A leading scholar warns that ideological indoctrination on American college campuses is not only undermining academic freedom but also driving deadly cultural consequences. Dr. Corey Miller, president and CEO of the Christian campus ministry Ratio Christi, argues that universities have become breeding grounds for radical ideology and violence.
In a recent interview, Miller linked the assassination of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk during a campus event and the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis to what he calls an “assassination culture” created by higher education institutions. He said, “Politics is downstream from culture, culture is downstream from education,” emphasizing that modern academia is shaping values that translate directly into political and social behavior.
Miller believes universities have largely adopted a post-modern, cultural-Marxist worldview that focuses on power, group identity, and grievance, rather than universal truths, reason, or moral formation. He said this ideology drives resentment, suppresses dissent, and ultimately devalues human life. According to Miller, “Any kind of inequality whatsoever is viewed as injustice, and it really ignites a firestorm under students to feel like they’ve got the ability to service in the cause of justice.”
The data appears to support his concerns. Surveys show that 87 percent of professors report difficulty discussing politics on campus, and over 90 percent believe academic freedom is threatened. Students and faculty who hold traditional, religious, or conservative views often face social or institutional pressure to conform.
This cultural shift has serious implications. When universities abandon truth-seeking for ideological training, students may lose the ability to think critically or engage with opposing viewpoints. When identity politics replaces moral education, the foundation of shared national values erodes. And when free speech is suppressed, the potential for extremism grows.
Miller calls for a return to open dialogue, intellectual diversity, and education rooted in objective truth. Without reform, he warns, the academy will continue to produce not scholars and citizens, but activists shaped more by grievance than grace.
