We just filed a charge of discrimination at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of our client Dr. Johnson Varkey.

Dr. Varkey was fired from his job as a professor at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas because he taught that sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes, consistent with his study of human biology and religious beliefs.

As an adjunct professor, Dr. Varkey taught Human Anatomy and Physiology to more than 1,500 students since 2004. He consistently received exemplary performance reviews and was never subject to discipline. Throughout that time, he never discussed with any student his personal views—religious or otherwise—on human gender or sexuality.

Last fall, four students walked out of his class because he taught widely-accepted biological facts. He was fired in January 2023 after the college said it “received numerous complaints” about his “offensive” and “unacceptable religious preaching” in the classroom. In nearly two decades of teaching basic, unremarkable concepts, no other students ever complained.

“No college professor should be fired for teaching factual concepts that a handful of students don’t want to hear,” said First Liberty Counsel Keisha Russell. “Dr. Varkey received exemplary performance reviews for nearly two decades, teaching fact-based, widely accepted science. But now that cultural elites are at odds with these ideas, the school no longer supports professors who teach them.”

We make it clear that the college violated federal law. In the EEOC charge, Dr. Varkey states, “St. Philip’s College engaged in disparate treatment that violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it terminated me because of my sincerely held religious beliefs and protected speech. The only reason the College gave for firing me was the student complaints of ‘religious preaching.’”

Dr. Varkey is the latest example of an everyday American who lost his job to a toxic cancel culture that is infecting employers all over the country. He joins a long list of First Liberty clients—including Valerie Kloosterman, Lacey Smith, Robyn Strader and Fire Chief Ron Hittle—who lost their jobs.

Americans should not be forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood. Will you consider supporting First Liberty to help defend Dr. Varkey and others facing career-ending threats?