'All truth is God's truth': University commits to safeguarding free speech on campus

King University has adopted the Chicago Statement, a free speech policy created that champions the importance of freedom of expression in higher education.

King University, located in Bristol, Tennessee, is a Presbyterian-affiliated institution that touts “rigorous academic programming and the exploration of faith.”

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“All truth is God’s truth, and so an educational community in which learners can courteously speak and listen is essential to the development of multiple liberties,” Martin Dotterweich, a history professor and director of King’s Institute for Faith and Culture, told Campus Reform. 

”These include the right to take a firm position or to reserve judgment on any given subject, the freedom to be proven wrong without condemnation, and the right to change one’s mind in the collective pursuit of truth,” Dotterweich added.

Campus Reform also spoke with Mary Griffin, a senior program officer at the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education, about King’s recent policy decision as a private Christian university. 

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“King University’s robust free speech statement is a model for any private institution seeking to adopt a tailored statement on freedom of expression of their own,” Griffin said.

Griffin added that as a private university, King “sends a strong message to students, faculty, and the university community that debate, dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas are welcome on campus, even when there is disagreement.”

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