Catholic School Fires Math Teacher Who May Not Believe in God
Catholic School Fires Math Teacher Who May Not Believe in God
2 hours ago
A math teacher who may not believe in God has been fired by an Iowa Catholic school after it was discovered that she indicated in a Facebook survey that she was not a traditional believer.
Last November, months after checking "no" in a Facebook survey about whether she believed in God, heaven and angels, the teacher, 27-year-old Abby Nurre, then posted a link to a news article about federal funding of research on prayer in an online discussion forum run by atheists.
Church officials learned of both postings a few weeks later, and in January, Nurre was fired. The Catholic school, backed by the bishops of Iowa, also sought to deny Nurre unemployment benefits, which prompted a court hearing that concluded in her favor this week.
The Iowa episode comes in the wake of a number of stories about controversial Catholic school policies -- barring a teacher because she is a lesbian, as happened in Vancouver in April, or kicking out the children of gay parents, as happened recently in Colorado and Massachusetts. These cases have sparked furious debates and raised questions about collateral damages in the fierce internal church battle over how to define "Catholic identity" -- and who gets to make the calls.
In the Iowa case, Nurre, who had been hired last summer as an eighth-grade math teacher at St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge, was called to the office of Monsignor Kevin McCoy, head of the school, five weeks after posting a comment and link to a story on prayer at a forum called Atheist Nexus.
At the meeting, McCoy handed Nurre a letter informing her that she was suspended from her position and barred from school grounds for making "atheist statements in a public forum," according to an account in the Des Moines Register.
A few days later, the school's board fired her, saying she violated a policy that prohibits employees from advocating "principles contrary to the dogmatic and moral teaching of the church."
In January, Nurre challenged the board's ruling, but it upheld the original decision.
Then, pouring salt in the wound, the school and the Iowa Catholic Conference -- which is the lobbying arm of the state's four bishops -- sought to deny Nurre's request for unemployment benefits.
During a hearing this week on the benefits claim, more details emerged about the church's reasons for firing her and trying to deny her benefits.
"She should be denied unemployment benefits for being a member of an atheist Web site," Tim Hancock, the St. Edmond's business manager, testified.
Hancock said Nurre left the school no choice but to fire her.
"There were printouts of the Facebook page and of that Nexus group that the kids actually had," he said. "When students in a Catholic school are running around the school with this survey and it says, 'Do you believe in God?' and it says, 'No,' well, that's in conflict with what we are teaching."
Last August, Nurre responded to a Facebook members' poll in which she was asked whether she believed in God, miracles or heaven. She answered, "No," and her answers became part of her personal Facebook page, which was accessible only to her designated "friends," the Register reported.
Nurre testified that she did not allow any students access to her Facebook page or the survey within, and it was unclear how the pages began circulating in the school.
As for the Atheist Nexus forum, Nurre said she had to join in order to post the link to the article, and she said her posting contained no opinions and did not endorse atheism.
"I believe in knowledge," she testified at the hearing. "I believe in communicating with other people of different beliefs. I believe in being an open person. That, to me, is not immoral."
"Do you deny that you are an atheist?" asked attorney Paul Jahnke, who represented the Iowa Catholic Conference in the effort to deny her unemployment benefits.
"I am not an atheist," Nurre responded.
Pressed as to why she responded to the Facebook survey by saying she didn't believe in God she said: "I feel that opinions on such things constantly change."
In the end, Administrative Law Judge Steven Wise ruled that Nurre was entitled to unemployment benefits because the Facebook survey and Nurre's posting to the atheists' forum "did not involve publicly advocating principles contrary to the teachings of the church and did not involve immoral conduct."
Fort Dodge is located in the Diocese of Sioux City, which is led by Bishop R. Walker Nickless, who is emerging as one of the more conservative members of the U.S. hierarchy. During the fierce debate over health care reform, Nickless was one of just a handful of bishops who questioned the very principle of government-backed universal health care -- which the pope and the rest of the hierarchy have said is a "human right."
Before his appointment as bishop of Sioux City, Nickless was a top aide to Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, who is also a prominent and often controversial conservative voice inside the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In March, Chaput affirmed the action of a Boulder priest to bar the children of a lesbian couple from attending a parish school. This month, after a Massachusetts pastor barred a child of lesbian parents from attending school, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley said any child could attend Catholic schools, though he also gave the pastor in question a vote of confidence and said the archdiocese would clarify its policies.
Last November, months after checking "no" in a Facebook survey about whether she believed in God, heaven and angels, the teacher, 27-year-old Abby Nurre, then posted a link to a news article about federal funding of research on prayer in an online discussion forum run by atheists.
Church officials learned of both postings a few weeks later, and in January, Nurre was fired. The Catholic school, backed by the bishops of Iowa, also sought to deny Nurre unemployment benefits, which prompted a court hearing that concluded in her favor this week.
The Iowa episode comes in the wake of a number of stories about controversial Catholic school policies -- barring a teacher because she is a lesbian, as happened in Vancouver in April, or kicking out the children of gay parents, as happened recently in Colorado and Massachusetts. These cases have sparked furious debates and raised questions about collateral damages in the fierce internal church battle over how to define "Catholic identity" -- and who gets to make the calls.
In the Iowa case, Nurre, who had been hired last summer as an eighth-grade math teacher at St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge, was called to the office of Monsignor Kevin McCoy, head of the school, five weeks after posting a comment and link to a story on prayer at a forum called Atheist Nexus.
At the meeting, McCoy handed Nurre a letter informing her that she was suspended from her position and barred from school grounds for making "atheist statements in a public forum," according to an account in the Des Moines Register.
A few days later, the school's board fired her, saying she violated a policy that prohibits employees from advocating "principles contrary to the dogmatic and moral teaching of the church."
In January, Nurre challenged the board's ruling, but it upheld the original decision.
Then, pouring salt in the wound, the school and the Iowa Catholic Conference -- which is the lobbying arm of the state's four bishops -- sought to deny Nurre's request for unemployment benefits.
During a hearing this week on the benefits claim, more details emerged about the church's reasons for firing her and trying to deny her benefits.
"She should be denied unemployment benefits for being a member of an atheist Web site," Tim Hancock, the St. Edmond's business manager, testified.
Hancock said Nurre left the school no choice but to fire her.
"There were printouts of the Facebook page and of that Nexus group that the kids actually had," he said. "When students in a Catholic school are running around the school with this survey and it says, 'Do you believe in God?' and it says, 'No,' well, that's in conflict with what we are teaching."
Last August, Nurre responded to a Facebook members' poll in which she was asked whether she believed in God, miracles or heaven. She answered, "No," and her answers became part of her personal Facebook page, which was accessible only to her designated "friends," the Register reported.
Nurre testified that she did not allow any students access to her Facebook page or the survey within, and it was unclear how the pages began circulating in the school.
As for the Atheist Nexus forum, Nurre said she had to join in order to post the link to the article, and she said her posting contained no opinions and did not endorse atheism.
"I believe in knowledge," she testified at the hearing. "I believe in communicating with other people of different beliefs. I believe in being an open person. That, to me, is not immoral."
"Do you deny that you are an atheist?" asked attorney Paul Jahnke, who represented the Iowa Catholic Conference in the effort to deny her unemployment benefits.
"I am not an atheist," Nurre responded.
Pressed as to why she responded to the Facebook survey by saying she didn't believe in God she said: "I feel that opinions on such things constantly change."
In the end, Administrative Law Judge Steven Wise ruled that Nurre was entitled to unemployment benefits because the Facebook survey and Nurre's posting to the atheists' forum "did not involve publicly advocating principles contrary to the teachings of the church and did not involve immoral conduct."
Fort Dodge is located in the Diocese of Sioux City, which is led by Bishop R. Walker Nickless, who is emerging as one of the more conservative members of the U.S. hierarchy. During the fierce debate over health care reform, Nickless was one of just a handful of bishops who questioned the very principle of government-backed universal health care -- which the pope and the rest of the hierarchy have said is a "human right."
Before his appointment as bishop of Sioux City, Nickless was a top aide to Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, who is also a prominent and often controversial conservative voice inside the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In March, Chaput affirmed the action of a Boulder priest to bar the children of a lesbian couple from attending a parish school. This month, after a Massachusetts pastor barred a child of lesbian parents from attending school, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley said any child could attend Catholic schools, though he also gave the pastor in question a vote of confidence and said the archdiocese would clarify its policies.
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