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[Christine] Mize, a 45-year-old graduate student in social work from Murphysboro, said SIUC associate professor Laura Dreuth-Zeman informed her in December she wouldn’t be able to write a term paper about faith-based therapy for women experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder from abortions. Read the rest…

The debate over religion in public schools has been ongoing for a long time now with no clear resolution in site, but it is more rare that you hear about this debate extending to the college world. In any case, I was surprised to read this article. Mize, who’s original idea for a paper topic was turned down, late submitted a different paper that included religious ideas. The paper was accompanied by a legal statement declaring the freedom of religion entitled her to a fair grade. At first, the paper was not graded, but later the professor graded it, probably to avoid what could have been a messy legal value.

I’m torn on how I feel about this case. On one hand, I’m glad Mize stood up for her religious beliefs. There’s not a lot of people willing to do that in the world today. I fully believe that she should have been allowed to do her original faith-based therapy topic. Actually, for a course in social work, that sounds like a very interesting topic about which to read.

However, it kind of sounds like she used her paper to make a statement. Its great to be able to use religious examples in a paper, but as an English major, I know very well how to write a paper, and one of the main things we learn is how to write to a specific audience. The fact of the matter is, in the world of social work, there will be a lot of times when religion just isn’t appropriate at work. In fact, it can get you into some legal trouble in some cases. Mize knew that her religious topics were not appreciated, but she went against the professor and included them in her paper anyway. For that alone, I think it is warranted that she receive a lower grade. It has nothing to do with what she actually believes–it has everything to do with her following directions.

religion, religion in schools, education, Christine Mize, first amendment