St. Philip’s College in San Antonio is facing a charge of religious discrimination after allegedly firing a professor because he told students that X and Y chromosomes determine sex.
Johnson Varkey, who taught human anatomy at the college for two decades, claimed the college fired him after four students walked out of his class last November, purportedly because he stated that sex was determined biologically, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Varkey was sent a notice of termination in January from the college that described student complaints over “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter.” The college admitted that the student complaints concerned actual class material but claimed Varkey was “offensive” in his teaching tactics.
“While some of the subject matter may be connected to class content, it was very clear, from the complaints, that you pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with your personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom,” read Varkey’s termination notice, which was sent by Randall Dawson, vice president for academic success at St. Philip’s College.
The First Liberty Institute, a legal group representing Varkey, sent St. Philip’s a letter in June demanding the college reinstate Varkey but received no response, the group told The Dallas Express.
The attorneys followed up in July by filing a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In terminating Varkey, First Liberty claims that St. Philip’s College violated the First Amendment, the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Civil Rights Act.
“No college professor should be fired for teaching factual concepts that a handful of students don’t want to hear,” Keisha Russell, associate counsel at First Liberty, told The Dallas Express. “Dr. Varkey received exemplary performance reviews for nearly two decades, teaching fact-based, widely accepted science.”
“But now that cultural elites are at odds with these ideas, the school no longer supports professors who teach them,” she continued. “It is a blatant violation of state and federal civil rights laws to discriminate against someone because of their religious beliefs.”
St. Philip’s College did not respond to a request for comment.
First Liberty claims Varkey, in his two decades as a professor at the college, had never been disciplined before his firing.
Varkey is a Christian, volunteers at the International Bible Church in San Antonio, and hosts a Bible radio ministry called Rehoboth Voice, but he never mentioned his beliefs in class, according to First Liberty.
