Perhaps there are facts not reported in the article, but it's not clear to me how she has refused "to implement the standards of her profession" unless the standards of the profession require her not to believe what she does about homosexuality or, if she does, never to express those beliefs.
Perhaps the "standard" is the idea that she not express her personal views about the morality of a client's behavior while counseling the client. Putting aside whether that really is - or ought to be - a standard of the counseling profession, there is nothing in the report suggesting that she would do so. Based on the brief filed in support of her motion for a preliminary injunction<http://adfwebadmin.com/resources/Files/Jennifer%20Keeton_%20Preliminary%20Injunction%20Brief.pdf>, the student has said that she understands the "difference between personal beliefs and how a counseling situation should be handled and "the need to reflect clients’ goals and to allow them to work toward their own solutions ..." She says that she would not impose her views on her clients, although she also says that if she is asked "to affirm" conduct that she believes to be immoral (mentioning homosexuality and the decision to have an abortion), she would not. In fact, the "standard" that she is said to be violating is her subjective belief that her moral views are true. She was apparently told that it is unethical for her to be " not truly accepting that others can have different beliefs and values that are equally valid as your own" and for her to "think certain people should act in accordance with your moral values, and/or that your beliefs are in some way superior to those of others." (emphasis in original) It seems quite clear from the materials cited in the brief that her continuation in the program required her to change her beliefs. A public university seems to be taking the position that a student must sincerely embrace a form of moral relativism in order to remain in a graduate program. From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] on behalf of Paul Finkelman [paul.finkel...@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 12:01 AM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Re: Augusta State University student sues school over requirement that she undergo "remediation" due to her religious views It would seem to me that "Christian ethical convictoins" would require her to "do unto others" as she would want them to do unto her, and thus perhaps respect their values and act as a responsible therapist. I wonder, suppose she did not believe in blood transfusion and was in a medical school? Would it be legitimate not to give her a degree because she was not willing to apply techniquest of modern medicine to her patients. Suppose she lectured her patients before surgery on how wrong they were for demaning a transfusion during surgery? In otherwords, if she is trained to be a professional in the care field, can she be allowed to take her degree if she refuses to accept the standards of the profession. This is not about her beliefs -- or even her actions. No one is asking her to participate in a same sex relationship. This seesm to me to be about her refusal to implement the standards of her profession because she does not like the behavior of some people. There is also of course some equal protection issues here. I would guess she is against heavy drinking, drug use, and non-marital sex. If she insisting on implementing her religious values when treating patients who might behave in those ways? What about people who don't obey the sabbath (or at least her sabbath)? Or those who don't accept the teachings of Christianity? How far, in other words, does this go, or is she only dragging out her religious values when dealing with gay people? ---- Paul Finkelman President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law Albany Law School 80 New Scotland Avenue Albany, NY 12208 518-445-3386 (p) 518-445-3363 (f) paul.finkel...@albanylaw.edu www.paulfinkelman.com --- On Wed, 7/28/10, Brad Pardee <bp51...@windstream.net> wrote: From: Brad Pardee <bp51...@windstream.net> Subject: Augusta State University student sues school over requirement that she undergo "remediation" due to her religious views To: religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 12:45 AM Jennifer Keeton is a student at Augusta State University , pursuing a graduate degree in counseling. In line with her religious beliefs, she holds to the traditional view regarding homosexuality. She has expressed those views in classroom discussions as well as in written assignment. In response, the University has informed her that she must complete a remediation program or else she will be expelled from the program. According to the complaint, the “faculty have promised to expel Miss Keeton from the graduate Counselor Education Program not because of poor academic showing or demonstrated deficiencies in clinical performance, but simply because she has communicated both inside and outside the classroom that she holds to Christian ethical convictions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity.” >From Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://www.ajc.com/news/college-punished-her-for-577547.html >From Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/27/georgia-university-tells-student-lose-religion-lawsuit-claims/ -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu<https://emarq.marquette.edu/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
