Should schools ban religious symbols?

Question

Alright, so, I've been reading some accounts online of students being told to remove necklaces/shirts etc which show a symbol of their religion or beliefs. The majority of the instances I am reading about are involving Non-Christian students being told to remove necklaces that show a Pentacle, Star of David etc. I was told in high school that I needed to remove my Pentacle. I refused and was sent to detention for 3 days after school. Do you think that school staff have the right to tell students to remove said items? Note: we are talking about public schools, not private.

BTW... I did :) This was... lets see... 5 years ago it happened to me

Answer 1

The Supreme Court has made it overtly clear on this issue that school officials CANNOT interfere with students' religious rights and that so long as students are not forcing other students to participate AND students are not disrupting classes then that student has the right to wear a cross, pentacle, om, magen david, etc and the right to carry a Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Guru Granth Sahib, Torah, etc and read silently in class when they have finished their work. They have the right to pray silently at lunch or any other time when they are not listening to lectures of doing class projects. The Supreme Court has made this very clear. And while you might be surprised by this, we have the "religious right" to thank for the Supreme Court making these points very clear. When students were punished (as shocking as that may sound to some of us) their parents naturally got upset that they were being punished in school. They told their church and their church got them connected with the ACLU and the ACLJ. The two organizations worked together to ensure that students First Amendment rights were not being infringed by school administrators. Thus, unless the school has clearly stated in its dress code that "no jewelry may be worn", students are free to wear jewelry with religious symbols. While I very often do NOT agree with Pat Robertson, I'll admit that I heard him say once "I do not understand why schools seem to be so confused about what the Supreme Court has ruled and has stated very clearly on this issue." You can go to the Supreme Court's website and actually read the court's decision (and you can go to the ACLU and ACLJ's websites to find out the names of the cases). And if all of us can go to the websites and read what the Supreme Court said, so too can all school officials and administrators and teachers, etc (you think they'd just train them on this....I mean when I worked at a bank every three months I got trained, reminded, and retrained on all State and Federal banking regulations, laws, and court decisions. When I worked for a wireless company the same thing.)

Excellent question.

Peace be with you.

Answer 2

The Supreme Court has issued a ruling concerning the wearing of religious symbols by students and faculty. They decided that it is not illegal or a violation of the First Amendment for students to wear religious symbols on school grounds. This is like another lesser known part of the ruling whereby religion classes MAY be held ON SCHOOL GROUNDS during the school day so long as the courses are not required for advancement or graduation.

The problem has been that many public schools have chosen to take the ULTRA-LIBERAL approach and deny any religious symbol. There are plenty of cases where Christians are the targets and others are allowed, I agree it is very unfair. For more info, look up Christian Law Association. I know you are not Christian but the info you find will help regardless.

The sad thing, though, is that by removing religion from schools, people are actually promoting and forcing acceptance of atheism into the culture. That is why I am in favor of a voucher system for education.This would allow parents to get the type education they want for their kids.

Answer 3

Absolutely not. No one has the right to tell you what to believe, and they certainly do not have the right to tell you that you cannot wear something or have something just because it symbolizes your religion. That is absurd, and it violates our Constitutional right to Freedom of Religion. I see our rights continuously thrown down the drain just to appease everyone else, and it is ridiculous. I mean, they say they're doing these things so as to not offend anyone...but (hello?) have they not realized by doing it they are offending us? Or does that just not mean anything at all to them?
Kudos to you on not giving in. As a Christian, I certainly would have done the same thing. You should be able to believe however you choose, and you have every right to wear or have anything you want that symbolizes your beliefs, so long as it does not harm anyone...and I'm sure nothing you've worn does. The government and the schools are working harder and harder to control everyone. No wonder this world is going downhill...fast.
When I was in school, and even now at work, I've always taken my Bible with me so I could read it when I got a chance (on my own time, of course--during free periods and when I'm not on the clock). So long as it doesn't interfere with your work or harm others, I don't see how they have a right to take that from you or punish you for wearing your pentacle or anything for that matter. They were completely wrong in doing so.

Answer 4

Same has happened to me in the past. I was wearing a shirt I made with the anarchist symbol and they told me to flip it or cover it with a paper. I said no and they sent me to detention for the whole week. Next day I shatterd the school windows at night while no one was there and had my sweet revenge. You really need to fight that system no matter what it does to you. Keep on wearing that necklace/shirt, get some attention, and bring up the issue you mentioned right now. Staff doesent have the power to bring down the 1st amendment especially in a public school. For your own sake and other peoples you need to fight this and make it heard.

Oh yeah and on the other note, no... school shouldent ban religious symbols. Making a rule to take away someones freedom is wrong. Get the religious people to help fight for freedom of expression.

Answer 5

They shouldn't ban any symbols. While there is a separation of church and state, there is also the guarantee that people should be allowed to express themselves religiously as long as no one else is harmed by it. This is one right that should even exist in schools, though I am fully aware that many rights are suspended on school grounds. And if these same schools are not forcing crosses to be removed as well, then civil rights, as well as the First Amendment, are being violated. The only other acceptable position, though I strongly disagree with this one, is to ban all religious symbols, not just some. Remember, in has been widely established that you do not have the same rights inside a public school as you do on the streets. In case you care, I'm an atheist.

Answer 6

A while back there was a case similar to yours going on around here.

A female student was told to remover her pentacle. She refused and maybe disciplined (Not sure about that) and ended up taking the school to court.. they ended up in a pretty high court I think but she too used the aruement that Christian students can wear their crosses no problem but they discriminated against her for being Wiccan, and asked her to take off her religious symbol..

Anyway she won.. I think she was in 17 magazine too..

Good for her. But anyway, just contact the ACLU if you run into that problem.. they drool over stuff like that :)

Answer 7

The only way it would be fair is if ALL symbols are given the same regard. Why should you have to remove a Pentacle if someone else can wear a Cross? If the ban on symbols is across the board, then I believe it can be done in a public school. Still -- my hat's off to you for sticking to your beliefs!

Answer 8

I don't think any school staffs have any right to tell anyone to remove any symbols that represent their religion other than christians... so my answer is no. I think it's ridiculous especially if it's in a public school. If they were to do that, then it should be done in a Christian school or something. I'm not too sure where exactly you are from but I'm a canadian citizen so we are less religious than americans.

There was one time where this one christian girl done her prayers on stage at our graduation convocation, and most people were furious (especially canadians) because most of us believe it should not be presented for a public school because there are tonns of others who aren't christian.

Answer 9

No, I do not think they should be allowed to ban religious symbols.

There is a huge difference between a tax-funded public school endorsing a religion (by posting The Ten Commandments, teaching creationism, etc.) and children being able to wear religious symbols of their particular faith.

I'd fight that one BIG time.

Answer 10

I don't. It's personal expression. If I am allowed to wear my St. Christopher medal, then if someone wants to wear a Star of David or a Pentacle or any other symbol necklace, then he/she should be able to.