Rated R films and conflicts with religious values

Rated R. Film Conflicts with Religious Values

Freedom of religion has always been guaranteed in any democratic nation in the world. In the United States, this freedom is embedded in the Constitution and even the United Nations has incorporated this critical human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights where member nations need to abide by. The freedom of religion, like any other freedoms though, is not all encompassing and absolute since for every freedom there is the corresponding duty and responsibility. This means that for as long as the exercise of which do not curtail others from exercising their freedom or force one's belief on others, then the freedom can be openly exercised. Thus, there is a reciprocal relation in the exercise of freedom by people in various milieus. In the academe for instance, the exercise of one's belief and faith is one of the determinants of whether an educational institution has true academic freedom of not. The basic definition of academic freedom is the ability of students and faculty to express their ideas in the academe without religious, political, social, or institutional restrictions. Thus, if a particular coursework or assignment goes against a student's religious values and beliefs, the most apropos action is for the professor to require alternative coursework as a sign of respect for the student's freedom of religion -- or so it seems!

The situation is indeed a challenging one because like any problem, there are two sides of the argument: one is accepting the coursework as is since the student chose to take the course and abide by the requirements thereof while the other is to allow an alternative in respect for the fundamental rights of the student. The initial argument may even bring about a case whereby if an alternative is allowed, what is stopping other students stating the same reason and asking for the same treatment? A rejoinder to this is that the abuse that can be committed by students in order to escape a particular coursework can always be mitigated via due diligent determination whether the students' values and beliefs do conflict with the coursework provided. If indeed the religious practice of the students does conflict with an assignment, then a consideration may be forthcoming. Having looked at the aspect of the opposing argument, it is now time to look at the argument for the provision of an alternative coursework.

With the fundamental value of allowing the exercise of the freedom of religion and such freedom is respected in the Constitution, the professor should not have forced the student to take the "bitter pill" -- that is do the assignment or quit. In this case, if an R-rated film has to be seen by students and one student refused to do so because of his beliefs do not allow for such; then the student is merely exercising his fundamental rights. By not being allowed alternative coursework, the professor is already infringing on the student's religious values and beliefs. Further, the professor also is not exercising the pursuit of academic freedom because he has put an institutional restriction on the student. Instead of using the student's belief to enhance the teaching by showing his students that the exercise of one's freedom is paramount in a true democracy, the professor has shown an authoritative to the point of being dictatorial in nature. The form and substance of what academic freedom and freedom of religion truly mean are lost because the professor forced the hand of the student where the latter ended up choosing to drop from the course rather than do a coursework against his beliefs. Between the professor and the student, it is the student who has demonstrated the true meaning and value of what academic freedom should stand for.