NASA Scientist Claims He Was Harassed, Demoted for Intelligent Design Beliefs

March 16, 2012

A Christian and former high-level computer systems administrator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory says he was harassed and demoted by supervisors after expressing his belief in intelligent design to coworkers, his attorney told a judge this week, Fox News reports. David Coppedge, who filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in April 2010 after being demoted for allegedly "pushing religion" by loaning interested coworkers DVDs about intelligent design, says he was fired nine months later in retaliation for bringing the suit. JPL attorneys maintain that Coppedge was laid off as part of a staff reduction and that "the evidence will show that Mr. Coppedge was his own worst enemy because of his inability to listen" to a warning about "harassing coworkers with [his] religion," but Coppedge's lawyer, William Becker, argues his client was treated differently because of his religious views and that JPL's actions infringed on his religious freedom. The case is being heard in the Superior Court of Los Angeles.