Should teachers be able to wear overt religious symbols in class?

Question

I just heard of a case where a Muslim teacher was told not to wear a veil because it muffled her speech.
France doesn't allow veils, skull caps, large crosses, or any other religious symbols to be worn in schools.
What’s your opinion?

OK... I want to wear a small Pentagram around my neck. SHould I be allowed?

So how do we balance religious freedoms with the seperation of church and state (in the USA)?

Answer 1

This actually sounds more like a "freedom of expression" issue, rather than a "separation of church and state" issue.

Many jobs have dress codes: factories, grocery stores, law firms, schools, etc. I have one at my place of work. The type of work defines the type of dress required. I would expect a teacher, in either a public or private school, to dress "appropriately" for his/her place and curriculum. I would be shocked to see an English teacher, for example, wearing a "Black Sabbath" T-shirt on the job. It isn't professional-looking. I would also consider a "Jesus is God" sweatshirt inappropriate for a teacher: it is too casual. Sweatshirts and T-shirts are too casual for most school professionals (unless they are teaching gym); pre-printed materials just look hokey, not professional!

Jewelry can fall under a dress code also. However, since MOST jewelry is relatively small, a symbol (cross, dove, fish, ankh, star of david, pentagram, whatever) can hardly interefere with the job of teaching. It would fall under a logical interpretation of "acceptable limits" of personal expression within the dress code. Unless, of course, ALL jewelry is banned.

A veil is not a symbol. It is an article of clothing deemed "appropriate" by many of Arabic descent. If the thing really intereferes with a teacher's voice, then she can get a microphone to boost her output. They aren't THAT expensive!

Answer 2

The veil muffling speech could be a real problem; understand also many hearing-impaired people go nuts with ANYTHING interfering with ability to see the lips of speaker (not lip-reading per se, but to help pick up extra cues). Don't have easy answer for that, except to assign her to same-gender classroom OR (?British case recently) put with young kids, where she doesn't need to veil.

Think the large crosses, crucifixes, etc. are best on nuns and other professed religious. (Size limits, maybe?) Most of the Holy Cross (CSC) brothers and Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary did perfectly fine (at college) with small emblems, and no, they didn't proselytize, and that was in a RC school....the evolution class in the biology dept. (taught by a CSC brother) was very much up-to-date, which confused a LOT of secular students....

Small personal emblems, from Hebrew chai to pentagram to cross to Sikh mini-dagger (no offense; don't know the proper name), or skullcap, Mormon "temple garments" seen in the locker room, whatever----IMHO, no sweat. And simple explaining about these isn't an attempt to convert; just recognition that the US (my country) is a really diverse land.

Answer 3

I agree with France. However, I wear an Eye of Ra and a small pentacle when I teach (it's usually tucked in my top anyway), only because everyone else is still allowed to wear theirs. If the US decided that religious symbols were not allowed in schools, I would be fine with that.

As far as the Muslim woman goes--it her veil muffled her speech, then that was directly affecting how she did her JOB, so I can understand that.

EDIT: Yes, wear your pentacle. Last time I checked, small religious pendants around the neck were fine. And if anyone tells you otherwise (and you are NOT currently going to a private, religious school), then you have the right to a lawsuit based on religious discrimination grounds.

Answer 4

Seems to me dress codes have been enforced in schools for quite sometime. I can see how dress codes could be helpful in some circumstances. It's a delicate issue. I understand how certain attire could be distracting in a work or school environment. But then again I believe in freedom of expression. I guess it's not infringing on any ones freedom too much to have a dress code for work and school.if the dress code is simply because she is wearing a religious symbol or clothing and for no other reason I think it is wrong. But that opens up a whole different can of worms..What about Satanic robes and cowls? I think the school should within reason decide what is distracting.

Answer 5

I don't see what harm skull caps cause, but large crosses seem unnecessary and like a subtle form of proselyzing, nothing wrong with a small necklace. A veil would make it hard for the kids to hear. They are only kids, what is the harm of children seeing her face? I see no harm wearing anything tasteful that shows your religious choice. The harm is teaching it or promoting it. Unless there are actual reasons why certain items should not be worn, then it shouldn't be allowed. There must be subtle ways to display your religious choices. Why do you have to promote it anyway?

Answer 6

We should be aloud to wear anything we want, as long as it does not show to much skin, or you are inviting rape.

In the USA separation of church and state is a lie, and cannot be found in the Constitution, or any other "official" document. Besides the meaning of the letter regarding separation was that the government cannot tell religious institutions what to do, and this is happening more and more all the time.

Answer 7

Rules are allowed so long as they are uniformed.

If people don't like it, they SHOULD (and BETTER) be free to go somewhere else.

No girl in Iran is allowed to walk the streets in short shorts and a belly shirt. NO girl.

If you're a foreginer, you don't have to wear local dress, but you do have to wear enough close to meet the rules in public places.

That applies in the US too. Girls can't go topless like men can on beaches, except where authorized.

One of the big new problems in US schools is the LACK of a dress code.

When I went to school no shorts were allowed except on 'shorts" day, no sandels were allowed, no beards, no long hair, no mustaches and if you got out of line they gave you a swat.

All the freedom in the schools has led to METAL DECTORS at all enteranaces.

The rules, however, should be uniform and Priest and Nuns should have to remove collars and distinctive habits before entering a classroom.

Answer 8

Teachers are in school to teach. Children are in school to learn. To the extent that self-expression in dress becomes a distraction from that process, it should be disallowed. The same goes for the work place. Your employer owns the grounds and you are there to work, not evangelize or turn your cubicle, which your employer owns, into a religious shrine. So courts have held, for instance, that employers can tell a Sihk employee that they may not wear their dagger at work, or Muslim men who have to wear airpacks and gas masks that they have to be clean shaven. This does not interfere with their private practice of religion, discommodates them only as needful, and seems reasonable to me.

Answer 9

In the "Land of the Free" and where we have Freedom of Religious Expression, I believe any person should be able to wear an expression of their faith, whether it is the veil of Muslim women, or a cross/crucifix of a christian. This is not meant to imply that they should use these items as a launching pad from which to proselytize their beliefs.

Answer 10

I can understand why she might not wear a veil, it does muffle the speech and some students might have hearing problems and are trying to read lips. However, I feel that they should be allowed to wear their own religious symbols as long as they are not preaching.