An article at Inside Higher Education last week tried to raise a defense against claims that professors frequently indoctrinate college students into liberal ways of thinking. If the defense succeeded, it was only by defining the problem so narrowly it missed most of the point.

The author, Colleen Flaherty, was responding specifically to charges of political indoctrination that had been raised by pollster Frank Luntz in a side meeting of the Republican National Convention. (One might also have a similar concern about anti-Christian influences in the classroom.) Based on interviews and a sampling of research, Flaherty concluded that no such indoctrination was taking place.

She may be right, up to a point. I have not read any research systematically documenting that students are losing their faith or changing their political beliefs due to professors’ lectures. It seems that the article defines the problem rather narrowly, however. Indoctrination is not the only way to stifle unwanted ideas — especially if one defines indoctrination as students coming into class as politically conservative or moderate, and leaving as politically progressive or even radical. That probably does not happen very often. But still we should be looking more broadly at the generally poisoning effect of academic bias on students and the larger society.

For example, what happens when conservative, moderate or Christian students learn that their ideas are not welcomed in the classroom, while progressive or non-Christian students’ ideas are freely invited? Research at the University of Colorado uncovered clear evidence of that sort of favoritism. I have little doubt that the same thing exists at most non-sectarian educational institutions. Even though Christians may not be persuaded to change their views in college classrooms, they are likely to learn that they must keep their ideas to themselves, whereas others are allowed to speak freely and openly.

The reality is that conservative Christians do face prejudice in academia. We do not need indoctrination in the classroom to see that there is a finger on the scale — one that has very real implications in the larger world. College students are steeped in a climate of dismissiveness toward Christianity, where only secular or non-Christian spiritual perspectives receive any respect. This tends to support an attitude in the wider culture that considers it acceptable to view believers as second-class citizens, unworthy of participation in the public square. Indeed, for many of the powerful members of our culture, keeping Christians out of the public conversation can be seen as a righteous social goal.

Differential treatment of ideas has become commonplace on the college campus. Examples of suppression of the “wrong” speech are very easy to find, from a University of Houston student body vice president being suspended from student government for posting #AllLivesMatter, to a conservative speaker being barred from DePaul. We can also see Christian ideals being suppressed on college campuses through the all-comer policies many schools have adopted.

The message is clear for the Christian. You can come to school and you can keep your faith. But you will not be given equal opportunity to express your ideals along with those who disagree with you, and align themselves with the college’s approved philosophies. Again I say: indoctrination is not the only way to stifle unwanted ideas.

I fear that this Inside Higher Education article was written in part to excuse academics from guilt over certain individuals being treated with less respect and courtesy than others. The author seems to suggest that as long as there is no (narrowly defined) indoctrination in the classroom, there is no discrimination or bias against Christians and political conservatives. But defining the problem narrowly doesn’t change the larger reality.

There is still discrimination, and it is not alright — not if we care about knowledge, and not if we care about fairness. If we care about knowledge we should want to make sure that scholars are free to explore conservative and centrist ideas. If we care about fairness we should be concerned about the double standards political and religious conservatives face, regardless of whether they are indoctrinated into a left-leaning philosophy. It is a mistake for academics to feel relieved of the guilt of classroom indoctrination while the overall climate of academic bias continues to have its detrimental effect on culture as a whole.