attention to all views, not only those with which they are already familiar. Furthermore, students are expected to prepare for and attend each class session, so that any particular session is understood in relation to the whole.  

This is a Religious Studies class at a public university. Students are not expected to be Christians themselves, nor to share their personal religious views at any point in the class, though they are welcome to do so if they wish. The goal of the class is not to advance any particular Christian view on any particular topic. Instead, the goal is to develop and employ critical thinking skills in studying developments, complexity and diversity within the Christian religion. 

I wish I had been able to issue this statement weeks ago.  

However, going forward, for those wanting to consider this event and its implications, I urge readers to pay attention to the ways in which inflammatory rhetoric gains attention for one loud, dominating voice. Stories which simply repeat one participant’s view of an event, with no acknowledgement of the relevant, credible perspectives of others involved, or the context for the events, are gossip, not reportage. 

Dr. Alison Downie,

Religious studies professor