The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at Byu [Paperback]

Bryan Waterman (Author), Brian Kagel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1998

If church-sponsored universities exist to instill faith in God and commitment to religion, then Brigham Young University deserves high marks. But in protecting the Lord s University from secularized morals, feminism, the emergence of an independent Mormon intellectual community, and the liberal side of American culture wars, the school has also defended its right to restrict free speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, and due process for faculty and students. With cultural conservatives nationally, the school believes that its institutional right to religious liberty supercedes the individual freedom of conscience and inquiry that traditionally characterizes university life. In charting the struggle between academics and religion, authors Bryan Waterman and Brian Kagel have assembled a vast archive of official documents and private interviews covering all sides of the issues. They chronicle day-to-day events administrative meetings, disciplinary hearings, student rallies, behind-the scenes faculty debates, private conversations, and P.R. posturing in a provocative history of two decades of turmoil at the nation s largest religious university.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Lord's University interprets recent events at Brigham Young University from a perspective critical of the administration. I found the book extrememly painful to read because I admire people on both sides of the controversy, and two of them are friends who taught in my department. The book includes chapters on Latter-day Saint education, women and feminism, student newspapers, the honor code, firings and resignations, and investigations by the AAUP and BYU's Faculty Advisory Council. The authors believe that the events took place in two contexts: (1) the tension between authoritarian religion and academic freedom, and (2) the rise of neoconservatism. I would argue that even more critical to understanding the response of the majority of the faculty to these events are two values central to Mormon culture, both of which were born and nurtured in a battle for survival with Protestant sectarianism, two state governments, and the national government. These values are the need for internal harmony and the belief in the benign motives of church authorities. --Thomas G. Alexander, Journal of the West

During the past five years, several incidents at Brigham Young University have attracted national attention. In 1995, Schindler's List was banned from a campus theater; in 1997, university officials removed a handful of pieces from the traveling Rodin exhibition that had been scheduled to open at the university's art museum. And in 1998, BYU was sanctioned by a national association of university professors for what it considered violations of ideals of academic freedom. These incidents and others are at the core of Bryan Waterman and Brian Kagel's analysis of the intellectual environment and the academic culture of Brigham Young University in the nineties. The book is a remarkable accomplishment for such young scholars, and it should be read by a number of audiences. Waterman and Kagel, former editors of competing student publications at BYU, are currently graduate students at Boston University and North Texas State. Their journalistic training is evident throughout this lengthy book; in fact, both men were directly involved in some of the incidents they describe and analyze here. Most readers will wonder about their objectivity, but it is likely that many of them will be impressed with the research and documentation. The book begins with a section entitled "Contexts" and provides a brief overview of the role of education in Mormon life. Officially founded as a university in 1903, BYU has played a key role in shaping Mormon intellectuals. In many ways, this is the weakest section of the book. The authors spend little time attempting to address the evolution of the school through what is now regarded by most scholars as a critical period in the history of modern higher education, the period from the mid-1920s through the 1960s. Of greater interest to Waterman and Kagel than those years are the dynamics associated with the role of gender in Mormon culture and the tensions that it has created particularly for women faculty and students at BYU in the period after the 1970s. Not unexpectedly, they find the history of student publications revealing of the challenges associated with the free exchange of ideas there. The enforcement of dress and honor codes is also scrutinized with an eye toward disclosing the restricted environment. The bulk of the book analyzes several controversial cases involving faculty, with a particular emphasis on the dismissals of Cecilia Konchar Farr and David Knowlton. Amassing an impressive number of primary sources as well as oral interviews with many of the principal players, the authors try to use those incidents to show the ways in which the university infringed on academic freedom. Administrators clearly disagree. The last chapter attempts to place BYU in the context of the larger debate over church-related colleges, culture wars, and neoconservatism. Waterman and Kagel demonstrate an excellent awareness of the larger dynamics of religious higher education. They are clearly skeptical of some of those efforts to recover a religious identity among the nation's universities, and The Lord's University privides an important story that should not be seen in isolation. The study of Mormon intellectual life has not been particularly well integrated into the larger contours of American religious or intellectual life. Waterman and Kagel will make overlooking Mormonism difficult in the future. As it continues to grow in numbers, Mormonism will ineveitably exercise increasing cultural and religious influence during at least the early part of the 21st century. Kagel and Waterman have done well to place BYU into the larger narrative of higher education in the late 20th century. --Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Dale E. Soden

About the Author

Bryan Waterman, a Ph.D. candidate in American studies at Boston University, is the former editor of the BYU Student Review, former associate editor of Sunstone, guest editor for a special student issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, editor of The Prophet Puzzle: Interpretive Essays on Joseph Smith, and co-author of The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his wife and children. Brian Kagel, a graduate student in journalism at the University of North Texas, is the former editor of BYU's Daily Universe, former managing editor of Sunstone, and co-author of The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. He is currently an Online Communications Consultant for Blue Cross Blue Shield and lives with his family in Dallas, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 474 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books; 1st Printing edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560851171
• ISBN-13: 978-1560851172
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking, very worthwhile book., March 26, 1999

By 

R. W. Rasband (Heber City, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at Byu (Paperback)

Bryan Waterman is a former editor of the Brigham Young University off-campus newspaper "Student Review"; Brian Kagel is a former editor of thre official BYU newspaper "Daily Universe". Together they have written the new book, "The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU", a history of the academic battles at that campus during the 1980's and 1990's. In many ways it is a sort of sequel to Gary Bergera and Ron Priddis' 1985 work, "Brigham Young University: A House of Faith." The two histories share a similar, very readable journalistic prose style, have similar painstakingly thorough research, and both reach controversial conclusions about the fate of academic freedom at the school. Waterman and Kagel's book begins with four chapters that give a general background to more recent events: a nice summary of the LDS commitment to education; a history of feminism, such as it is, at BYU; an eye-opening history of the "Daily Universe" and the continuing attempts of BYU administrators to control the news on campus; and an (inadvertently) highly amusing account of the evolution of the honor code (standards of dress weren't always set in stone, it used to be more concerned with personal honesty than appearance, due process for alleged offenders has not always been a big concern for those who enforce it.) We then get an extensive laying out of the struggle over the definition of "academic freedom" over the past decade or so. The discouraging of BYU professors from attending the Sunstone Symposium; the firings od Cecilia Konchar Farr, David Knowlton, and Gail T. Houston; and the decision of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to censure BYU for an allegedly "repressive" atmosphere are among the highlights of a densely packed, almost encyclopedic telling of almost every controversy you can think of at the school during this era. Perhaps the case that concerns us most here on AML-List is the forcing out of Brian Evenson from his English department job. Waterman and Kagel give us the blow-by-blow story. At first administrators were reluctant to act on an anonymous student's letter to a General Authority complaining of the "disgusting" violence in Evenson's work. Then the case seemed to get caught up in the larger American "culture wars" (of which for more, see below.) Evenson was told he would have to eliminate the violence in his fiction in order to stay at BYU. There are several issues here that deserve careful thought: whether an LDS artist can use *all* the resources at his command to criticize an immoral society (as I believe Evenson was trying to do;) whether any other respected university in the nation would have driven out a rising young author in such a fashion; and how LDS writers are expected to work under such newly vague standards. The most debatable part of the book will be the linking by Waterman and Kagel of BYU's stresses to the "culture wars" in American society today. The authors see BYU administrators as trying to preserve an enclave of "neo-conservative" political thought at the school amid a sea of leftism and moral relativism at other colleges. BYU officials speak of "a diversity of universities" (as if a single university can hold only one opinion on many issues.) Waterman and Kagel are wrong to pooh-pooh concerns about political correctness in the academy. These things are not just in the imaginations of conservatives--see the book, "Dictatorship of Virtue" by the liberal "New York Times" writer Richard Bernstein. On the other hand (and here I speak my opinion as an alum of BYU and a faithful reader of "The Weekly Standard", "The American Spectator", and a teen-age subscriber to "National Review") ideally left and right shouldn't try to censor each other; and conservatives, having been victims of "speech codes" at other universities should be very careful about enforcing their own. I hope (probably in vain) that there would be a place for a variety of opinions on all university faculties, not just at BYU or Berkeley. "The Lord's University" is a thought-provoking, very worthwhile book. I wonder if they sell it at the BYU bookstore.

31 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down, July 11, 2000

By 

Duwayne Anderson (Saint Helens, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at Byu (Paperback)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, or Mormons) sustain their prophets as the literal representatives of God on earth. Since the board of trustees for Brigham Young University (BYU) is composed of the First Presidency of the LDS Church and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, it follows as a natural corollary for many Mormons that BYU, is literally the Lord's university. Thus the title for the book, and the strange story of the suppression of academic freedom in an institution supposedly directed by men who speak personally with the premier intelligence of the universe.

The authors wrote the book largely from personal experience and are sometimes characters in the story they tell. As a younger man Waterman wrote for the "Student Review," a banned independent newspaper that catered to BYU's more independent minds. Kagel wrote for BYU's official "Daily Universe." Their book is of the highest quality in its presentation and research, and the documentation is simply amazing, all the more so since they were denied "access to accounts from administrators and board members."

The book is divided into two parts. Part one is background information for those not familiar with Mormonism, and helps to present the context in which later controversies developed. Chapter 1 describes Mormonism's historical development of schools and seminaries, not so much out of commitment to the truth, but from a practical need to forge a civilization in the wilderness and to maintain control over members.

Chapter 2 is a history of Feminism at BYU. I found this chapter particularly interesting because I still remember the massive political opposition the LDS Church mounted against the equal rights amendment and title IV. I recall the fiery speeches warning of the evils of women working outside the home, using birth control, etc. Waterman and Kagel describe these teachings of the LDS Church in historical context to bring greater understanding to the environment in which BYU later terminated feminist professors and how teachings of the LDS Church promote gender-based discrimination in the work place.

Chapter 3 is a brief history of BYU's student newspaper, and how the administration has gradually forced its way into the position of censor. A key theme throughout the book is the Church's heavy-handed aversion to any form of criticism.

Chapter 4 describes the evolution of BYU's honor code. Begun as a true student honor code, it was quickly appropriated by the administration and morphed into a tool for controlling unwanted behavior and thoughts. Today the honor code consists mostly of a dress code and prohibitions against doing anything that would embarrass the LDS Church. There are some interesting stories here, like the BYU coed who was refused admission to the testing center during finals because she was wearing jeans (a violation of the honor code at the time). It was winter and she was wearing a long coat, so she went to bathroom, removed her pants, buttoned up her coat, and was promptly admitted to the testing area.

Part two describes specific controversies in greater detail. Chapter 5 discusses BYU's statement on academic freedom and their policy of discouraging teachers from participating in certain symposia. For example, "[f]ollowing the 1992 Sunstone Symposium, Scott Abbott was warned by his stake president, BYU religion professor Keith Perkins, that his analysis of BYU and academic freedom showed 'potential for apostasy." [p. 264]. Perkins was told to apologize to Mormon apostle Packer for the sin of critiquing the Mormon leader's ideas.

Chapter 6 describes the firing of Cecilia Konchar Farr and David Knowlton. It's fascinating to read of the unethical behavior of BYU's administration as they fabricated their case against these teachers and forced them out of the university. The book is a tribute to those individuals who's professional reputations were tarnish by an administration that lied about their worth as intellectuals in their headlong rush to purge the university of teachers who did not follow the administration's party line on how to think, and what to say.

Chapter 7 touches slightly on a covert committee that spies on church members and keeps tabs of their public statements regarding the church. It also describes briefly the excommunication of historian Michael Quinn and others for uncovering and publishing information to which the General Authorities objected. In other parts of the book they describe the firing of David P. Write, an assistant professor of Near Easter studies, for privately admitting that the Book of Mormon is not literal history. Steve Epperson was fired for spending time on Sunday supporting a non-profit music conservatory for children instead of going to his Church meetings. Chapter 8 describes the firing of Gail Turley Houston and Brian Evenson. Brian is the son of William Evenson, a professor of Physics from whom I took theoretical mechanics while at BYU.

The book ends by documenting the influence of right-wing organizations on the thinking and behavior of BYU's administration and the leadership of the LDS Church. I was unaware of how deep some of the connections go. After reading this chapter much of the propaganda to which I was exposed growing up in the LDS Church made a lot more sense. It was particularly interesting to see these influences in Dallin Oaks, who was BYU's president when I attended. [Oaks, who is now a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, was in my ward during the first summer semester after I got married. On one occasion I had the chance to introduce myself to him after a Sunday-school class we attended. These experiences make accounts of his behavior even more intriguing.]

One of the book's unstated values is the insight it gives into the behind-the-scenes behavior of what it means to be a Mormon. If you want to understand Mormonism by observing Mormon behavior, then this book should be an integral part of your study program.

40 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but one-sided, September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at Byu (Paperback)

Waterman and Kagel's book is a good read, and vividly portrays one side of recent controversies concerning academic freedom at BYU: several professors were asked to leave or departed on their own in recent years over alleged theological incongruities in their teaching with the doctrines of the LDS church which funds BYU. What stops the book from being truly authoritative, though, is the failure of the authors to research and analyze both sides of the controversy. BYU administrators, many of whom are well-educated and compassionate, are universally portrayed in the book as cartoon characters- oafish puppets of an unseen Church hierarchy determined to thwart free inquiry at BYU. This view might be shared by perhaps a few of the 1400 member faculty who are active in the AAUP in Provo but it should have been rather easy for the authors to interview several of the majority of faculty members who supported the dismisals of the three or four faculty members who did not make tenure. Did the authors avoid such interviews because they would have conflicted with their hypothesis? Is is posible that, contrary to the assertions of the authors, there still is a great deal of academic freedom at BYU for those who share the tenets of the LDS faith? Many faculty came to BYU because of the freedom BYU presented to research and profess in a community of faith. Most of the faculty are at BYU because they are believers in the Mormon Church and support the Church leadership. It would have been nice to present the views of a few of those professors who strongly supported the dismissals of the errant faculty. Academic freedom does exist at BYU- such topics as evolution (which poses a problem for many Mormons) are taught rigorously and without apology. What BYU doesn't want - since it is supported by the tithes of Church members- are professors who attack the faith of LDS students- a reasonable expectation for the largest Church supported university in the country.

Also missing in the book is a critical analysis of the relative strength of the different cases of the dismissed faculty: a little poking around campus by the authors would have demonstrated remarkably little faculty support for Farr or Knowlton who lacked significant publication records, but far more sympathy for Huston who was the stronger scholar. The authors' imbalance colors their analysis of student reactions: we read a great deal about VOICE and women's issues but one wonders why the authors reject so quickly the claim of the female graduate student who,while attacking an extraordinarily violent and misogynistic book written by one of her professors (who later left BYU), requested to remain anonymous in her complaint because she feared reprocussions form the professor. Are the authors sure that her fears were unfounded?

All of this is quibbling, though. I bought the book expecting not to like it: I am a BYU alum (on campus when the authors were there) and remain a strong supporter of the institution. Yet despite my prejudice, I did enjoy reading the book. It gave me much more empathy for those who were dismissed, and although the book did not change my view that the alleged academic freedom issues at BYU consist of smoke and mirrors mainly drummed up by a few malcontents, the book did help me better understand anguish of those who were dismissed, and gave me a few hours of interesting reading. I recommend the book for anyone who has spent time at BYU and is interested in these issues.