Religious Expression - A Public Concern?

A law is on the books in Oregon, which says:

"No teacher in any public school shall wear any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher.”

Now, a bill called the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, also known as SB786, among other things, maintains that law. Pennsylvania is the only other state with such laws.

Which begs the question: why is the wearing of a kippah, a turban, a hijab, or a crucifix a problem in a public school setting, provided the teacher is not proselytizing?

Not being a parent myself, I admit that I probably can't appreciate the difficulty of explaining the religious practices of others to a child, much less my own. But I would hope parents would have enough faith in their teachers to be able to maturely and simply discuss differences in the classroom, be they religious, racial, or otherwise, without proselytizing.

Moreover, the law sends a mixed message to students with regards to civil liberties. Reading the ACLU's guide on freedom of expression for students makes it clear that students may wear religious garb and speak relatively freely, provided there is no interference in the education of other students. Not to afford the adults who teach them the same right seems, to me anyhow, rather strange.

Since the bill has already passed the Oregon legislature, Sikh and Muslim groups are encouraging the state's governor to issue a veto.

You can read the bill in question here.

So do you think that a teacher's wearing of religious items imparts religious value to their students? Is it a matter of keeping religion out of the classroom, or is it more vital that children and their parents use this as an opportunity to understand the diversity of the world we live in?

photo by jane in santa fe