France Attempts to Outlaw Religion in Schools by Celeste Robbins

France on Monday unveiled a new charter designed to enforce rules banning religion in schools which have been a recurring cause of tension with Muslims and other faiths. It represents an attempt to encourage better understanding, and more consistent implementation, of long-established values which have their roots in the anti-clericalism of the French revolution and the country's 1905 law enforcing a severe separation of church and state. Recent years have seen a string of legal quarrels arising from the prohibiting from school of girls wearing headscarves in disobedience of a 2004 law which outlaws the wearing of "ostentatious" religious symbols. In my opinion, you should not be able to push your own religion to others at school, but you should be allowed to follow you religion when you go to school. Forbidding people who follow Islam to cover their heads is like, not allowing people to wear a cross on any type of clothing. 

Also, if i was learning about freedom of religion in history class and I saw that Islams were not allowed to cover their heads I would get confused as a child, because that really isn't showing they are allowed to express their religion freely. Even though I say that they should be allowed freedom of religion, there should never be religious teachings during school times. There are too many opinions and different religions to count these days and too many people could get offended by the religious views of the teacher. Which is what the real law is about. France is going down a very good path for schools, but this should never turn into discrimination. Which is what the article is all about. The world needs to know how to separate the church from the state and the school. Then, I think, we could be more organized and biased.

By Celeste Robbins

 http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/10-Sep-2013/france-moves-to-toughen-ban-on-religion-in-schools