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No. You are making the mistake that belief is equal to knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

He had to ask them directly if they believe in a creator or not. It was not apparent from their tests or papers.

It is the same as asking if your favorite color is blue and refusing a recommendation over that.

As a devout Christian I do believe that the Earth and the Universe were gifts bestowed by God to all of us. It is difficult to understand how anyone could think otherwise. On the other hand, I also believe that this happened through evolution. Evolution was God's means and it can be studied scientifically. Similarly, the birth of a child is God's means also and it too can be studied scientifically. The way I read the article, I could get a letter of recommendation from this teacher. His beef isn't with Christians, it is with people who don't accept his teaching. For that reason, the issue is his free speech.

I can tell you that in Lubbock, Texas, this is not going to fly. The professor better be packing his bags and trying to get a job at UT in Austin. This is a publically funded, public institution where Christian students should not be discriminated against for their beliefs. If university personnel can't live with that, they need to teach at private universities. We are no longer going to pay for our children being abused for their faith in God and His Scriptures, and we will see bigoted professors and teachers in the courtroom if they persist in infringing on the free exercise of our religious freedom. Incidentally, isn't it interesting that scientists such as Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and Albert Schweitzer managed to follow God and excel in science, while our minor, no-name scientists today are so closed-minded in their pursuit of scientific knowledge.

The professor probably "learned" of the students' views on evolution in the course of classroom discussions, during which the students may have been overzealous in unobjectively condemning the professor's views.

I would be quite surprised if the students had not taken several other course in the biological sciences, chemistry, physics, psychology, etc. and could more easily obtain references from the professors who taught those classes.

That said, undergraduate recommendations from a professor whose only contact with a given student was classroom discussions (if any) and grading their papers and exams (if he/she indeed did so, rather than a teaching assistant) are laughable at best. Indeed, what student in his/her right mind would seek a recommendation other than a professor who would be certain to provide a glowing recommendation?

Sadly, the answer to that question appears to be: only the subject pre-med weenies who appear to be providing early evidence that they lack good judgment, social/emotional "intelligence," and the street smarts to resist the temptation of being a litigious pains-in-the-ass for a medical faculty unfortunate enough to have the dubious honor of providing their medical education and training......

>>It is the same as asking if your favorite color is blue and refusing a recommendation over that<<

How you interpret Genesis, microevolution, the fossil record, and the meaningof life is not a trivial personal preference like your favorite color.