Earlier this month, it emerged that Wheaton College had begun the process of firing Larycia Hawkins, a tenured associate professor of political science at the evangelical Christian school near Chicago. Hawkins was suspended last month after she decided to wear a headscarf during the Advent season to show solidarity with Muslims during a difficult period.
At the time, she posted a message on Facebook about the move, saying Christians and Muslims "worship the same God."
She was originally placed on administrative leave on Dec. 15, with school officials saying they needed time to determine whether her statement puts her at odds with the faith perspective that is required of those who are employed by the school.
In an interview with NPR's Michel Martin, Hawkins says she was surprised to hear the news that there will be a hearing on her termination later this month.
"That felt really devastating to receive that news, given that I've committed nine years of my life to teaching in an institution that I really believe embodies the spirit of the liberal arts in a Christian context," Hawkins tells Martin.
Hawkins argues that her Facebook post was "not actually a theological treatise but rather a statement that I stand in solidarity with women wearing the hijab, as I think Jesus would, as he came to embody what it means to love neighbor and love God and love yourself."
Wheaton College, for its part, has asserted that the school's decision had nothing to do with Hawkins' decision to wear the headscarf. The school says, instead, that it was a matter of theological disagreement.
"The freedom to wear a head scarf as a gesture of care and compassion for individuals in Muslim or other religious communities that may face discrimination or persecution is afforded to Dr. Hawkins as a faculty member of Wheaton College," the school wrote in a Dec. 16 statement. "Yet her recently expressed views, including that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, appear to be in conflict with the College's Statement of Faith."
Hawkins disagrees with the premise of the statement.
"The post was not about theology," she tells Martin. "It was about solidarity, which is a Christian principle."
Despite the disagreement with school officials, Hawkins would still like to remain at Wheaton College.
"I've spent most of my adult career committed to being a professor, a scholar and doing so in a Christian context where I can live out my beliefs but continue to push my students towards rigorous scholarship in this evangelical environment," she says.
And, she tells Martin, the debate holds broader implications than just her own situation.
"This is important beyond me. It's a bigger academic freedom question than Wheaton College alone. It's actually not even just a religious institutional question," Hawkins says. "I'm not the 'hijab professor'; I'm the professor that's trying to teach my students to move beyond theoretical solidarity, sitting on our laurels in the classroom, towards embodied politics, embodied solidarity.
"And that's just not for religionists; that's for all of us."
Click on the audio link above to listen to the full interview.
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Transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now we're going back to a story we brought you last month out of Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian college in Illinois. Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science there, was placed on leave last month after she decided to wear a headscarf to show solidarity with Muslims at a difficult moment. She posted a note on Facebook saying Christians and Muslims, quote, "worship the same God," unquote. School officials said they needed time to decide whether her statement was at odds with the faith perspective required of those who work at the college. Earlier this week though, we learned that Wheaton College had begun the process of terminating professor Hawkins, who, by the way, has tenure. And we reached her in Chicago. Welcome, thanks so much for speaking with us.
LARYCIA HAWKINS: Thanks, Michel. It's good to be with you.
MARTIN: How are you reacting to all of this?
HAWKINS: It's been a whirlwind. One new bit of information is that the hearing has been set for January 23. That felt really devastating to receive that news given that I've committed nine years of my life to teaching in an institution that I really believe embodies the spirit of the liberal arts in a Christian context.
MARTIN: Are you surprised by all this?
HAWKINS: I'm quite surprised given especially that what I said in my Facebook post very briefly, which was not actually a theological treatise but rather a statement that I stand in solidarity with women wearing the hijab, as I think Jesus would, as he came to embody what it means to love neighbor and love God and love yourself.
MARTIN: Well, let's go back to the whole question of whether this is a theological issue or not 'cause I do want to emphasize that the college insists that it's not about wearing the headscarf. It is about a theological or a potential theological difference. In your initial Facebook post, you said I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God. Now, that has been Catholic doctrine since the Second Vatican Council. But evangelicals - we've consulted a number of them - say they believe that there is a real theological difference that is reflected in this statement about the role of Jesus in understanding God. Do you just think they've got it wrong or they've misinterpreted you?
HAWKINS: I do believe Islam and Christianity are - I don't believe, it's just a fact - that they're two different religions. And we diverge on questions of salvation, soteriology - how do you get to God? - and also on questions of Christology - who is Christ? And so while we diverge on theological particulars, which I fully acknowledge and never stated in my first Facebook post or the follow-up in which I was appealing to unity among the - among Christian believers who I had realized had reacted very vehemently because the post was not about theology. It was about solidarity, which is a Christian principle.
MARTIN: Well, so why is it that you think you and the college can't come to agreement on this? What do you think this is about?
HAWKINS: It's hard to say. I can't intuit what the administration's - how they deem me inconsistent with the statement of faith, they have stated. And why when Wheaton College president and provost and an adjunct faculty member in 2007 signed a statement saying exactly what I said - that Muslims and Christians are people of the book, we worship the God of Abraham - why I've received pushback at multiple turns is difficult.
MARTIN: Why do you want to stay there?
HAWKINS: I have spent most of my adult career committed to being a professor, a scholar and doing so in a Christian context, where I can live out my beliefs but continue to push my students towards rigorous scholarship in this evangelical environment. And so I'm known on campus for challenging people to think outside of the box, and presumably that's why Wheaton wanted me. Presumably, they also wanted me there because I bring a kind of diversity that the campus is sorely lacking.
MARTIN: If it's not a good fit though, why do you want to stay? I guess really the bigger question is why is this important?
HAWKINS: This is important beyond me. It's a bigger academic freedom question than Wheaton College alone. It's actually not even just a religious institutional question. These questions have been going on about what's permissible on a college campus, right? I'm not the hijab professor. I'm the professor who's trying to teach my students to move beyond theoretical solidarity, you know, sitting on our laurels in the classroom towards actual embodied politics, embodied solidarity. And that's just not for religionists. That's for all of us.
MARTIN: That was professor Larycia Hawkins. She's a political science professor at Wheaton College. And she was kind enough to join us from member station WBEZ in Chicago. Professor Hawkins, thank you for speaking with us.
HAWKINS: Thank you, Michel. It was an honor and a privilege to speak with you today.
MARTIN: And we would like you to know that we did reach out to Wheaton College for comment, and no one from the college has responded yet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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