Johnson Varkey, a professor at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, has been reinstated after being terminated for teaching facts about how chromosomes determine the biological sex of a human being. Varkey was terminated in January 2023 after students complained he was teaching things that ran contrary to the LGBT agenda.
Specifically, students complained that Varkey engaged in “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter.” The termination occurred after Varkey taught a lesson on human reproduction featuring the scientific facts about the subject. Four students walked out of the lecture and complained to the college administration leading to Varkey’s termination.
Those students complained that Varkey’s teaching “pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with [his] personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom.”
Varkey, an Indian-American who volunteers as an associate pastor at International Bible Church in San Antonio, asserted that he never discussed his personal views on the subject.
In his Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint, Varkey detailed his understanding of the termination:
The only reason the College gave for firing me was the student complaint(s) of “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, antiabortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter.” While I never preached or proselytized in class, the accusation of religious preaching was clearly in connection with the fact that I serve as an associate pastor. I would mention this by way of introduction at the beginning of each semester, so my students were aware. The College assumed I was preaching rather than teaching due to negative, discriminatory stereotypes about Christians.
“If not for my beliefs about gender, sexuality, and human life, I would not have been fired. Thus, religion was clearly a but-for cause — and a motivating factor — of my termination,” Varkey concluded.
The firm representing Varkey, First Liberty Institute, announced his reinstatement on Wednesday. Varkey will again begin teaching as early as this spring if it can be arranged.
“We are happy that the Alamo Community College District voluntarily reinstated Dr. Varkey,” announced Kayla Toney, a First Liberty attorney. “[Varkey] is excited by this outcome, and we are glad that the District did the right thing. Dr. Varkey looks forward to continuing to educate students.”
“I love science and I love to teach,” Varkey said. “I am excited about returning to the classroom and am grateful to all those who helped me get my teaching job back.”
In addition to First Liberty, Varkey received some high-profile assistance after a group of federal legislators, including Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Representatives Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), wrote a letter to St. Philip’s, threatening an investigation because the college and the Alamo College District “appear to be violating federal and state civil rights laws by rashly and wrongfully terminating employees based on unsubstantiated allegations.”
Varkey’s firing and subsequent rehiring comes, of course, in the midst of the ongoing cultural war, which is based on the now-odious notion that gender is somehow fluid and not based upon any biological reality but on the subjective feelings of the individual.
