Since some commenters disagreed with my comments concerning a high-school girl who was sent home (twice) after coming to school with pentacles painted on her face, I thought I would re-visit the issue and discuss some of the larger themes this brings up.

First off, concerning the girl, it was brought to my attention that the press coverage left out some details concerning her motivations. It seems the pentacles were painted on after she experienced harassment from students and teachers for wearing a pentacle necklace.

“Though I do need to explain my daughters action on painting the pentagram on her face. She has had necklaces taken from her by faculty, she has had other students rip them right off her neck. She said if its painted on my skin they can not take it away from me.”

This contradicts statements made by the Superintendent concerning her right to wear a (tasteful) emblem of her faith.

“We asked if she could wear a necklace. They said that was OK as long as no one complained about it.” (does that mean Christians have to take their crosses off if a student complains?)

Depending on how this issue develops the parents may file suit against the school, and according to an education student who commented on the issue, they may have a decent case (though I would love to hear from any of my law-practicing readers and fellow bloggers on that front).

“The pentagram on the face falls under free speech under the Tinker case. Since no other students complained, and it should not prevent the teacher from continuing her lesson, it doesn’t meet the disturbance criteria. I believe that, should you wish to pursue it, you have legitimate grounds for a lawsuit.”

So, lets assume she has the right to wear the face paint during her week-long celebration of Beltane. How should schools approach religious expression in schools? Part of my concern that guided me to thinking the parent’s complaints were misguided was that I’m wary of how religion is handled in public schools (which is to say, badly). Often laws are made that favor the religious majority in the name of free expression. So how does a secular educational institution for minors allow for a more unfettered personal religious expression without intimidating religious minorities, or getting mired in lawsuits?

If you ran the school what would your limits be and why? What about faith-based messages for or against homosexuality or abortion? How do we preserve a secular atmosphere while allowing a reasonable amount of personal religious expression?

Tags: law, Paganism, Wicca