"I think that the people of Salt Lake City are reasonable people and they're intelligent people and they will understand how and why a curriculum has to be developed that way," Balmanno said.

In analyzing Tuesday's decision, University of Utah law professor Daniel Greenwood expressed concern that the 10th Circuit failed to make a strong distinction between First Amendment issues in high schools or universities, where compelled speech is generally considered to be less harmful because students have the right to leave the classroom.

He also noted that while the constitutional rights of an individual student or university are thoroughly discussed in the 52-page opinion, there is little mention of the free-speech rights of professors.

"I think it's part of a larger debate about the role of the First Amendment in the classroom," Greenwood said. "The larger issue is that the court seems to see First Amendment rights for students and a university . . . but there's very little discussion of any First Amendment rights of the faculty member, which is what I would have thought was one of the traditional . . . cores of academic freedom."

Greenwood said professors must be free to espouse controversial points of view without fear, or to require students to examine issues outside their personal beliefs or comfort zone.

"One of the key purposes of a university is to have a space where critical thinking is practiced, and that has to be practiced by the faculty and the faculty has to have the ability to take on unpopular positions," he said. "If I were in a position where I could only ask students to take positions that they agree with, I don't know how I could function."

But Paulsen said it is possible to challenge students without violating their core values, as Axson-Flynn has claimed.

"No university professor has to teach their class in a way that is hostile to an individual's religious liberty," Paulsen said. "You can recognize professors' academic freedom rights, but at the same time recognize that students have freedoms, too."

After leaving the University of Utah, Axson-Flynn enrolled in the acting program at Utah Valley State College. She has since left that school and is awaiting the outcome of this case to decide where to go next.

She has continued her acting and has said she would like to return to the University of Utah to complete her studies.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com