UK publisher Blackwell dechristianizes history of religion

Are my liberal friends still in favor of free speech? Or free speech so long as it has a certain outcome? That's where I say "progressive" (a mindset) diverges from "liberal" (a political agenda).

**********

Publisher accused of 'dechristianising' church encyclopediaAlison Flood guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 February 2009 12.56 GMT Article historyAcademic publisher Blackwell has been accused of attempting to "dechristianise" the Encyclopedia of Christian Civilisation it was due to publish in order to make it politically correct.


The Encyclopedia's editor-in-chief, George Kurian, claims that under pressure from an anti-Christian lobby, Blackwell decided that entries in the four-volume book were "too Christian, too orthodox, too anti-secular and too anti-Muslim and not politically correct enough for being used in universities". Kurian also claims that the press wants to delete words including "Antichrist", "Virgin Birth", "Resurrection", "Evangelism" and "Beloved Disciple" from the book, as well as objecting to "historical references to the persecution and massacres of Christians by Muslims".


"To make the treatment 'more balanced', they also want the insertion of material denigrating Christianity in some form or fashion," Kurian wrote in a letter he circulated to contributors criticising Blackwell's actions. "This is the most blatant form of censorship in the history of religious publishing."


But Susan Spilka, corporate communications director of Blackwell's parent company Wiley, described Kurian's allegations as "inflammatory" and "completely without foundation". "It would make no sense for us to sabotage a project to which we have committed long-term investment and resources, and which we think will be valuable addition to Christian scholarship," she said in a statement.


Spilka said that when the encyclopaedia was originally commissioned in 2006, a scholarly editorial board was appointed alongside Kurian to provide guidance on the composition of the work. In November last year, concerns were raised by contributors about the book's contents, and in reviewing the situation with the board, Spilka said Wiley learned that "few if any" contributions had been reviewed by the board as had been required.


"We have therefore asked the appointed editorial board to review the work for scholarly integrity and accuracy prior to publication - the task they were originally recruited to perform - and the majority of the board has accepted this appointment," she said. "We appreciate that the review process has delayed publication and we understand the concerns of contributors to see their work published. However, we do not feel that we would be fulfilling our responsibilities to our customers or protecting [the reputation of] contributors if we were to publish this work before confirming that it meets standards of appropriate scholarship."


The book is intended to be a comprehensive work on the history and legacy of Christianity, looking not only at the religion but at the aspects of society, such as art, literature, architecture, music, politics, and scholarship, it has shaped. Sample articles already available include pieces on John Wesley, medieval literature, Christian identity and pilgrimage.