A Secular Faith Test For Employment at ASU West?

ASU West and Anti-Racism

Did you know that it is against Federal and State law to discriminate against a student or employee? It is true. And that’s a very good thing. Not only that, ASU has as one of its three foundational values “access.” ASU wants to be accessible to everyone. And it has done a great job at this, as seen in its overall growth (some programs, we will see in future posts, are not growing very well).

But if that is so, why do we need additional offices, committees, and policies about diversity, equity, and inclusion? ASU West seems to have especially decided to shape its identity around decolonization and anti-racism. In fact, New College’s revised by-laws make accepting the decolonizing philosophy a requirement for employment or promotion. So what is this philosophy, and how can they require a belief test at a secular university?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), together with decolonizing and anti-racism, are a philosophy about how to explain differences in society. The assumption is that if there are differences between groups, these are caused by racism. Since, as a society, we have made great progress against racism, the racism in question must be systemic and unnoticed by the racists. Additionally, differences are caused by colonization, which is just to say “racism.” In fact, if you are asked a question by someone pushing this philosophy, “racism” is a safe answer to anything you are asked. If you disagree with them, be ready to be told you have a phobia.

But have they proven this causal connection? No. You can see they are borrowing from Marx by making oppression the cause of differences and then, in this case, focusing specifically on race. This is always one hint that a philosophy has gone wrong, that it is a hammer looking for a nail, when it artificially tries to force all questions into its one answer.

There are other explanations for differences in society. But by simply assuming from the outset that racism is the only explanation, New College has limited intellectual freedom in pursuing other avenues of thought. This has gotten to a point where New College is making the DEI, decolonizing, and anti-racism philosophy core to its by-laws. It now states that to be promoted, the candidate must prove that they are committed to DEI and to decolonizing their curriculum. That is, they must prove they agree with the philosophical commitments of this movement or else. It is a secular faith test imposed on employees.

But wait, I thought it was against Federal and State law to discriminate against an employee for their beliefs.