Guided by Faith, Divinity Student Fought His “Anti-Racist” Princeton Seminary and Won

August 21, 2021 1 min read

Stuart Taylor, Jr., President, Princetonians for Free Speech
RealClearInvestigations


Excerpt: Timothy Keiderling’s decision to enroll in the Princeton Theological Seminary reflected his commitment “to give my life to work for justice and to live out the values of the Kingdom of God.” In a letter to the seminary’s president, Craig Barnes, he wrote that he “would sacrifice anything to make sure that my brothers and sisters see relief from their oppression."

But the seminary’s concept of justice clashed with Keiderling’s conscience when PTS required him to attend “anti-racism” training sessions that he considered a form of indoctrination. He refused to participate. And then – early this year, with the potent support of the newly founded Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) – he convinced the seminary to exempt him from the training.

It was “a real victory which can advance the academic freedom cause substantially,” says Princeton Professor Robert George, a leader of the AFA who acted as an adviser to Keiderling. “Instead of a victim, we have a victor — one who stuck to his guns and persuaded his institution not only to respect his right of conscience, but to acknowledge the difference between education and indoctrination.”

Click here for link to full article


Leave a comment


Also in Princeton Free Speech News & Commentary

Eisgruber makes public appearance in new helm position for the Association of American Universities

December 05, 2024 1 min read

Bridget O'Neill and Miriam Waldvogel
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 appeared on C-SPAN on Wednesday for a 30-minute segment as part of his role as the newly-elected chair for the board of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group representing 70 top research universities.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Eisgruber discussed the state of higher education, sharing his views on the boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) movement, the price of college, and the function of financial aid.
Read More
Commentary: It’s time to change how we talk about abortion

December 04, 2024 1 min read

Lily Halbert-Alexander
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: In early September, I got the opening email from Princeton Pro-Life, which was signed “for love and life,” and “for the sake of our missing classmates.” I read it twice, wondering why an email introducing and advertising student opposition to abortion on campus would speak so vaguely about their own mission and why they wouldn’t even allude to their topic — abortion.

At Princeton, there are many conversations about abortion. But both those that start in the anti-abortion space and those that occur in the academic sphere — even among people who aren’t against abortion — too often happen in philosophical frames that avoid the real consequences that abortion bans have on people across the country.
Read More
The organization at the center of faculty free speech debates

December 03, 2024 1 min read

Olivia Sanchez and Achilleas Koukas
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: Following the establishment of a pro-Palestine “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus at the end of April, a group of faculty formed the Princeton Council on Academic Freedom (PCAF) to “foster and defend academic freedom and intellectual pluralism” at Princeton. After a recent flurry of activity from the council following its official launch this fall, The Daily Princetonian spoke to some of its members to learn more about the organization’s formation and goals.
Read More