‘Theophobia’ Afflicting Legal Academics

A legal blogger notes a malady afflicting law professors that is characterized by irrational fear of, or intense discomfort around, religious beliefs.

New York University law professor Roderick Hills calls the affliction “theophobia” in a post on PrawfsBlawg.

Hills began thinking about the issue after he discussed a mutual friend with a former colleague. “The latter was astonished by our mutual friend’s Christianity,” Hills writes. “ ‘What’s up with that?!’ he exclaimed, expressing bewilderment and even nervousness at the thought that a well-regarded—indeed, by academic standards, famous—professor could believe in the existence and beneficence of an omniscient and omnipotent God. It was as if our Christian friend had declared that the world was flat or was dabbling in alchemy.”