Teacher suspended for denying Wiccan altar | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register
“Personally, I think it’s offensive to worship rocks and trees,” Halferty said of Wicca, a religion based on ancient beliefs and a reverence for the Earth. “I am just trying to be moral. I don’t know how we can profess to be Christians and let this go on.”
Deny it on the basis of separation of church and state? Maybe, although probably not in this case. As a matter of personal religious bias? Unacceptable.
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Monday, March 8, 2010 at 23:41
Church and State can be tricky when it comes to Students and Teachers.
Students can display faith so long as it does not take from class time. Teachers can have faith but can’t encourage or discourage a student’s belief.
What does this mean? The teacher couldn’t suggest a cross adorned pulpit as a project and cannot reject a Wiccan altar.
It’s not just the rights violation of the student that worry me but the potential physical backlash from the other students.
You may well have a point in some venues. On the other hand, the feedback I get from younger people and remarks around the Web seems to indicate that kids are far more tolerant about such things than adults. And, of course, the “potential physical backlash” has always been there. As a former Catholic who grew up in a small Southern town in the ’50’s, I can attest to that. We humans are pretty tribal when it comes to our superstitions.