Iowa State Daily, Finance Department Cancels Business Class Focused on Biblical Implications:

A recently proposed independent study course for the spring 2012 semester has been canceled by the finance department. Finance 290X: Application of Biblical Insight into the Management of Business/Organization, a one-credit class first proposed by finance professor Roger Stover last semester, was meant to teach students how biblical principles can be applied to managing a business.

However, after the class was made known to the public, a number of ISU faculty members as well as outside groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa objected. They claimed that because Iowa State is a public university, it was a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution, which outlines the separation of church and state.

“This was a course where the instructor wanted to discuss issues relating to management and how that might be guided by biblical interpretation,” said Rick Dark, chairman of the accounting and finance department, who originally green-lighted the course.

Warren Blumenfeld, a professor in the department of curriculum and instruction, was one of the first to be notified back in October about the class and immediately — along with Hector Avalos, professor of philosophy and religious studies — sent a letter to Stover, Dark and Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business, raising their concerns about the class.

“This is a public institution where we can teach world religion, but we can’t promote it. This class was promoting it and looking at it through one evangelical perspective,” Blumenfeld said. “This was basically a Sunday school course where the students are getting university credit, and what that does is it lowers the standards of our university.” …

In a response, Stover argued that his proposed course was in fact an increasing trend among universities and defended his credentials to teach the class.”I fully agree … that I have no formal training in biblical or religious studies. However, I do argue that I can be considered an expert in business with some knowledge of the Bible … I would argue that I am uniquely qualified to teach this course,” Stover said. “The method of using the Bible for insight into the management of business organizations is growing. We need to make our students critically aware of what this approach presents.”Stover went on to say that many respected universities such as Yale and Princeton “are actively examining the role of spirituality in business management.” He also pointed to several companies such as Chik-fil-A and Hobby Lobby, which “openly display their use of spiritual and often Christian principles in their organization.”

In addition to the framework of the course, there were also significant objections to the planned course text. The book, titled How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK: A Biblical Blueprint to Bless Your Business by Christian motivational speaker and business consultant Dave Anderson, contained serious red flags, Avalos said. “[Anderson] is not a known biblical scholar … This book is a Christian sectarian manual, not an academic textbook,” Avalos said. …

Stover, on the other hand, defended the use of the book for the course because the goal of the course was to examine the book and draw conclusions based on its content. “The goal was to critically examine the book’s recommendations based on our existing knowledge from professional management, not theological, literature. That is why I am qualified to lead the discussion,” Stover said. …

Stover expressed dissatisfaction with the end status of the course.”I was excited about leading a critical examination by students at ISU of a suggestion that the Bible may provide insight into how to practically manage an effective organization,” Stover said. “I was equally disappointed when I was informed the independent study was canceled.”

• Inside Higher Ed, Separating Church and (Iowa) State