[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Mares

Right. If every religion in the world lobbied to have schools shut down on their most holy day, there would be no school. Instead, if you put down "Christian" you should get Christmas off (well, it's already in the midle of winter break...), and so on.

Wouldn't that be unfair to Buddhists, though? I mean, as far as I know they don't have the equivalent of Christmas, Ramadan, or Yom Kippur.

But then Buddhists have never been known to complain about such things, have they?

[Maquisard]

Atheists and Buddhists should have a day too. Invent one!

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Mares

Atheists and Buddhists should have a day too. Invent one!

Sweet idea, Mares!
Since I vacillate between those two groups, I'd like to suggest that they get all the secular holidays off: Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Arbor Day, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day, and the birthdays of the ten or so presidents that the average person actually remembers, plus a handful of less-well-known holidays to be specified at a later date.

[Lucien21]

It's stories like this that really worry me about the states.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4427144.stm

Ths story has been going around for a while now that some states in the US want to teach "intelligent Design" as part of the science courses. It's not science there is no proof of this theory whatsoever. It's just another form of teaching creationism in the classroom.

Kansas seems to be on the forefront of this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4419796.stm

I have no problem with them teaching that Evolution isn't a perfect science and it has flaws or gaps in it's knowledge, but to replace it with a purely religious notion is a dangerous step. Besides I don't think the theory of evolution either proves or disproves the existance of a higher being.

They are trying to say it's non-denominational by not specifying what the intellegience is, but religion has no place in schools.

It threatens the seperation of state and church.

[Stroggy]

Originally Posted by Mares

Right. If every religion in the world lobbied to have schools shut down on their most holy day, there would be no school. Instead, if you put down "Christian" you should get Christmas off (well, it's already in the midle of winter break...), and so on.

It eventually boils down to how large each religious group is in the school. I know some catholic schools here in Belgium have the day off for Jewish religious holidays because there are so many Jewish pupils studying there.

In this case the school seems to be composed out of mainly Christians and a smaller but still large jewish percentage. Whereas (deducting from the information I got from the rather meagre TV-clip) the Muslim community int he school was limited to one or two families, which wouldn't be enough to create another day off for Muslims.

I believe France has taken a similar line to what you're saying.

In France it has been forbidden to members of all religions to wear signs of their religion (I think) such as: a large cross around the neck for christians, a skullcap for jewish boys and a headscarf for muslim girls.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Stroggy

It eventually boils down to how large each religious group is in the school. I know some catholic schools here in Belgium have the day off for Jewish religious holidays because there are so many Jewish pupils studying there.

In this case the school seems to be composed out of mainly Christians and a smaller but still large jewish percentage. Whereas (deducting from the information I got from the rather meagre TV-clip) the Muslim community int he school was limited to one or two families, which wouldn't be enough to create another day off for Muslims.

It seems to be not only the proportion of the more dominant religious groups, but also by influenial ones (you don't necessarily have to be a large group to have some influence).

It just so happens that historically in the U.S., politically the dominant, group is Christian, with Jews being among the most influential (politically, economically, and industrywise). Though the country was founded on Christian values (and in spirit religious freedom), eventually various denominations were established, with Jews being among the most powerful.

In France it has been forbidden to members of all religions to wear signs of their religion (I think) such as: a large cross around the neck for christians, a skullcap for jewish boys and a headscarf for muslim girls.

If I remember the news articles correctly the government claimed the law was more for 'secular purposes' than religious.

[Junkface]

My school wouldn't let me celebrate the festival of Dionysus. It wouldn't even have required me taking the whole day off, just say the first hour or so, and then trips to my locker once each subsequent hour. And I'm in multi-cultural Australia.

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Mares

Atheists and Buddhists should have a day too. Invent one!

Funny you should say that, Maresie. In Korea, both Christmas and the Buddha's Birthday are national holidays. Buddha's birthday is just as festive as Christmas in Korea.




I've always thought that Buddhist are much more tolerant of people of other beliefs than Christians.

[Aj_]

Originally Posted by Stroggy

In this case the school seems to be composed out of mainly Christians and a smaller but still large jewish percentage. Whereas (deducting from the information I got from the rather meagre TV-clip) the Muslim community int he school was limited to one or two families, which wouldn't be enough to create another day off for Muslims.

How did you get that infomation from the TV-clip?

[Fairygdmther]

Well, down here in the Bah-ble Belt, Easter is a holiday (holyday) and many will complain that they had to work on Good Friday (some get a half day off). Meanwhile today, 11/11/05 is a secular holiday and everyone has to work except the banks. Holidays here consist of:
New Year's Day
Memorial Day
July 4 - Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas
(plus Easter)

In Boston we used to get:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King's birthday
Presidents Day
April 19 Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day
Memorial Day
July 4th
Labor Day
Oct 12, Columbus Day
Nov 11, Armistice Day (some places give this up to have the Friday after Thanksgiving off)
Thanksgiving
Christmas

Lynsie

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

It's stories like this that really worry me about the states.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4427144.stm

Ths story has been going around for a while now that some states in the US want to teach "intelligent Design" as part of the science courses. It's not science there is no proof of this theory whatsoever. It's just another form of teaching creationism in the classroom.

Kansas seems to be on the forefront of this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4419796.stm

I have no problem with them teaching that Evolution isn't a perfect science and it has flaws or gaps in it's knowledge, but to replace it with a purely religious notion is a dangerous step. Besides I don't think the theory of evolution either proves or disproves the existance of a higher being.

They are trying to say it's non-denominational by not specifying what the intellegience is, but religion has no place in schools.

It threatens the seperation of state and church.

Pat Robertson is a nut job. He always has been and always will. Some of his statements reach the public (via the media) and get ridiculed and others slip under the radar. He has influence but I'm not sure how much. Will this band of fundamentalist Christians truly shape what happens to the separation of church and state? I have no idea. It seems as if these people have a huge say in politics but is that inflated by the media? Certainly in a place such as Kansas where they are a presence, the voters made their decision in ousting the pro-ID boards members so maybe the fundamentalist presence is not as strong as thought.

[Fairygdmther]

Between the politically correct complaints that are building and the religious influence, I'm hoping for a backlash for the next Presidential election. The fundamentalists are due for a fall - the sooner, the better. The constitution calls for separation of church and state, and too many laws have been challenged - if they go to the Supreme Court, they have to back what's in the Constitution - they must pledge to do that, no matter what their personal opinions are.

Lynsie

[em-deecee]

Fox News will rot your brain.

[SamNMax]

You're about to enter the No Bullshit Zone.

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by thebestpageintheuniverse

This guy is the epitome of narcissism, and coming from a guy whose website is titled "The Best Page in the Universe," that's saying a lot.

Carry on...