Religious Freedom in U.S. Elementary and High Schools

Ever wondered what the official "rules" are when it comes to worshipping aloud in public schools? I found this article, written by the U.S. Department of Education, to be very informative, and I've listed some examples below. School students and teachers have more religious freedoms than one may have guessed. Read the article for a complete list of protected freedoms.

Did your high school follow these freedoms?

Religious Expression and Prayer in Class Assignments

Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Thus, if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for example, a psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic standards (such as literary quality) and neither penalized nor rewarded on account of its religious content.

Teachers, Administrators, and other School Employees

When acting in their official capacities as representatives of the state, teachers, school administrators, and other school employees are prohibited by the Establishment Clause from encouraging or discouraging prayer, and from actively participating in such activity with students. Teachers may, however, take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not participating in their official capacities. Before school or during lunch, for example, teachers may meet with other teachers for prayer or Bible study to the same extent that they may engage in other conversation or nonreligious activities. Similarly, teachers may participate in their personal capacities in privately sponsored baccalaureate ceremonies.

Organized Prayer Groups and Activities

Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and "see you at the pole" gatherings before school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other non-curricular student activities groups. Such groups must be given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other non-curricular groups, without discrimination because of the religious content of their expression. School authorities possess substantial discretion concerning whether to permit the use of school media for student advertising or announcements regarding non-curricular activities. However, where student groups that meet for nonreligious activities are permitted to advertise or announce their meetings—for example, by advertising in a student newspaper, making announcements on a student activities bulletin board or public address system, or handing out leaflets—school authorities may not discriminate against groups who meet to pray. School authorities may disclaim sponsorship of non-curricular groups and events, provided they administer such disclaimers in a manner that neither favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or religious speech.

Religious freedom in the Muslim world?




 

Christianity most persecuted religion in the world

Pope encourages Chinese bishops to defend their faith "with courage"

Here is a video that talks about the Chinese bishops mentioned in the previous post.

Pope renews plea for religious freedom in China

Pope Benedict XVI asked for prayers for the Church in China yesterday, saying that the faithful are “experiencing particularly difficult moments.”

The Pope also referred to tensions arising due to an ordination of a bishop sponsored by the Catholic Patriotic Association. The Pope asked the Virgin Mary “to support all Chinese bishops, who are so dear to me, that they may bear courageous witness to their faith.”

The War on Christmas

Ashley's post was the first I'd heard about the Atheist's billboard. I wanted to follow up on that because it hits so close to home for many of us. My questions are:

1. Should the billboard be tolerated (it will in America, because of religious freedom) even though it seems to attack Christianity because of the nativity scene?

2. Could Atheism be lumped into a "religious" category, meaning, is it their freedom of religion (or non-religion) to say what they want?

Either way, we are lucky in the U.S. to be able to have talks about these things. First, the billboard was allowed to be communicated to masses who drive by. Then, it is allowed to be broadcasted in the news on TV and through newspaper and radio. Also, it stimulates discussion (probably debates), which shows that this is an open forum in America.

One thing I thought was interesting is that in this video, Silverman (President of American Atheists) is upset that Atheists are unrepresented in government and other positions. He urges Atheists to "come out" because there are millions of them hiding. Why are they hiding? Do they think they'll be persecuted in some way?

White Collar's Matt Bomer Speaks on Religious Tolerance

In my last post, I talked about USA Network's new campaign, Characters Unite. Now other media outlets are starting to cover news and stories from the campaign, including TV Guide Network. Last Tuesday, TV Guide posted this video and article about White Collar's Matt Bomer, who is speaking out about religious tolerance.

It's great to see celebrities using the spotlight to focus in on important issues, like religious tolerance. You can also check out our classmate's blog (celebsfightback) to see how other celebrities are communicating and using publicity to help their causes.

Freedom of Religion or No Religion

The American Atheists have recently bought a billboard above a New Jersey highway which looks to be celebrating Christmas, but reads, "You KNOW it's a Myth — This Season Celebrate REASON!" The American Atheists say they are trying to reach out to closeted non-believers during this holiday season.

According to their website, the billboard serves three purposes:

• 1) To address those atheists who "go along to get along", and to encourage them to come out of their closets
• 2) To attack the myth that Christianity owns the solstice season.
• 3) To raise the awareness of the organization and the movement.

Response to Mosque near Ground Zero

What can President Obama say about the proposed Muslim mosque that would be built near Ground Zero? He's in a tough spot - he said in one speech that they should be free to worship anywhere to be consistent with American ideals, and then another day said that he didn't say it was wise to choose the plan the mosque where they did. Here is an interesting, short NPR clip about the debate and Obama's and Bush's reactions to the proposed mosque.

What would you say about this if you were the President?

Islam Combats "Defamation of Religion"

A group of 57 states with largely Islamic populations called The Organization of the Islamic Conference wants a resolution to be passed in the United Nations to condemn the "defamation of religions." Whose religion, though?

The resolution, called "On Combating Defamation of Religions" would prohibit self expression that insults or "defames" (a broad term) religion. The resolution is for their own favor, though, to make it legal to prosecute someone for insulting Islam. We've all seen these pictures, even on this blog. Isn't this a bit too radical? Not in many Islamic countries.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference wants to see this resolution pass not only for Islamic states, but globally. If this were ever to happen, anyone on the earth who blasphemed Islam could be punished. This could be used against almost anyone because the terms "blaspheme," "defame," and "insult" are quite broad. How are these accusations of defamation and their punishments going to be determined if there aren't any set regulations? It seems silly to even ask that when putting this law into effect would be blatantly be crossing human rights violations and freedom of expression.

The article from which I found this information was written by the Freedom House advocacy director. I think it is important that Freedom House is using it's platform and reliability to make issues like this known in the New York Times, which is read around the globe.

Retaliation to alleged attempted terrorist attack?

19 year old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the alleged Somali-American terrorist, has been indicted for a car bombing in Oregon. On the edge of my seat, I waited for the next shoe to fall...and it has.

There was a break-in at the Islamic Center, (Salman Al-Farisi Islamic Center in Corvallis, Oregon) where Mohamud worships. Soon after, a fire was started early Sunday morning, destroying a computer, a chair and a copy of the Koran. (blogs.ajc.com)

Check the full story here.


Stereotyping and generalizing against religious groups isn't justice.

Should I Be Laughing? Part 3

Government not surprised by Annual Report findings

On Egypt:

"The status of respect for religious freedom by the government remained poor, unchanged from the previous year. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the government generally worship without harassment; however, Christians and members of the Baha'i Faith, which the government does not recognize, face personal and collective discrimination, especially in government employment and their ability to build, renovate, and repair places of worship.... Government authorities often refused to provide converts with new identity documents indicating their chosen faith. The government failed to prosecute perpetrators of violence against Coptic Christians in a number of cases.... [and] continued to contribute to a climate of impunity."

Taken from the US State Department's Annual International Religious Freedom Report. You can find the whole report here.

Like the girls said earlier in the blog, this came as a shock to me. How accurate do we think this is? Do you believe what it's telling us?

USA Network Uses Media to Promote Religious Tolerance

USA: "Characters welcome." And now the network is using that slogan to help promote the acceptance of all characters and types of people.

USA network recently launched Characters Unite, a public service announcement (PSA) campaign "designed to help form a more perfect union by combating intolerance, prejudice, discrimination and hate, and promoting greater acceptance, understanding and mutual respect of all people."

My friend was reading our blog and passed on this website to me, detailing USA network's new communication strategy to help the United States combat social issues like bullying, hate crimes, gender-based issues, and religious tolerance. It's an awesome campaign, and it's exciting to see a well-known organization take a stand against these issues.

I would like to applaud USA network's efforts and the effective ways in which they are using communications and getting people involved. The network recruited many of its TV characters to speak up on issues that they feel passionate about, and show many meaningful 30 second clips for each issue. Religious tolerance is one of the main subjects, and there is a whole section devoted to it with facts, PSAs, and ways to help.

To help USA network take a stand against these issues, you can take a pledge online and the company will donate $1 to its non-profit partners.

Interesting background on China vs. Christianity

Who says we can't learn from the past?

This TIME article, while slightly outdated (published in 2005), gives great background information on the Christian faith surviving and even thriving to the distaste of the Chinese government.

In my opinion, TIME magazine is one of the best and well-respected publications, and it definitely comes through here.

Some interesting facts from the article...

- As of 2005, there were 60 million Christians in China

- Christians are China's fastest growing religious group

- The $1.5 million Southern Church, with Ionic columns and a rooftop gazebo, stands as a monument to China's thriving Christians

Finally, the most interesting paragraph for me...

Christianity is legal in China, but fettered: The country's estimated 50 million Protestants, whose ranks grow by roughly 2 million a year, must submit to the authority of the government's Religious Affairs Bureau. Its officials make sure churches follow written and unwritten rules — no members under 18, no overt evangelical work, no emphasizing the Second Coming and, above all, no questioning of Communist Party rule. Christians who worship in unregistered "house churches" often face harassment, or worse. Last year a woman died in police custody after being detained for distributing Bibles on the street. Police regularly round up members of heterodox Christian sects like Lightning from the East, which believes that Jesus has already returned, as a Chinese woman.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1132243,00.html#ixzz16bPG2g3z

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has some interesting opinions

First, I would like to say that I am not Jewish. I feel I do not discriminate against religion at all, as I believe it is every person's right to practice any religion they wish that does not interfere with the general welfare and health of a population.

Now on to this article. More or less, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said non-Jews sole purpose in life is to serve Jews. He also related them to donkeys.

"With gentiles, it will be like any person – they need to die, but [God] will give them longevity," Yosef said. "Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money."

"This is his servant... That’s why he gets a long life, to work well for this Jew,” Yosef said.

Gentiles is a synonym for a non-Jewish person.

As a non-Jewish person, I was offended by this. My sole purpose in life is serve Jewish people? I am like a donkey? I think not. While Mr. Yosef probably doesn't care what I think, he needs to realize that public relations still matters in religion. Speaking publicly, he needs to realize the majority of the world is NOT Jewish, and that many will share my opinion.

Let me be frank --- freedom of speech is important and I fully support his ability to say these things.

But when there's so much fighting and unrest over this "holy land", maybe saying these things only adds fuel to the fire.

Argentina's Religious Freedom Day

November 25 was Argentina's Religious Freedom Day, a national holiday that began in 2004. It was decided to be on 11/25 because on 11/25/1981 the United Nations approved the "Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on religion or belief."

CALIR is the Argentine Council for Religious Freedom, whose objective is to promote religious freedom in all forms, individual or collective. CALIR is on the radar promoting freedom through communities and universities.

I think that it's important that CALIR uses a university platform to spread its message of religious freedom, because professors and academic authority are looked up to by many students and seen as progressive. It's also impressive that this day was publicized throughout the city of Buenos Aires, which shows that there is open communication about religious freedom in the country's capital. Religion is important in a cultural context in South America, so I would imagine that there are less cultural barriers to communicating about it. It would be interesting to see though, if this would stand for a very dissimilar religion to the area, such as Hinduism or Buddhism.

I am a Muslim

I attended an event at the Schlow Centre Region Library called "I am a Muslim." At the event, there were three speakers who are Muslims from different parts of the world. One of the speakers was from Kosovo, another was from Sudan, and the most memorable speaker of the night was a female student from Saudi Arabia who spent time talking about the hijab:

"It's a choice...just because I wear the hijab, that doesn't mean I am a good Muslim...If you don't wear the hijab, that doesn't mean your a bad Muslim," she said.

She also addressed the woman's role in Islam:

"I can go to work if I want, but that money is mine, not my husbands. Islam appreciates a woman," she explained.
But she elaborated by saying, "Her [a woman's] responsibility is to raise the children, not make the money for the family, that's the man's job."

As you can tell from the picture, a lot of students and people from the community came out to the event.

Giving Thanks

Today, I just want to take the opportunity to say how thankful I am for religious freedom. In the United States, I am free to worship God in public without harmful repercussions, and others may choose to worship as they wish as well.

The Hudson Institute advocates religious freedom as a component of U.S. foreign policy and believes in freedom to communicate those freedoms. The group mentions how "pivotal" it is to society, and how Thomas Jefferson and America's founders found it important enough to be dubbed the "first freedom."  I like how they've chosen to define religious freedom:

"Religious freedom has two dimensions. It belongs to individuals and also to religious groups. It includes a person's right to walk down the street wearing a cross, a yarmulke or a headscarf, or not to do so, and to express and live out one's beliefs in society. It also includes the rights of groups to worship God as they wish in community, to run schools, hospitals and other institutions, to publish and possess sacred literature, and order their internal affairs."

Let's count our blessings today-- Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Rally to Stop Abductions & Allow Religious Freedom in Japan

"Clergy, civil rights leaders and Japanese victims of religious freedom violations protest the Japanese government’s failure to protect the rights of minority religious believers." Photo taken from religousfreedom.com.

On Friday, demonstrators in Boston were invited to speak with the Deputy Consul General after protesting in ten cities across the U.S. The demonstrators want the Japanese government "to stop the abuse and discrimination of minority believers in that country." People who choose to practice minority religions have been abducted and abused in an attempt to force them to leave their religions, and this has been going on since 1966.

It's interesting to see how these demonstrators are using the United States as their marching ground for help in Japan and to freely communicate their religious needs. You can follow this issue at stopjapanabductions.org, and hopefully see how the Japanese Government will react to this cry for help.