Dr. Nicholas Meriwether

Today, standing firm in your faith and speaking up for what’s right often come at a price.

As our culture wages war over issues as fundamental as free speech, religious freedom, life, and even the biological reality of what it means to be a man and a woman, speaking the truth isn’t always easy. It can cause people to quickly turn against you—or even result in the loss of your livelihood.

But for Ohio professor Dr. Nicholas Meriwether, standing up for the truth in the face of such threats was worth it.

One day, his courage was tested when a male student asked to be referred to with feminine titles and pronouns. But Dr. Meriwether courageously chose to stand for his beliefs at his college, even doing so against the coercion of his university administration.

Dr. Meriwether chose to go to court not only to stand up for his own faith, but because he knew that defending free speech and religious liberty would help protect everyone’s freedom—even those who disagreed with him.

And by God’s grace, his case was successful in doing just that.

Who is Dr. Meriwether?

Dr. Meriwether has served as a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio for over 20 years with a fantastic record.

In his classes, he encourages students to openly discuss big issues within ethics and political philosophy that inevitably spark debate. But he’s intentional about going out of his way to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect in his classroom, making sure the students feel comfortable to voice their differing opinions. He would also address his students as “ma’am” or “sir” to help foster this atmosphere of deep respect.

“One thing that is very important to understand about philosophy is that it’s very social … and I think that is absolutely central … I have to work very hard to create an environment where students … feel very, very open and free to offer their opinions,” Dr. Meriwether explains.

As a Christian, he strives to live and work consistently with his faith. And he encourages the students to think critically and pursue the truth with winsomeness and grace.

Many of Dr. Meriwether’s students appreciate how he challenged them in the classroom and brought ideas to the table that were different from their own. As one student wrote:

You and I saw eye-to-eye on very little and that made those arguments all the more valuable to me. If you had only made a half-hearted attempt at a counterpoint or (far worse) neglected to even mention an opposing position in order to spare my feelings, you would have been fundamentally undermining my education. I thank you for showing me enough respect to bring your “A-Game” to every in-class debate.

Unfortunately, his administration didn’t feel the same way about being open to different viewpoints.

Punished for his beliefs

It all began when Dr. Meriwether responded to a male student’s question with “yes, sir.”

Understandably, Dr. Meriwether didn’t think anything of it. After all, he was accustomed to using this phrasing.

But this time was different. This time, the student approached Dr. Meriwether after class, informed him that he identified as transgender, and demanded that Dr. Meriwether refer to him as a woman, with feminine titles and pronouns. Dr. Meriwether couldn’t agree to using feminine titles or pronouns. So the student responded with threats, and even circled Dr. Meriwether.

Before walking away, the student promised to get Dr. Meriwether fired if he did not agree to the student’s demands.

Afterward, the student filed a complaint with the university, which launched a formal investigation. 

As a Christian, Dr. Meriwether believes that God has created human beings in his image, as male or female—and that God does not make mistakes. To call a man a woman or vice versa would be to say something that simply is not true and to endorse an ideology that conflicts with his religious beliefs.

“Initially the administration supported me. They said as long as you don’t use the titles and the pronouns with that particular student—if you just use the student’s first name or last name—then that’s acceptable. But then the university changed course and decided that I would have to use the pronouns and the titles with that student,” he explained.

“And I said, look I can’t do that … and that wasn’t enough for the university.”

The school formally charged Dr. Meriwether—claiming he “created a hostile environment” for the student. Later, they placed a written warning in his personnel file that threatened “further corrective actions” if he did not refer to students using pronouns that reflect their self-asserted gender identity.

The university warned Dr. Meriwether that he’d be in violation of its nondiscrimination policy—even if he agreed to refer to men as women while putting a “disclaimer” in his syllabus saying he was being compelled to do so against his beliefs.

Dr. Meriwether takes a stand for free speech and religious freedom

Dr. Meriwether’s job was in jeopardy because he was doing what was right: standing by his beliefs and exercising his free speech rights.

That’s why he decided to reach out to Alliance Defending Freedom and file a lawsuit against Shawnee State University in November 2018, even though it wasn’t easy.

“I really did not like having to do that,” he said of filing the lawsuit. “But I felt like I had to do it because … I believed that academic freedom was very much under threat. Not only academic freedom but also religious freedom was very, very seriously under threat.”

Dr. Meriwether’s case is significant because it was the first of its kind to deal with the issue of coerced pronouns. But Dr. Meriwether had the courage to stand for the truth.

Since his case was first filed, much has changed. And courts around the country have ruled in favor of others who refused to use language that violated their consciences. But Dr. Meriwether was the pioneer who stood when not many others were yet standing. 

“So it wasn’t just about me, it was not just about my keeping my job, it was about academic freedom and religious freedom in higher education. So I felt that I really had to stand up to it.”

Initially, a federal judge dismissed the case, but we appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. And in March 2021, the 6th Circuit ruled in our favor, upholding Dr. Meriwether’s First Amendment rights.

In its decision, the 6th Circuit explained that if “professors lacked free-speech protections when teaching, a university would wield alarming power to compel ideological conformity. A university president could require a pacifist to declare that war is just, a civil rights icon to condemn the Freedom Riders, a believer to deny the existence of God, or a Soviet émigré to address his students as ‘comrades.’ That cannot be.”

Victory for Dr. Meriwether

By God’s grace, in April 2022, Dr. Meriwether’s case concluded with a favorable settlement, in which the university agreed to pay $400,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees, rescind the written warning it previously issued, and affirm his right to address students consistent with his beliefs.

This case is a testament to speaking the truth in love to those around us. Dr. Meriwether’s courageous stand for the truth helped pave the way for others to both speak and hear the truth.  

“In the time that we’re living in now, being honest and being truthful and being faithful to scripture and to what God has called us to do is going to come with a price,” Dr. Meriwether says.

“So we have to do the right thing, we have to speak the truth, and leave it in the Lord’s hands as to what results from that.”

This was never about just a pronoun

No one should be forced to speak a message they disagree with.

“Public universities should welcome intellectual and ideological diversity, where all students and professors can engage in meaningful discussions without compromising their core beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom.

“Dr. Meriwether rightly defended his freedom to speak and stay silent—and not conform to the university’s demand for uniformity of thought. We commend the university for ultimately agreeing to do the right thing, in keeping with its reason for existence as a marketplace of ideas.”

ADF regularly gets calls from public university students and professors who are threatened with punishment by school officials because their views on gender and ideology do not conform to the school’s approved views. But you can help answer them today.

Will you give a gift to support cases like Dr. Meriwether’s? We never charge our clients a dime for representation in court. Your generosity today has the power to help protect your free speech and religious freedom from the kind of violation that Dr. Meriwether once faced.