A tenured Arizona State University professor who is challenging the legality of the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion training says his superiors have retaliated against him through a negative performance review, accusing him of being “too Christian” in his teaching and reducing his merit pay. He said he believes the school has taken the first step in seeking to oust him despite his tenure.
In online posts and in a first-person article at TheBlaze.com, Owen Anderson, a professor of philosophy and religious studies at ASU for more than two decades, warns that if the university were to succeed in terminating him for including existential questions about God, ethics and meaning in his classes, it would have a chilling effect at colleges nationwide.
Too Christian?
This week, ASU’s provost rejected Anderson’s appeal of a negative performance review from last spring that penalized him for including a handful of questions about God in his numerous philosophy classes.
“In May, the dean of my college deducted points from my annual performance review and reduced merit pay because he claimed my teaching in 2025 was too Christian. What evidence did he offer for this remarkable accusation? Five quiz questions out of more than 80, along with two negative student evaluations.
“That’s it.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Jerry Pierce and originally published by Decision Magazine.
