system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Dealing with a student's religious objections to course materials- English instructors' advice especially appreciated

I could use some advice from other instructors. A student approached me after our English class today and said that he can't read our assigned text, as it offends his religious beliefs and makes him uncomfortable. I appreciate his discomfort, as the book is critical of Christianity, in addition to depicting sex acts, though I wouldn't describe it as inflammatory or aggressively anti-Christian. Still, I can see his point.

I could exempt him from the reading and all related assignments and assign him an alternative text. But he would not benefit from any class discussions about his chosen text, and our class discussions about the offending book would be sure to upset him. 

And moreover, what is his college career going to look like if he sets this precedent for himself? English class exposes students to a range of provocative materials, and I had always considered this to be a net positive. Surely students who wish to shield themselves from such views often go to Bible college. In the wide world of secular academia, religious discomfort is inevitable.

Still, I place myself in his shoes and imagine reading something I find deeply troubling and morally outrageous. And I feel pretty good that he felt he could say something to me about it. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.
gpt
The ability to meaningfully engage with work that doesn't agree with one's core beliefs (and is perhaps critical of those beliefs) is one of the greatest lessons one can learn and is something higher education should strive to encourage in students.

Tell this to the student and strongly suggest that he do the work.

Alternately, shield him from views that do not accord with his own and help us down the path towards a planet full of blinkered ideological subgroups that are absolutely incapable of meaningfully interacting with one another.