Why Christians feel unwelcome on campus.

David French

National Review Online

Evangelical Christians have long complained that colleges are hostile to their faith, said David French. Now there’s evidence that they’re not being paranoid. The San Francisco–based Institute for Jewish and Community Research recently surveyed 1,200 professors at a cross-section of schools, seeking their attitudes toward various religions. The study actually was designed to gauge anti-Semitism, but it found something else: 53 percent said they had “unfavorable” feelings toward evangelical Christians; Jews and Catholics elicited overwhelmingly positive feelings. The study did not use qualifiers such as “conservative” or “pro-life,” institute director Gary Tobin explained—so respondents’ image of “the entire group comes through.” For evangelicals, it came through loud and clear. The academic establishment has long dismissed stories about bias against Christians as “mere anecdotes.” But now we have “concrete evidence of sheer bigotry.” Our colleges clearly have a religion problem, “and faithful students and professors are paying the price.”

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