(Washington, D.C., July 10, 2008) The Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), legal arm of the American Humanist Association, expressed its satisfaction today with a settlement resulting from its academic freedom advocacy on behalf of humanist educator Steven C. Bitterman in his dispute with Southwestern Community College in Red Oak, Iowa.
Bitterman had been an adjunct faculty member in the history department of the college since 2001, teaching Western Civilization at least three times. No complaints had been made against him by students or faculty until September 2007. When some students, taking his class via closed-circuit television, objected to Bitterman saying that the biblical story of Adam and Eve shouldn't be taken literally, they alleged that this and other statements belittled their religion. He later responded in an interview in "Community College Week," published October 8, 2007, saying, "I put the Hebrew religion on the same plane as any other religion. Their god wasn't given any more credibility than any other god."
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