Paul Mirecki
Encyclopedia
Paul Mirecki is Bible
scholar and associate professor of religious studies
at the University of Kansas
and the faculty advisor for the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics student organization. He was chairman of the department until he stepped aside on December 7, 2005.
Mirecki earned a Th.D.
in Theology
from Harvard University
, worked with John Strugnell
to translate the Dead Sea Scrolls
, and was one of the most recent persons to discover and translate an unknown gospel.
in Worth, Illinois, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. His parents wanted him to be a priest
. Instead, he took to music. In the late 1960s, he attended Roosevelt University
in Chicago, majoring in musical composition
and playing classical guitar
and piano
. He dropped out early to work, but returned to college in 1973, pursuing religious studies
at North Central University
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. After teaching stints at the University of Michigan
and Albion College
, Mirecki joined the University of Kansas
faculty in 1989.
At the top of the "academic resume" section of his website, Mirecki has an image of Mr. Van Driessen, the liberal
hippie
teacher of Beavis and Butt-head
, with the caption, "(Actual photo of Paul Mirecki)".
. Mirecki was to teach a class in spring 2006 on the topic Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design and Creationism. (The original title was to have been Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and Other Religious Mythologies, but the phrase "Other Religious Mythologies" was removed on November 28 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/nov/29/ku_course_creates_furor_topeka/.) The class was a response to a November 8 ruling by the Kansas State Board of Education
designed to allow Kansas public school students to hear more criticism of evolution
in class. Mirecki had previously led a group of KU faculty in creating a parody creationist organization called Families for Learning Accurate Theories (F.L.A.T.) in 1999 in response to and ridicule of creationists on the Kansas Board of Education who decided to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution.
In emails to the Society for Open Minded Atheists and Agnostics, Mirecki commented on the course's perspective on intelligent design, saying, "The fundies want it all taught in a science class, but this will be a nice slap in their big fat face by teaching it as a religious studies class under the category 'mythology'." Mirecki signed the note, "Doing my part to piss off the religious right, Evil Dr. P." He later apologized for these words and urged that the class be canceled.
The course was withdrawn on December 1, 2005, with the support of University of Kansas Provost
David Shulenburger. Some conservative political activists were not satisfied with the university's response and called for sanctions against Mirecki or for his dismissal.
On December 5, 2005, Mirecki reported that he was accosted and beaten by two unidentified men. He was treated and released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Mirecki has stated that the men made reference to the recent controversy over the class during the beating. On December 7, Mirecki stepped down from his post as department chair. Mirecki denounced the university as being not supportive of him and his First Amendment
rights, and said he had faced an increase in harassment since the chancellor publicly called his email commentary "repugnant and vile." He also criticized the police as treating him more like a criminal than a victim, saying they had confiscated his car and his computer and had interrogated him for up to five hours straighthttp://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/dec/10/professor_blasts_ku_sheriffs_investigation/.
Despite a Lawrence Journal-World
photo showing two black eyes and a bruisehttp://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2005/dec/10/70615/, Michelle Malkin
and criminology professor Mike Adams suggested in separate columns at Townhall.com
, a conservative website, that Mirecki had fabricated his story of the assault, http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2005/12/14/178998.html http://www.townhall.com/opinion/column/mikeadams/2005/12/08/178356.html. Michelle Malkin, in particular, noted the statements of students who were in his classes the same day as the alleged attack who pointed out that for a guy who got worked over by two rednecks with a crowbar the professor seemed remarkably unbruised.
The University of Kansas issued a press release on December 10 affirming that it stood behind Mirecki unequivocally, that it deplored the violence against him, that he remained a tenured professor, that he had resigned as department chair voluntarily on the recommendation of the department faculty, that he had canceled his course on intelligent design as mythology voluntarily, but that the university "continues to believe the course has merit and should be taught in the future."
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
scholar and associate professor of religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and the faculty advisor for the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics student organization. He was chairman of the department until he stepped aside on December 7, 2005.
Mirecki earned a Th.D.
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, worked with John Strugnell
John Strugnell
John Strugnell, was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, UK. At the age of 23 he became the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem...
to translate the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
, and was one of the most recent persons to discover and translate an unknown gospel.
Early life
Mirecki was reared as a Roman CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Worth, Illinois, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. His parents wanted him to be a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. Instead, he took to music. In the late 1960s, he attended Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on...
in Chicago, majoring in musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and playing classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He dropped out early to work, but returned to college in 1973, pursuing religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
at North Central University
North Central University
North Central University is a coeducational, undergraduate, primarily residential college owned and operated by 11 Assemblies of God districts of the upper Midwest. It is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. After teaching stints at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
, Mirecki joined the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
faculty in 1989.
At the top of the "academic resume" section of his website, Mirecki has an image of Mr. Van Driessen, the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
teacher of Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
, with the caption, "(Actual photo of Paul Mirecki)".
Intelligent Design controversy
Mirecki achieved notoriety in late November 2005 for making derogatory comments about adherents of intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
. Mirecki was to teach a class in spring 2006 on the topic Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design and Creationism. (The original title was to have been Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and Other Religious Mythologies, but the phrase "Other Religious Mythologies" was removed on November 28 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/nov/29/ku_course_creates_furor_topeka/.) The class was a response to a November 8 ruling by the Kansas State Board of Education
Education in Kansas
Education in Kansas is governed at the primary and secondary school level by the Kansas State Board of Education. The state's public colleges and universities are supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents.- Colleges and universities :...
designed to allow Kansas public school students to hear more criticism of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in class. Mirecki had previously led a group of KU faculty in creating a parody creationist organization called Families for Learning Accurate Theories (F.L.A.T.) in 1999 in response to and ridicule of creationists on the Kansas Board of Education who decided to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution.
In emails to the Society for Open Minded Atheists and Agnostics, Mirecki commented on the course's perspective on intelligent design, saying, "The fundies want it all taught in a science class, but this will be a nice slap in their big fat face by teaching it as a religious studies class under the category 'mythology'." Mirecki signed the note, "Doing my part to piss off the religious right, Evil Dr. P." He later apologized for these words and urged that the class be canceled.
The course was withdrawn on December 1, 2005, with the support of University of Kansas Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
David Shulenburger. Some conservative political activists were not satisfied with the university's response and called for sanctions against Mirecki or for his dismissal.
On December 5, 2005, Mirecki reported that he was accosted and beaten by two unidentified men. He was treated and released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Mirecki has stated that the men made reference to the recent controversy over the class during the beating. On December 7, Mirecki stepped down from his post as department chair. Mirecki denounced the university as being not supportive of him and his First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
rights, and said he had faced an increase in harassment since the chancellor publicly called his email commentary "repugnant and vile." He also criticized the police as treating him more like a criminal than a victim, saying they had confiscated his car and his computer and had interrogated him for up to five hours straighthttp://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/dec/10/professor_blasts_ku_sheriffs_investigation/.
Despite a Lawrence Journal-World
Lawrence Journal-World
The Lawrence Journal-World is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas by The World Company.-History:Though the Journal-World title only came into existence in 1911, according to the volume number of the current masthead of the paper, the paper dates itself back to 1858.The Simons family...
photo showing two black eyes and a bruisehttp://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2005/dec/10/70615/, Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
and criminology professor Mike Adams suggested in separate columns at Townhall.com
Townhall.com
Townhall.com is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. It was previously operated by the Heritage Foundation, but is now owned and operated by Salem Communications...
, a conservative website, that Mirecki had fabricated his story of the assault, http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2005/12/14/178998.html http://www.townhall.com/opinion/column/mikeadams/2005/12/08/178356.html. Michelle Malkin, in particular, noted the statements of students who were in his classes the same day as the alleged attack who pointed out that for a guy who got worked over by two rednecks with a crowbar the professor seemed remarkably unbruised.
The University of Kansas issued a press release on December 10 affirming that it stood behind Mirecki unequivocally, that it deplored the violence against him, that he remained a tenured professor, that he had resigned as department chair voluntarily on the recommendation of the department faculty, that he had canceled his course on intelligent design as mythology voluntarily, but that the university "continues to believe the course has merit and should be taught in the future."
External links
- Mirecki's web site
- Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics
- F.L.A.T.'s Home Page
- Religion Professor Issues Apology About Email - Lawrence Journal-World 11/29/2005
- KU Withdraws Intelligent Design Course - Lawrence Journal-World 12/01/2005
- Mirecki Hospitalized After Beating (Quicktime video) - 6 News Lawrence6 News Lawrence6 News Lawrence is an independent local television station based in Lawrence, Kansas. They are presented on the Knology of Kansas cable system and reach homes in various surrounding communities in Douglas County, Kansas, including Eudora; communities in Leavenworth County, Kansas including...
12/05/2005 - Criminal Twist in Evolution Debate CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
12/06/2006 - Prof. Critical of Creationism Resigns Post Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
12/08/2005 - Professor blasts KU, sheriff’s investigation, Mirecki says he may sue university, Lawrence Journal-World, 12/10/2005 (includes photo of Mirecki with bruises, black eyes)
- Statement re: Paul Mirecki, from the University of Kansas, 12/10/2005
- Article about postcard