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 simply because of the religious nature of the speech at issue. Bishop might have had a different outcome had Dr. Bishop taught a religious studies class and instead offered his views regarding his own faith while instructing on Christianity. Or it might have been a different case had the University permitted the exercise physiology course to include a unit on intelligent design and evolution with respect to human physiology. In Bishop, however, the Eleventh Circuit credited the University’s determination that Dr. Bishop’s religious speech was not part of its curriculum with respect to the exercise physiology course he taught. The same would likely be true if a professor tried to teach an introductory botany class through the lens of critical race theory.

In sum, the Eleventh Circuit—on the facts of the case before it—held that the University’s authority to regulate content in the classroom with respect to the established curriculum and its concern regarding a possible establishment violation outweighed the professor’s weak interest in academic freedom to change the content of the course. The Eleventh Circuit never said the University of Alabama had unfettered power to control every thought or opinion a professor wished to express