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U.S. forces tenured Fuller theologian to leave country
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen is a tenured associate professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and one of the most prominent evangelical theologians in the world, having published important works on pneumatology (the work of the Holy Spirit), Christology, and other subjects.

And now he's back in his native Finland, having been forced out of the country by the Department of Homeland Security.

Howard Loewen, dean of Fuller's School of Theology, told Ecumenical News International and Religion News Service that the visa rules are to blame. The problem behind one new rule, governing visas for religious professionals, isn't described in detail. But another new rule is problematic for several schools: A seminary must now be directly tied to a single denominational body for the U.S. government to consider it legitimate. Since Fuller is interdenominational, it apparently no longer counts.

"I suspect that Fuller looks to [the government] more like a multidenominational university rather than a training ground for ministers," the dean told The Christian Century, which broke the story (but doesn't offer it online).

"If a theology professor from Finland can't stay here, there is something wrong with the administrative process," Kärkkäinen said. "A free and democratic society should be able to discern those who are a threat and those who can make a contribution."

There are many unanswered questions. Will the new rules affect other Fuller faculty members? Kärkkäinen is not the school's only non-American. And what about other seminaries? Many of the country's top evangelical seminaries, including Dallas, Gordon-Conwell, and Asbury, aren't directly tied to a single denominational body. Will they also be prohibited from hiring scholars from abroad? With the rise of global Christianity, this would be a major problem.

We also need more information on the changing definition of "religious professional," which will affect far more organizations than just seminaries. Will parachurch groups see more problems bringing in foreign professionals even temporarily? One of Christianity Today's three executive editors, J.I. Packer, is not an American citizen, and we've had one small roadblock since 9/11 getting him to our offices from Vancouver, where he teaches at Regent College. How tightly are the gates closing?

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website isn't much help, since it seems to indicate that Kärkkäinen should stay. Immigrant religious workers "must be a member of a religious denomination that has a non-profit religious organization in the United States," the site says, but then definesreligious denomination to include any "inter-denominational religious organization which is exempt from taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986." That would include Fuller. And the law includes "religious instructors" in its definition of "religious occupation," which one would imagine extends to a professor of systematic theology. The problem may be with the law's requirement that such workers be "a member of the denomination for two years." How would one be a member of a 501(c)(3) organization for two years? Who knows, but perhaps Kärkkäinen's 1989 Master's degree from Fuller would count for something in that regard. Weblog doesn't know anything about immigration law—this is just what's on the USCIS site.

But Weblog does think that kicking Kärkkäinen out of the country is a bad sign. As the theologian told the news outlets, "A free and democratic society should be able to discern those who are a threat and those who can make a contribution."

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48