Should wearing rosaries be prohibited in public schools?

[OmahaBlueDog]

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Catholic church said something that should be a symbol of love has been adopted and abused by gang influences.

A sixth-grade girl said she was told that she can't wear a necklace that resembles a rosary because it violates the dress code at the Fremont Public Schools.

Elizabeth Carey, 12, said the school adopted a policy last year banning the necklaces.

"The principal said I couldn't wear my necklace at all because gangsters were wearing it," she said.

Read more: http://www.ketv.com/news/29367988/detail.html#ixzz1ZlJRsTHD


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Wear a Buddha. Wear the Star of David. Wear an atheist evolve fish, even if religious students take offense. Just don’t wear a rosary while attending Mann Middle School.

Administrators of the school, in a city of 410,000 that’s often referred to as the “Evangelical Vatican,” have banned wearing the rosary unless it’s tucked under a shirt. While imposing the policy, administrators have clarified that students may wear any other religious items in a visible manner. They have created confusion about their rationale, telling the media it relates to gang activity and telling parents that it has to do with sensitivity to Catholics who may find wearing of rosary beads offensive. First Amendment lawyers say the case is bizarre, placing the school in danger of losing a potential lawsuit.

The school in Colorado Springs is the second in two months to find itself embroiled in a rosary conflict, as federal judges ruled in September against a rosary ban in upstate New York. Lawyers say they expect more schools to grapple with rosary conflicts as gangs increasingly co-opt the beads as a symbol of unity.

The Colorado Springs ban, imposed in October, has stirred a national debate about the right of a public school to forbid one form of religious expression while allowing all others. The American Center for Law and Justice, an organization that protects religious expression, threatened a lawsuit, and the American Civil Liberties Union told the school it is in violation of the First Amendment.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/rosary-ban-in-colorado-school-sparks-controversy/#ixzz1ZlJrMu5M

[RebelOne]

1. I am not going to vote in thus poll because I have mixed

feelings about this. I am an atheist, but I believe in freedom of religion whatever it may be.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. same here...

do and believe what you want, just keep me out of it.

on edit: I did vote that the school was wrong.

[Luminous Animal]

2. A catholic would not wear a rosary as a necklace. If I had done so in catholic school,

I would have been severely reprimanded.

[WinkyDink]

11. "a necklace that resembles a rosary." I just bought a Hamsa-pendant necklace that resembles a

rosary (I'm Catholic, so I know!). It's just a necklace when worn this way!

[EFerrari]

48. The only Catholics I've ever seen wearing rosaries

were the sisters who wore them at their belt.

[SoCalDem]

50. Yep.. I had a rosary case for mine

a nifty little satin case with a snap:) Rosaries are not jewelry..But schools just need to ban all jewelry ..handles all kinds of "issues":)...including theft and envy:)

[Horse with no Name]

3. This isn't right

All or none. It is that simple.

[reACTIONary]

4. This is a no brainer for me...

...this is a free country isn't it? We have a bill of rights, don't we? And what's the VERY FIRST right? No brainier.

[Capn Sunshine]

6. is the very first right TAX THE CHURCHES?

NO? Well it should be.

[reACTIONary]

51. Nope, the very first right is...

...freedom of conscience. And that's all right by me.

[Posteritatis]

15. Yep. (nt)

[Hoopla Phil]

5. The First Amendment is VERY clear on the issue. . .

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF;

[DireStrike]

7. This would only be an issue in schools that admit Vampire-Americans

If the rosary could be used as a weapon, then it must be forbidden.

[Leopolds Ghost]

19. Well, as you know, Sparkled People have been oppressed in this country for years. n/t

[burrowowl]

8. In Mexico unit recently

no religious garb could be worn outside the convent or religious schools. I don't think religious symbols should be worn overtly in public schools.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. What other forms of free speech do you think should be restricted?

[yawnmaster]

24. In this country, that wouldn't be keeping with the First Amendment. eom

[reACTIONary]

53. I'm an atiest. If we had a law like that in America, I'd have my kid wear...

... a cross and a yarmulke to school every day. And a "bong hits for Jesus" tee!

[WinkyDink]

10. Schools have trouble banning revealing clothing styles, but are okay with this ban? ASININE.

P.S. It's a smokescreen for banning other religious-type things.

[OmahaBlueDog]

16. Like headscarves, perhaps?

[alphafemale]

27. in this part of the countr most schools have uniforms.

Granted it's just khakis/slacks or a skirt and polos or buttoned shirts. And they have dress down days every now and then.

[Xithras]

12. My kids school district banned these last year.

I told them to ignore the rule. If the school wants to punish them for it, I can afford the lawyers to make sure that any punishment is stricken from the record. While we're not exactly observant Catholics, I have raised my children to understand that when a petty bureaucrat wants to infringe your rights, you never back down. Attack them until they beg for mercy.

Neither of my older kids have been interested in wearing them, but I think that has more to do with the fact that we're only Catholic on alternating holidays :)

[Drahthaardogs]

14. First off, you do not WEAR a rosary.

At least not in the sense that it is jewelry. Wearing a rosary to Catholics is a sacramental thing, not a fashion statement. There is no reason this child should not be allowed to wear it though, sacramental meaning or not.

[yawnmaster]

25. It's not a rosary; it is a necklace that resembles a rosary. eom

[Brigid]

41. I thought I was the only one who noticed that.

The number of beads between the centerpiece and the crucifix is six when it should be five, and the beads are not spaced right on the whole piece. This is, as you said, A necklace, not an actual rosary.

[Ganja Ninja]

49. Yup that's what I was taught in catholic school.

The Rosary is not jewelery. You carry it you don't wear it.

[Peregrine]

17. Rosary worn as a necklace is a gang sign for the

Latin Kings, a gang out of Miami. At my school, all necklaces must be worn inside the shirt. My principal last year used to take the kids wearing a rosary to his office and ask them to tell him what each bead meant. If he failed, the principal took the rosary and gave it to the parents at the end of the day.

[saras]

22. By far the best solution I've heard, but rather labor-intensive

Personally I think it should apply to ALL symbolic speech in school (i.e. not talking, but logos, religious symbols, t-shirts with pictures and writing, etc.) If you can't explain what it means, you've got no more business communicating it than you have repeating memorized curses or potentially slanderous statements in some language you don't understand.

[yawnmaster]

26. Public schools doing what amounts to religious testing??? Don't think it would fly. eom

[southernyankeebelle]

18. The rosaries should not been worn as a piece of jewelery period. I

am a catholic and I think it is very disrespectful to catholics. It is bad a Palin wearing the star of david around her neck. It's disrespectful. When I see a kid wearing one I tell them I take offense as a catholic them wearing a rosary. I always respect others religion and their treasures.

[DaveJ]

21. That is one of the few things I remember from Catholicism

They are also not very fashionable either. Kids.

[eridani]

40. I tried that once as a kid

I got a really lovely rosary as a present, round pearl-type beads with netted bead camps. At age 8, I didn't see a conflict between its function as a prayer counter with a possible extra function as a beautiful object. Sister Arilda set me straight on that one, ASAP.

[uppityperson]

20. My kid's middle school banned them from wearing red & black because they were "gang colors"

Funny thing though, the school colors were red and black.

[PavePusher]

23. Schools teaching stupid. Whatever will they think of next? n/t

[Goblinmonger]

28. So if the kid unknowingly wears a gang symbol to school

and then gets the shit beaten out of them on the way home by said gang, everyone is going to be just fine with the school letting it happen even though they knew the kid would get the shit beaten out of them? Yeah, right.

[mysuzuki2]

29. I am not a Catholic but they are wrong.

the constitution allows for freedom of religion but also bans any prohibition on the free exercise of religion. Afterall, I wouldn't want them to ban my Thor's hammer necklace!

[Goblinmonger]

30. So if kids want to do an animal sacrifice at school

as part of their religion, the school shouldn't be allowed to stop them?

Just trying to see where the line is or if you really think there isn't one.

[mysuzuki2]

32. there's always a line, isn't there?

that's the issue. Where to draw the line? Animal sacrifice at school. Probably not. Necklaces, WTF?

[Goblinmonger]

33. It's a gang symbol.

It is potentially disruptive to the school day and a safety issue for those not in the gang.

[OmahaBlueDog]

35. So if gang members start wearing American flag lapels, we should ban those too?

[Goblinmonger]

36. This is a school.

Students do not have the same level of rights as adults not in school.

Do schools have the ability to control those things disruptive to the educational process? Do they have the responsibility of student safety?

[Iggo]

43. Yes.

[Tom Ripley]

38. True, but it has been a gang symbol for centuries

[OmahaBlueDog]

34. A better comparison would be asking whether we'd let a Rastafarian wear a marijuana leaf necklace

We wouldn't allow animal sacrifice any more than we'd allow a catholic to drink communion wine on school property. That said, we've traditionally allowed symbols of faith to be worn -- crosses, saint's medallions, Stars of David, Sikh head turbans (I don't know the technical term of art - forgive me).

[Vogon_Glory]

31. Are We Hearing The Evangelical Dog Whistle Here?

When I saw the headline for this article, my second impulse is to check WHERE this incident occurred. As often as not that gives a clue as to why the principals behaved as they did.

I think that both the ACLU AND the ACLJ have a right to be suspicious of this bureaucrat's motives. Colorado Springs is a center of Evangelical Protestant activity. Moreover, a lot of the very same Evangelicals beating the drums for the Tea Party are ALSO waging a not-so-subtly disguised campaign against liturgical Christian churches in general and the Roman Catholic Church in particular. And campaigns against the Catholic churches have historically also been campaigns against immigrants and minorities. Guess which church Hispanics have traditionally affiliated themselves with?

BTW Bill Donohue, where are you on this issue? Are you paying attention when an important part of your church's faith is being directly attacked, or are you missing in action yet again?

[Tom Ripley]

37. I love the Jesus and Mary Chain

[Iggo]

39. I seem to remember that wearing the rosary is a huge no-no.

Of course, wearing the flag was a huge no-no back then, too.

But I still had one of these sewn to the ass of my blue jeans.

[a la izquierda]

44. My mother would kick my butt...

from here to the moon if I wore a rosary. And she's not been to church in ages.

[Iggo]

45. Mine, too.

And my grandma probably woulda beat me within an inch of my life.

I went to Catholic school for a year and a half and nobody but nobody wore a rosary around their neck.

Like I hinted at above, I don't really have a specific memory of such a rule, but I feel in my gut like there had to have been some rule against it, if only because of the almost pavlovian revulsion I have at even thinking of wearing one.

(Thank goodness I got out in the second grade. I can only imagine how much further effed up I'd be if I'd've stayed all the way through high school.)

[HopeHoops]

42. My 16 year old daughter proudlly wears a Wiccan pentagram pendant. What's wrong with a rosary?

[RZM]

46. Very tough call

Because it straddles the line between religious expression, which I think should be allowed, and gang markers, which I have no trouble banning.

I voted 'no' on the poll. But I might as well have flipped a coin.

[Yo_Mama]

47. It's unconstitutional

It reminds me of the OK headscarf case:
http://articles.cnn.com/2004-03-30/justice/us.school.headscarves_1_dress-code-head-scarf-muslim-head-scarves?_s=PM:LAW

[Lucian]

52. We should become a secular naton and ban all religous symbols in public.

[reACTIONary]

54. Since freedom of conscience is a humane, secular value...

...you can't be a secular nation and ban religious symbols in public.

[Lucian]

55. France is a secular nation.

And they banned religious symbols in public.

It can be done.

[reACTIONary]

57. France took a step back from respect for human rights...

...and the secular values of freedom, dignity and tolerance. This is especially troubling in France because it is basically a racist reaction to the influx of Muslim immigrants. I said above I'd have my son wear a cross and a yarmulke to school precisely because those two symbols were specifically banned from schools in France.

Yes, we can behave like intolerant authoritarian religious bigots. But we are Americans. So we won't.

[Bloke 32]

56. Of course not

Preaching in school? Yes! Get rid of it.