The AP reports that Dr. Kenneth Howell, the recently scandalized adjunct instructor of religion at the University of Illinois, has been offered a position teaching a class on Catholicism this semester. Howell’s allegedly anti-gay lecture on the Church’s stances on homosexuality earned him admiration and ire from many in the media and blogosphere, and resulted earlier this summer in the non-renewal of his contract. As of now, Dr. Howell has been offered a one-semester only, $10,000 contract to teach a class on Catholic Church doctrine.
There is no word as yet from Howell as to whether he will accept the University’s offer of employment, though at least some see the latest developments as evidence that the instructor will be teaching this fall. Says David Hacker, an attorney from the Christian legal group the Alliance Defense Fund,
“We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Howell is back in the classroom [. . .] But we’ll be watching carefully to make sure his academic freedom is protected through this ongoing process.”
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