The college prohibits faculty members from holding leadership positions or contracting with groups that don’t conform to the college’s beliefs.

South Bend Tribune reports.

Bethel Professor Resigns After College Stance on Human Origin

MISHAWAKA — James Stump, a Bethel College graduate, returned to his alma mater in 1998 and served as a teacher and administrator at the school for more than 16 years, becoming a campus fixture and popular philosophy professor.

Two years ago, he also took a prominent role with a Michigan organization that promotes the idea that Christianity and modern science, including the theory of evolution, are compatible.

His two positions could no longer co-exist.

The college recently adopted a new philosophy statement on the origins of humanity, and it prohibits faculty members from holding leadership positions or contracting with groups that don’t conform to the college’s beliefs. Bethel adheres to a belief in God as the creator of humanity, based on the views of the Missionary Church, with which the college is affiliated.

Stump resigned in the wake of the statement, a move that has attracted widespread attention because of the connection to the ongoing creation/evolution debate, while also raising questions about academic freedom at some Christian colleges.

Stump is a scholar of the philosophy of science and an editor of “The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.” Since 2013, in addition to his job at Bethel, Stump also has served as content manager for BioLogos, a Grand Rapids-based organization. The group’s website says it “invites the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God’s creation.”