Posted on 07/17/2007 2:40:09 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
LONDON - A teenager whose teachers had stopped her wearing a “purity ring” at school to symbolize her commitment to virginity has lost a High Court fight against the ban.
Lydia Playfoot, 16, says her silver ring is an expression of her faith and had argued in court that it should be exempt from school regulations banning the wearing of jewelry.
“I am very disappointed by the decision this morning by the High Court not to allow me to wear my purity ring to school as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside marriage,” Playfoot said in a statement Monday.
“I believe that the judge’s decision will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organizations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practicing their faith.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Actually, the reason why it was in quotation marks is because I was quoting you.
I would say that a Sikh would have to be in full garb for this to go....
The last Guru, Gobind Singh, expanded the religion to the brotherhood of the Sikhs. He taught that the Sikhs were to throw off all divisions of caste, colour and creed, and adopt the common surname of “Singh” for men and “Kaur” for women. Gobind Singh also established baptism for the Sikhs, called the Khalsa brotherhood. In this ceremony, a Sikh is baptized and becomes an orthodox Sikh, embodying the five symbols of Sikhism. As brothers of the same family, all Sikhs resemble each other by wearing the five K symbols:
“Kesh” (uncut hair): The hair is a symbol of faith, and keeping long hair confirms a Sikh’s belief in the acceptance of God’s will, and teaches them humility and acceptance.
“Kangha” (wooden comb): Sikhs use a small wooden comb because it symbolizes cleanliness and serves as a reminder to keep their mind clear of impure thoughts.
“Karra” (steel bracelet): Sikhs wear a steel bracelet on the right wrist, to show their bond to the Guru and among themselves in the brotherhood of Khalsa.
“Kachha” (short breeches): Sikhs wear a pair of shorts that are slightly longer than underwear, which symbolize a high moral character.
“Kirpaan” (blade): Sikhs wear a blade, approximately, 6” - 9”, on their bodies to symbolize self-respect and self-defense. It is an insult to refer to this article of Sikh faith as a knife.
Somehow I think that “Thou shalt not commit adultery” thing and wearing a ring to symbolize one’s commitment to it, is a symbol too.
“Central” is pretty vague.
I don't know, it sounds pretty fair. Next you'd have Islamofascists claiming exemptions in a school that banned burkas or hajibs.
Yeah, how would you like to go through life with that name?Especially if you're a man, no one would take you seriously. "Hi, I'm Peter Playfoot."
Read the article. Muslims are already exempt.
“The rule at the school is NO JEWELRY. This applies to everyone!”
Sehr gut, Mein Hehr!
Everything that is not forbidden is mandatory!
Alles in ordnung!
It doesn't appear that they're picking on Christians; they just don't agree that a chastity ring is integral to religious belief. Maybe her group could accept a crucifix to serve in lieu of a ring. In fact, if I were her I'd have a jeweler make the ring an integral part of the crucifix.
Oops. Sorry for the misreading.
As for what you list of the Sikh beliefs: what you listed are not optional for Sikhs. Certainly some Sikhs are not observant, but you wouldn't force an Orthodox Jewish student to eat a ham sandwich, just because a Reformed Jewish student did. (Unless you were an anti-Semite.)
Nowhere in the foundations of Christian practice are Christians commanded to wear "virginity rings." That was made up by a minority denomination. I'm not knocking it as a practice, but claiming that it has the same degree of important to Christians as the five K's have to Sikhs is offensive to both religions.
Finally, "central" is not vague. As a Catholic I can certainly tell you what is central to my faith and what isn't. If you can't distinguish between central, secondary and tertiary practices, in your faith, then maybe you should find a stronger faith.
You read the article. First of all, exceptions are made for religious tradition. Christianity is 2000 years old, and the "Silver Ring Thing" practice is only slightly more than a decade old. It is not part of Christian tradition. Second: Sikhs are not Muslims. They are Sikhs.
Thank you for the clarification. In this case, however, the issue is conduct at a state-run school, so the CofE would be the authority for things Christian.
Brillian idea! All she has to do is convert to the State sponsored religion!
As a Catholic, my Scapular Metal is central.
But would it be allowed?
Would it be considered jewelry? It’s been rendered nonfunctional & it adorns the body, like a belt buckle, or a ring. It seems to me that the definition of "jewelry" has a lot of grey areas.
Interesting the way you suggest I said Sikhs and Muslims are the same, without actually making your false accusation in plain English. Congratulations. You've almost mastered another stomach-churning method. Of course, the problem with that one, is that my posts where I specifically identified them as separate religions are still posted, last time I checked.
Could you be more specific? Are you a member of a holy order? Is this a Carmelite Scapular Metal? Do you wear it outside your clothing?
As a cool protest they should all use a magic marker (black sharpie) and draw a ring around their ringfinger.
It's not a tactic. I was trying to illustrate the absurdity of claiming that the "Silver Ring Thing" was an integral part of the Christian religion. Are you claiming it is? Please don't; you're not the only person whose stomach can be churned.
I was responding to several posts quickly and I hastily misjudged your post. I sincerely apologize for that.
I didn’t say it’s an integral part of every denomination of Christianity. I said it’s an integral part of her religion. If you address what I actually say, instead of what you wish I’d said, this would go more smoothly.
Christianity is a faith. Denominations are churches. The "Silver Ring Thing" may be a big deal at her church, but it isn't an integral part of the Christian faith. Stop pretending that it's somehow reasonable to claim it is. There's only so much heresy I can stand in one thread.
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