School ban on girl wearing cross 'discriminatory'

[Shadow]

Prison Planet

A mother accused her daughter's school of discriminating against Christians yesterday after the teenager was suspended for refusing to take off a crucifix necklace.

Sam Morris, 16, was sent home from Sinfin Community School in Derby for breaking a school policy that bans jewellery.

Last night her mother, Debra, said that Sikh children were allowed to wear a steel bracelet, known as a kara, for religious reasons and said her daughter had every right to express her faith.

Education officials were unrepentant, however, and said that Sikhs are required by religion to wear items of jewellery, whereas Christians are not.

Mrs Morris, 37, said: "Sam has worn this necklace for more than three years. No one has told her to take it off before, and she doesn't want to remove it.

"She thinks it's very unfair when other people are allowed to wear religious symbols. It just ends up creating a divide between the pupils.

[Doc]

shadow said:

Prison Planet

A mother accused her daughter's school of discriminating against Christians yesterday after the teenager was suspended for refusing to take off a crucifix necklace.

Sam Morris, 16, was sent home from Sinfin Community School in Derby for breaking a school policy that bans jewellery.

Last night her mother, Debra, said that Sikh children were allowed to wear a steel bracelet, known as a kara, for religious reasons and said her daughter had every right to express her faith.

Education officials were unrepentant, however, and said that Sikhs are required by religion to wear items of jewellery, whereas Christians are not.

Mrs Morris, 37, said: "Sam has worn this necklace for more than three years. No one has told her to take it off before, and she doesn't want to remove it.

"She thinks it's very unfair when other people are allowed to wear religious symbols. It just ends up creating a divide between the pupils.

In that case, it looks to me that the school has set an unspoken precedent.
Jewelry is banned, but religious mandates are sufficient to overrule the ban.

Is it only Islam, or is it every religion?

If it is every religion, than, to be fair, and politically correct, that school should IMO first, clarify this rule, as it establishes a de facto precedence of religion over restrictions in minor school matters. If this is the case, every potential example needs to be made known to all.

Protestant Christians are, for example, called upon to observe certain things. These must be also permitted to be fair. The same is true for Jews, Catholics, Hindus, etc.

Catholics have food restrictions during Lent. Protestants are told to proselytize! Jehovah's Witnesses can't observe birthdays or Christmas, salute flags, or take vaccination shots or donate blood.

There are a lot more complications if they want to push that one little thing to the hilt. In order to legitimately take away her one piece of jewelry, they need to consider allowing in a large number of things that they (the school board) might rather have not had brought up as issues.