University of California

So, it seems that UC is requiring students to have actual, creditable, relevant qualifications before allowing them to take courses. Is this unusual in America? Is it normal for a university to accept students for a - say - degree in microbiology if they only have qualifications in pottery?

No, I doubt very much it's unusual.

But, with the push to get religious tomfoolery accepted as genuine knowledge, UC is being sued because - gasp! - they don't believe that courses which don't meet the requirements should be credited. It's almost as if they think they have the right to run their own admissions or something. Fie, UC! Shame on you for trying to keep up the standards of your applicants!

The lawsuit cites several examples of recently rejected courses submitted by Calvary Chapel for credit into the UC system, such as "Christianity's Influence on America," which a UC document cited as "too narrow (and) too specialized" as reasons for not approving the course.

"The content of the course outline submitted for approval is not consistent with the empirical historical knowledge generally accepted in the collegiate community," states the UC document, which was sent to the school last fall. "Students who take these courses may not be well prepared if and when they enter history (or) social science courses at UC."

(emphasis mine)

So, the course is basically a slanted, biased look at "Christianity's Influence on America", and they expect it to be a relevant qualification for someone wishing to study history at an establishment that, obviously, believes that history should have at least some connection to actual events.

What's scary is this:

"They do not have the right to try and secularize a private, Christian education," said attorney Robert Tyler, who represents the Murrieta school and its students. "While they are allowing other courses from other secular and religious viewpoints, they will not give credit to courses from a Christian viewpoint."

This is a typical theist's position: always play the martyr. UC is not trying to "secularize a private, Christian education", they just want to control their own standards. You can teach that garbage as much as you like, as often as you like and as hard as you like.

Just don't expect the rest of the world to take it seriously.