University Left-Wing Bias

Reliably liberal Nicholas Kristof has written what is, for The New York Times, a piece of heterodox journalism. His topic: the scarcity of political conservatives and evangelicals on university faculties, particularly in certain departments.

Four studies found that the proportion of professors in the humanities who are Republicans ranges between 6 and 11 percent, and in the social sciences between 7 and 9 percent.

Conservatives can be spotted in the sciences and in economics, but they are virtually an endangered species in fields like anthropology, sociology, history and literature. One study found that only 2 percent of English professors are Republicans (although a large share are independents).

Having raised the issue of bias and to the satisfaction of most demonstrated its existence, Kristof condemns the lack of ideological bandwidth on faculties as counterproductive. We agree; as our Australian pals would say, "Good on you, mate."

The combined academic experiences of the DrsC suggest what Kristof has written is accurate. We'd add Teacher Ed. faculties to his list of departments with few political conservatives.

Outside the South, where they appear to be common, overt Christians are scarce in higher ed. How much of southern academics' religiosity is simply "protective coloration" adopted to gain acceptance is unknown.