The struggle for academic freedom in nineteenth century Ontario was closely bound to the acceptance of evolutionary theory. This theory came to be reconciled to theology through the labors of biblical exegesis. By the close of the 1880s those who worked in the science departments of the universities had attained academic freedom and could pursue their activities free of clerical interference. Such, however, was not to be the case for theology departments. Here the struggle for academic freedom threatened what some felt was the purity of religious doctrine. In the case of the Methodists, a long struggle took place between those who were committed to the use of scientific method in scriptural analysis and those who were stubbornly opposed to any meddling with scripture whatsoever. This movement was led by Albert Carman, superintendent of the Methodist Church. No such opponent appears to have plagued the proponents of higher criticism at Queen's University; rather the application of scientific method to scripture, combined with the idealistic philosophy espoused by John Watson, led to a scriptural interpretation that eventually created problems within the Presbyterian Church.