There is a new conflict over religious rights in public education in New Jersey where Muslim families demanded an official holiday for Eid al-Adha. The meeting erupted when the school board refused to create such a holiday just six days before Eid al-Adha, which would have required thousands to families to scramble to find accommodations for their children. It also raises the slippery slope of adopting some religious holidays and not others. For example, the Jewish community noted that their families do not have official holidays for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The confrontations raises the question of why public schools should create religious holidays as opposed to giving students excused absences for such holidays, which New Jersey does.
One Muslim mother is heard declaring that “We’re going to be the majority soon!” That comment embodies the very point cited by both supporters and critics. On one hand, the community is calling for the simple recognition of a dominant religious holiday in this community. They insist that community control over schools means that large segments of the population should be accommodated on such question. Moreover, this was not such a controversy, they suggest, when the holidays were Christian.
On the other hand, critics insist that it is not about the majority getting what it wants in terms of elevating their own religious holidays over others. Indeed, the first amendment is designed first and foremost to protect minorities from majoritarian discrimination. There are also the entanglement issues raised by certain religious holidays being favored over others. Unless one adopts the “majority is always right” to impose a favored religion, the school would have to recognize holidays for Christians, Jews, Buddhists and other faiths.
For many of us, it makes better constitutional and practical sense to allow excused absences. Of course, this leaves the issue of “Christmas” holidays. However, those holidays are increasingly disassociated with Christianity and rarely are called “Christmas” holiday. Instead, the holiday comes at the end of the year and is carried through the New Year. Easter holidays are virtually gone and even “Halloween parties” have been reconfigured as “Harvest celebrations” to avoid even attenuated reference to anything religious.
What is interesting is that various leaders including Jewish leaders expressed an interest in adding the holiday for next year. Rabbi Debra Hachen of Jersey City’s Temple Beth-El, the city’s largest Jewish congregation, said “I personally plan to offer my assistance to the Muslim community to bring this up during the school year so that it can be discussed and considered fully in time to be incorporated into next year’s school calendar. Our community is fully in support of religious freedom of expression and understands the desire of our Muslim friends and neighbors to have the schools closed for Eid El-Adha.” It is a position that raises the issue of accommodation of other faiths and whether this is simply a question of the majority religion in a given district.
The controversy in New Jersey is illustrative of a common view that religious freedom means the right to impose religious values supported by the majority. The Kim Davis controversy reflects that same claim of entitlement in an official insisting that she has a right to impose her religious litmus test in carrying out ministerial functions as a clerk. The classic civil libertarian position is that true religious freedom is protected by neutrality by the government. The fear is that this all becomes little more than a muscle play. The insular minorities of yesterday become the dominant majorities of today.
Yet, in fairness to those calling for this holiday, The city has already established this holiday and Diwali as city holidays. Dawali is the Indian festival of lights. One can argue that schools are part of communities and can accommodate and recognize the holidays that are most important to those communities. After all, if the vast majority of students are taking leave for the holidays, it is argued that it makes more sense to simply declare a holiday for everyone.
It is a fascinating line to draw, though from a constitutional standpoint there is always unease in the government enforcing a holiday tied to a particular religion. This has long been the case with Christian holidays but, as discussed above, those official holidays were long contested on separation grounds.
What do you think?
I am an Eighth Day Dog Adventist. On the Eighth Day God Created Dog and Put Dog On Earth To Give Guidance To Humans. We celebrate on January 8th. We are deciding to make a move in the New Jersey Legislature to make that a State Holiday and schools to be closed in observance.
I warn you folks in Jersey that if we do not get this accomodation and recognition there will be hell to pay. The dogs in every community know where the legislators live and exactly how to poop in their yards and on their sidewalks.
Mr. Spinelli:
I’m not necessarily “thinking in the government box”, only asking questions about who decides what, who pays for it, how success is measured. Not to put words in your mouth, but if issues are decided by citizens reflecting their values, then we may end up with students being taught that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs.
Modern, LOL!
I like replacement of all current holiday names, especially those associated with whiteness or Christian-ness, with bland, politically correct names:
* New Year’s Day (too hopeful) –> National Reset Day
* Presidents Day (too elitist) –> National Working Class Day
* St. Patrick’s Day (too ethnic) –> National Beer Day
* Good Friday – Easter (too Christian) –> National Rabbit and Egg Weekend
* Cinco de Mayo (too unEnglish) –> National Round Flat Bread Day
* Memorial Day (too imperial) –> National Racing Day
* Independence Day (too revolutionary) –> National Non-Harmful and Noiseless Pyrotechnics Day
* Labor Day –> National Working Class Day II
* Columbus Day: this one may remain as is, but will be limited to a celebration of citizens of the capital of Ohio
* Thanksgiving (too Puritanical) –> National Football Day
* Christmas (too Christian) –> National Consumption Of Trees Day
Al, You’re thinking in the govt. box. Firstly, on the topic of religious Holidays, private schools have no such constraints. I would eliminate all taxing for education and have that money put back into the hands of citizens to create schools reflecting their values, not only on religion, but on a myriad of topics. Curriculum, class size, teacher qualifications, security would be the purview of the individual schools. The uniformity govt. ostensibly provides you seem to love. But, few could reasonably argue the govt. and teacher’s unions have taken education in a downward spiral the past generation.
Nick,
So union teachers would get all current paid holidays plus Ramadan and Lent for extra total 70 days of holiday and then summer off. That’s a good deal. Las Vegas is going to be very busy.
Mr. Spinelli:
Thanks for the clarification. So it seems that the primary area for privatization should be education. I agree that the devil is in the details, but for the sake of discussion, how would items such as funding, curriculum, class size, teacher qualification, security and of course, holidays, be handled? How would “success” be measured. Who would make those decisions and on what basis?
Capitalism is the heart of this country, so this year we will be celebrating commercial holidays like Black Friday and Xmas. On the longest shopping day of the year we will be telling old favorites like the story of the three wise entrepreneurs who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to trade.
Remember, there are only 99 shopping days left in the year so get busy. But then we get to start the new year off right – with a sale.
WTH ever happened to separation of church and state? Christian’s are discriminated in the public sector. The ACLU jumps in and demands everything associated with Christianity be removed from public schools and squares. How is this even being considered, that Muslim lady is correct they are doing everything in their power to “fundamentally transform America” into a Sharia compliant Muslim totalitarian country.
Given my admittedly limited and layman’s understanding of the constitution, recognizing no religious holidays in public schools seems most consistent with its intent. Excused holidays is the way to go, but there are no easy solutions. Parents will worry and complain that other children will be learning in school what their children will not be learning while out of school. My guess is this is why all students are given religious holiday off.
Diversity comes with advantages and disadvantages. I think it is a plus but with reservations. Our public discourse always emphasizes the advantages while almost never addressing the problems, and that makes it more difficult to deal with them. Not everything is wonderful is La La Land. I would think that, in very diverse school districts, board meetings could be consumed by discussions and complaints over such fundamental educational issues as the lunch menu.
“For many of us, it makes better constitutional and practical sense to allow excused absences. Of course, this leaves the issue of “Christmas” holidays. However, those holidays are increasingly disassociated with Christianity and rarely are called “Christmas” holiday. Instead, the holiday comes at the end of the year and is carried through the New Year. Easter holidays are virtually gone and even “Halloween parties” have been reconfigured as “Harvest celebrations” to avoid even attenuated reference to anything religious.”
Hence the fake “War on Christmas” perpetuated by the religious right. The outrage of renaming it Winter Break or Spring Break. How many more demands will religious people put on the general public before the general public has had enough?
“The classic civil libertarian position is that true religious freedom is protected by neutrality by the government. The fear is that this all becomes little more than a muscle play. The insular minorities of yesterday become the dominant majorities of today.”
Hear hear!
Al, I will use the list you provided and tell you what services should NOT be privatized. Health. Now, the devil is ALWAYS in the details, but ALL the other services you tried to put into my mouth were false. I believe all those other on your list, from safety[vague] to the courts, are W/O QUESTION THE PURVIEW OF GOVT.
Mr. Spinelli:
Besides education, please list those area currently in the public sphere which should be privatized.
Kerry, The unions would support paid holidays for the 30 days of Ramadan and 40 days of lent.
If the holy month of Ramadan was selected as a Federal (paid) 30 day holiday, Federal union employees and union teachers would support it. One month pay is a good deal for nothing.
I just said education, Al. But, nice try putting words in my mouth.
Federal Government has been destroying the educational system for a long time, It is time to give the States, Counties and parents to run education.
https://theintercept.com/2015/09/21/anti-muslim-controversies-last-week-reimagined/
So JT aligns with Donald Trump when discussing Muslim. What a great “public interest” that is served…. Haha as always… civil liberties for who? JT and his brethren insist on only particular parties receiving the rights and privileges of the empire.
I agree with Mr. Spinelli. Government has no place in the public sphere, be it education, health, safety, working conditions, environment, transportation, roads, bridges, defense, policing, courts and so on. Let the free market make those sorts of determinations. Profit is the best indicator of success.
I think it’s time to completely privatize education. Get the govt. out of education. They have screwed it up and made our students stupid, lemmings.