Hey everyone,
What are your thoughts on religious symbols in schools? I am primarily referring to the caps worn by Jewish students, the head scarves worn by Islamic students, crosses worn by Christian students, etc.
There has been some talk about this subject in the news - overseas at least.
Cheers!
Kirupa :pope:
LOL this is funny 
In the last year here in Australia we had 2 stories make the news.
One family kicked out of a restaurant because a women wouldn’t remove her scarf.
And a 14? Girl not allowed to play in a soccer match because she wouldn’t remove her scarf.
What do I think of it…… STUPID
I think it is stupid that these people wear head gear etc in the first place.
I think it is stupid that people give them a hard time for wearing it.
Who cares what someone else wears, although if I was to go into a restaurant with a cap or beanie I would be asked to remove it but that is fair enough. But I think you have to accept that me being asked to remove my head gear is a matter of etiquette, and respecting that someone is wearing something as apart of their religion should also be a matter of etiquette.
So I say let them wear what they want, wear they want, who are we to dictate what someone else wears.
Although one state in the US did try to ban hipster jeans…… shame shame shame
Personally I have no problem with that. In fact if you are a Witch (Im just using a non-mainstream religous Example 
) and wear some weird adorment cause thats what you believe in. Fine. I may not agree with your relgous choices etc, but I respect them. I really dont like this ignorance in our schools. They are supposed to teach Tollerence and yet some school will Ban students who are not Christian, or what have you… and basically taking their freedom of religion away. And People keep talking about “Seperation of Church and State” like it’s in the constitution, and It’s not. So i dont see how people can use their ignorance to spread ignorance… lol I dont know if that came out as artitulate as i wanted but thats my opinion.
have to say i agree with Raydred, i may not agree with it but hey wear whatever you’d like 
I think it is stupid that these people wear head gear etc in the first place.
Just thought that was sort of funny…
anyway I consider myself to be a pretty faithful person and respect what people where. However i feel like i have been pretty “sheltered” going to a catholic high school and elementary school and now a Catholic University, where you don’t really learn or get to experience other religious offiliations. (got spell check?). One thing that i do have a problem with is how want to take away “In God We Trust” from the US Currency or “One Nation Under God” from the pledge of allegiance. These words have been instituted since it was founded, and yes i know we (the US) has made many mistakes over the years, but i believe that “god” in this aspect is just pertaining too a higher being of some sort, not the God, allah, or any other particular person.
Sorry if its mumbled, i was just tpying as i was thinking.
I agree with ray also. My first post was partly motivated by guidelines in France that prevent blatant religious symbols from being worn in schools. They seem to have their justifications for it - which aren’t necessarily bad justifications.
I think kids should be allowed to wear whatever they want as long as it doesn’t infringe upon someone else’s rights or isn’t blatantly offensive (swastika, etc.)
Regarding the “in God we trust”, people have made too much of a big deal out of it. The pledge is optional. You aren’t forced to recite it, you can mumble through it, stand silently, etc. There are too many sensitive people these days getting offended at things that shouldn’t really bother anyone - in my view 
Regarding the “in God we trust”, people have made too much of a big deal out of it. The pledge is optional. You aren’t forced to recite it, you can mumble through it, stand silently, etc. There are too many sensitive people these days getting offended at things that shouldn’t really bother anyone - in my view
I think so too, but I do think it should be taken out…
because it does violate that law and…
Proponents of the Pledge of Allegiance often assume, erroneously, that it has a long history. On the contrary, it is of relatively modern origins. Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and a Socialist, wrote the original pledge in 1892, a year after he was forced to leave his Boston church because of his leftist views. During the Cold War, in 1954, Congress added the words “under God” to the pledge, as part of an effort to distinguish the U.S. from “atheist” Communist nations like the Soviet Union. Ironically, then, the words “under God” were added to a pledge written by an overt Socialist in order to disguise its collectivist premises. Rather than differentiating ourselves from the Soviet Communists by emphasizing America’s essential commitment to individualism, we chose instead to officially adopt a pledge of allegiance – not to the Constitution or to the fundamental rights of the individual that it protects – but rather to “the Flag” and “to the Republic for which it stands.” We merely substituted one form of collectivism for another.
I mean even the veterans of WW2, the greatest generation, did not have to say it. Only the yuppies and hippies of the 60’s and 70’s did.
I hated saying that part of the pledge back in the day when they hadn’t taught us that we had the freedom not to say that.
i think that school uniforms exist because it helps create a sense of community while preventing people form making stupid ‘statements’ about who they are while in school. After all we are there to learn and socialise not get street cred…
when a school has a rule such as, no jewellery or head gear while playing rugby, then it is justified because it is for everyones safety. i personally dont see the problem for a jewish kid to remove his skull cap for sport, if he says he wont because it is a sign of his religious devotion, i see it as an insecurity…
but if a student wears the uniform, i dont see why they cant wear headgear in the classroom… what worries me is that it doesnt help the ‘inclusive’ atmospehere most school seek to foster… and that only makes life harder for the child
i went to a very strict school, where we wore suits all the time and you couldnt have your hair shorter than grade 3, or even dye it. if you ask me its all part of discipline and each school should have the right to set its own uniform. we dont need a law for it, it just shows how hyper sensitive everyone has become
ray everyone is always going on about their freedom and rights, but without fundamental rules we are left in chaos…this goes twice for children. the law requires you go to school, so if you obey that, why not obey the uniform a school has?
i spent ten years in an all boys school, with rules for loads of things… we even had to put our hand up to ask if we could take our suit jackets off in summer… now that may sound ridiculous but i believe the discipline i recieved helps me in everyday life. The uniform helps children see a fellow school pupil, not ‘some other kid whose religion is not the same as mine’
there’s one notion that is prevalent in the French Republic system, called laicism (click to get definition). Basically, as the Republic supports no God, it won’t allow images of God in a public school or any public institution building (public hospital, police stations, etc) for the persons who work there.
I’m all the way sticking with the separation of “Church and State” (basically, that’s what it’s all about), but I still find it a bit liberticide not to allow believers to dress according to their religion. I really don’t know what to think on that issue. Maybe there’s a fine line that could be found to arrange everyone?? Dunno.
in my school, this guy hit this girl because she was wearing a hijab, he was teasing her for months, and she kept ignoring untill one day she decides to step and told him to leave her alone, or she will tell the adminstration on him. He hit her!
i find that really surprising, really sad!
and no i don’t care what people wear!
RussianBeer points out a fundamental fact most people choose to ignore: “under god” wasn’t in the original pledge of allegiance, and the pledge doesn’t date back to the founding of this country. What I find most amusing is that people supporting “under god” think they are trying to protect the pledge from “activist judges”, even though the disputed phrase was inserted by an “activist congress” 50 years ago. I wonder how many citizens were upset about the pledge being altered to include “under god” in the first place? Were the voters consulted, or merely informed of the change when it was complete?
I think kids should be allowed to wear whatever they want as long as it doesn’t infringe upon someone else’s rights or isn’t blatantly offensive (swastika, etc.)
You know the swastika is a Hindu symbol used to represent Ganesha. Its also a sign of good luck. The hindu’s had that in place before hitler was even convieved. What might be blatantly offensive to you, may be embraced and accepted by me. Who decides what is offensive and what is not, while trying to appeal to all different cultures?
Regarding the “in God we trust”, people have made too much of a big deal out of it. The pledge is optional. You aren’t forced to recite it, you can mumble through it, stand silently, etc. There are too many sensitive people these days getting offended at things that shouldn’t really bother anyone - in my view
I think so too, but I do think it should be taken out…
because it does violate that law and…
Then it should be taken off all currency as well. Everything from pennies to benjamins say ‘in god we trust’ somewhere on them.
You guys ever see that South Park where they were doing a school play, and they were trying to incorporate and be accepting of all religions. It was a disaster. If a school has a no hat policy, then there is a no hat policy…regardless of what your religion might be. The policy doesn’t target that. But on the flip side if a school is going to have a no religious symbols policy…then it needs to be all symbols…not just a few that the staff may not care much for. Things like that cause problems.
I think at least in America based on the Constitution, it cannot be illegal. That not saying that some might try to keep them out of schools, but if you read the law we should have the right to wear any religious symbol anywhere. If you have issue with what someone wears then you are the one with the problem. I personally have chosen not to put my kids in public school, so really I don’t care what happens there. Yet another good reason for school voutchers
Blind - haven’t seen you in a long time!
Maizoon - true, but it’s you, I, and the majority that decide what is offensive or not. I’m fairly certain, that if you were to send a child wearing a swastika, he or she would be forced to remove it. While you may think that is wrong, the majority will not see the swastika as a Hindu and, I think, Native American symbol.
Hey Kirupa…been super busy with the business…I even had to stop being my oldest son’s cub scout den leader…
Maizoon, Here is where I differ with your opinion in that we as a society decide what is offensive all the time. That is why we have FCC laws and public decency laws. Now, I think that if you wear something offensive to the masses but can show that it is a religious symbol then you should have the right in the Constitution to wear it. However like Kirupa said, it would be a long shot to try and say that your swastika is a Hindu symbol, but that is not to say that you could not prove it. Also, do a Google search on hindu swastika…you will notice it is not tilted clockwise like the Nazi one.
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