By Ashley Brooks
Colleges continue to include conduct requirements in contracts, despite accusation of discrimination.
Recently numerous complaints have been submitted to the American Philosophical Association (APA) in regards to ads that were placed by Christian colleges in their publication Jobs for Philosophers. The jobs in question require applicants to sign a contract of agreement stating that they will not take part in any ‘un-Christian’ behavior while employed.
Wheaton College, one of the schools that posted ads which received complaints, has a contract which reads as follows:
“We believe that these Christian standards will show themselves in a distinctly Christian way of life, an approach to living we expect of ourselves and one another. This lifestyle involves practicing those attitudes and actions the Bible portrays as virtuous and avoiding those the Bible portrays as sinful…Scripture condemns the following… homosexual behavior.”
The main source of outcry and complaint stems from the fact that the APA claims to follow an anti-discrimination policy that specifically forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Here is the APA’s supposed statement of policy:
“The American Philosophical Association rejects as unethical all forms of discrimination based on race, color, religion, political convictions, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or age, whether in graduate admissions, appointments, retention, promotion and tenure, manuscript evaluation, salary determination, or other professional activities in which APA members characteristically participate. At the same time, the APA recognizes the special commitments and roles of institutions with a religious affiliation; it is not inconsistent with the APA’s position against discrimination to adopt religious affiliation as a criterion in graduate admissions or employment policies when this is directly related to the school’s religious affiliation or purpose, so long as these policies are made known to members of the philosophical community and so long as the criteria for such religious affiliations do not discriminate against persons according to the other attributes listed in this statement.”
Opponents to the contractual requirements have condemned the APA for allowing ads to be placed in their publication that violate the APA’s own policy on discrimination as outlined in their policy.
