A Wake Forest University religion professor thinks it is not just illogical to believe in God, but also immoral, according to a Wednesday report.
Dr. Jarrod Whitaker specializes in South Asian religions at the North Carolina school and also allegedly asserted that belief in an objective truth “is the most tremendous evil that is responsible for all the great suffering in the world,” reported The Wake Forest Review.
The professor would perpetually “explain why Christian theology is problematic, racist, sexist, imperialist, and fundamentally evil,” Whitaker’s Catholic student John told the Review, who kept his identity concealed. “His point was specifically that Christianity is in a position of power, everything came down to who is in a position of power and how we can problematize that.”
“His position was that it was not only illogical to believe in God,” continued John. “He said that to believe in God is one of the most immoral things you can do, and to believe there is an objective Truth is the most tremendous evil that is responsible for all the great suffering in the world.”
The student said that when he refuted the professor’s arguments after class, the conversation became “so heated” that another professor stepped into the classroom to ensure there were no problems.
“Sometimes when we investigate our own beliefs and interpretations, even in the safe environment of a university, it can be personally upsetting, simply as a matter of critical inquiry,” Whitaker told the Review, accepting responsibility if any students felt distressed in his course. “I personally favor no tradition above any other yet at all times reaffirm my students’ religious convictions, while asking them to think through their own beliefs with a critical, analytical, and self-reflexive perspective.”
Whitaker teaches courses pertaining to Asian religions, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. He also serves as a faculty member for Wake Forest’s women’s, gender, and sexuality studies department.
Over 80 percent of conservative students at Wake Forest reported having taken a class in which they felt the professor had an anti-conservative bias, according to a survey conducted by the Review. Four-fifths of that group of students reporting bias said that they restrained themselves from participating in those classes for fear of social or academic consequences. While not scientific, the Review’s survey sampled 50 conservative students at the school.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Whitaker for additional insight into his reported views but received none in time for press.
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