A valuable lesson on history and theology

Some will see the dispute between the Farnan family of Mission Viejo and high school history teacher James Corbett in stark terms. The forces of light against the forces of darkness.

The problem is, not everyone agrees which side is which.

Is the light force coming from the Farnan family, a self-described strong Christian family suing Corbett and the Capistrano Unified School District for what it says were hostile remarks about religion in class that made Chad Farnan, a 16-year-old sophomore, uncomfortable and unable to learn?

Or is Corbett, in the best traditions of classroom teaching, the one dispensing light as he combines historical facts and his interpretations of them to guide the students down roads they hadn’t previously traveled?

I’ll render my decision in a couple of minutes.

Funny, isn’t it, how such conflicts often emerge when theology is brought into the public school classroom.

This kind of dispute typically hinges on impressions or feelings of students. What one finds rankly offensive, another sees as merely challenging. What one student sees as a humiliating put-down, another recognizes as a Socratic argument by the teacher. That’s assuming the student isn’t semi-distracted in the first place and picked up only half of what the teacher said, missing context or nuance.

What makes the Farnan lawsuit intriguing, however, is that the guts of it come from Chad’s tape-recording of one of Corbett’s Advanced Placement European history classes at Capo Valley High School in October.

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the recording, nor do I have any reason to doubt it. Further complicating public discussion of this is that only the students and Corbett were there, and we haven’t heard from Corbett yet.

But according to the suit, Corbett said at one point, “When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth.�

In another segment, he says Americans are the most likely in the industrialized world to attend church and Swedes the least. America has the highest crime rate and Sweden the lowest, he says. “The next time someone tells you religion is connected with morality, you might want to ask them about that.�

He later expands on that, mentioning “culture wars� in America and comparing the philosophies of rehabilitation and punishment for criminals. He says the South has more draconian views of punishment, but then notes that murder and rape -- and church attendance -- all are higher in the South.

In another excerpt cited in the suit, Corbett says, “Conservatives don’t want women to avoid pregnancies. That’s interfering with God’s work. . . . All over the world, doesn’t matter where you go, the conservatives want control over women’s reproductive capacity . . . from conservative Christians in this country to Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan.�

He also ventures into conversations about the Boy Scouts’ exclusionary policies, pregnancies of middle-school girls and humorous side effects of erectile dysfunction pills.

The attorney for the Farnans told a Times reporter this week that the family isn’t seeking monetary damages but does want Corbett removed from their son’s classroom. The lawsuit doesn’t specify those terms but alleges that Corbett “demonstrates a sense of hostility towards religion or, in the alternative, a favoring of irreligion over religion.�

I won’t go point-by-point, but even in the lawsuit version, the reference to “Jesus glasses� seems to be in the context of European peasants acting against their best economic interests because the Church convinces them that religious faith is more important.

Plenty of historical theory exists to back up that observation. High school kids have every right to learn that the Church in the Dark Ages and beyond kept peasants subservient, often using religion as the justification. Likewise, parents of religious students can’t cry foul in a history or science class if the subject matter either contradicts or undermines their beliefs.

But . . .

I’ve got to think there’s better phraseology than, “When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth.� Even secular ears hear a suggestion of Christianity-bashing in that, context or no context.

Corbett’s is not a theology class. Advanced Placement, yes, but Chad is a high school sophomore and not enrolled in Religion 101.

As for church attendance versus crime in the industrialized world, a sharp cookie in class could take on that argument. Whether high school kids are intellectually equipped to do it, I don’t know. Transcribed as it is in the lawsuit, it does smack of propagandizing on Corbett’s part.

And back and forth it could go on the other points.

And that’s the problem with injecting religion in class. It gets messy. Feelings get hurt.

So, here’s my judgment:

Dump Corbett? No way.

Have a session with him and remind him he’s teaching history -- not religion -- in a public high school? Yes.

I don’t know a thing about Corbett, but I hereby express every confidence that he could make the necessary adjustments.

I don’t know a thing about the Farnans, either, but I hope they don’t think European history can be taught without a healthy dose of the history of Christianity and the power of religious forces.

I throw this back to the Capo Valley High principal to mediate. I can’t argue that references to Viagra make sense in a European history class, but teachers need some latitude when they’re making analogies or trying to keep a classroom’s attention.

But I’m equally sympathetic to high schoolers who may feel that their religious upbringing is being trashed. Whether they’re overreacting or not, it’s exactly why theology doesn’t play well in public high schools, unless it’s done with precision and care.

Religion is a fascinating subject. History is a fascinating subject.

Let’s just agree that a public high school isn’t the place to have them square off.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821 or at [email protected]. An archive of his recent columns is at www.latimes.com/parsons