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The president of American Atheists has demanded that the chancellor of a public university apologize for sending an email to all students and employees with a video that argues that democracy requires religion, AL.com reported. Chancellor Jack Hawkins of Troy University, in Alabama, sent out a video (below) featuring Clay Christensen in which he argues that democracy requires a religious society. Christensen is a prominent business professor at Harvard University, and the video is below.
The letter from American Atheists said that it was being sent on behalf of a student at Troy who was concerned after receiving the email from the chancellor. "On behalf of the student who contacted us, the Alabama members of American Atheists, the thousands of atheists at Troy University, and the hundreds of millions of atheists worldwide who live productive, law-abiding lives without religion, we demand an apology from you for using the public university email system and your publicly funded position to disparage atheists and minority religious groups as well as perpetuating the discrimination and anti-patriotic sentiment against atheists in the United States," the letter said.
UPDATE: Troy sent Inside Higher Ed this statement on Friday: "The purpose of this email was to spur introspection and encourage thoughtful discussion as we transition from the challenges of 2014 to the opportunities ahead in 2015. Troy University is an international university that contributes regularly to the global marketplace of ideas. This message and video were shared to provide the university community with information and insights for healthy consideration and debate about our country’s democracy, the role it plays in the world and the challenges America faces going forward."
