During a course at the University of Liège, Professor Pierre Stassart sparked controversy by attributing climate change to “the white, Christian, heterosexual man.” Comments which provoked numerous reactions, even in the Walloon Parliament.
During a course on planetary changes at the University of Liège, Professor Pierre Stassart caused a controversy by asserting that the decline in the habitability of the Earth was not due to all humans , but rather to “the white, Christian, heterosexual man“. This sentence aroused reactions as far as the Walloon Parliament, where a member questioned the Minister of Higher Education, wondering why characteristics such as skin color, religion or sexual orientation were mentioned in this context.
Work validated by scientists
In response to the controversy, Professor Stassart clarified that his remarks are based on work validated by the scientific community, emphasizing that the industrial revolution, the starting point of the Anthropocene era, was the fruit of the Western model, dominated by patriarchal and capitalist values, to which the Christian religion also contributed, notably through colonization. To avoid any confusion, he proposed replacing the term “heterosexual” with “patriarchy”, believing that the latter term would be less controversial and more representative of the historical context.
The professor recognizes that the absence of direct dialogue with the students, in the context of a course given in the form of digital capsules, could have exacerbated the surprise and the misunderstanding. For him, this controversy above all reveals an urgent need for debate on climate change.
The rector of the University of Liège also took a position, recalling that academic freedom is a fundamental principle, and regretting what she described as intimidation on the part of the MP.
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