Christmas has brought a fine little controversy to northeast Arkansas, in Paragould. A teacher put up a “Happy Birthday, Jesus” poster in her classroom, which brought a complaint from a parent who believed it improper — indeed, unconstitutional — for a tax-supported public institution to overtly engage in a religious observance. The school’s attorney is reported to have agreed, and to have advised district officials that a losing case was in the making.
Down came the poster, after a bit of foot-dragging by the teacher; then up it went again, her supervisors bowing to public sentiment in overwhelmingly Christian Paragould, which, oddly, seems to have no Christian churches in which to wish Jesus a happy birthday. Well, it’s their tax dollars. Rather than suggest the district spend still more of them for a remedial education course in civics and constitutional law for adults (and it’s the adults, rather than the students, who are raising a ruckus), I’d suggest a quick seminar in foreign affairs, with emphasis on those nations in which religious majorities dominate the government.
And since the prevailing sentiment at Paragould seems to be that the majority should rule in matters of faith, please note that the following events all occurred in roughly the same 24-hour period as the Greene County poster-up, poster-down, poster-up dispute.
— Hare Krishnas protested a new law in Hungary, almost exclusively Christian, which requires other faiths to “register” with the government and then win a two-thirds vote of Parliament for “recognition.”
— Parliamentary debate continued in the Netherlands, almost exclusively Christian, on proposals outlawing the slaughter of animals in keeping with Jewish and Muslim dietary requirements, outraging members of both religions.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
— In almost exclusively Christian Canada, the government wrestled with complaints by Muslim women, who already have otherwise qualified for citizenship, that a new requirement that they unveil when taking the oath of allegiance violates their religious rights.
— Overwhelmingly Hindu India observed the 10th anniversary of an attack on its Parliament by Islamic radicals in which 13 people, including the assailants died, and which almost trigged another war with majority Islamic Pakistan.
— In Malaysia, where freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed but Islam is enshrined as the state religion, and where Christians account for barely six percent of a citizenry dominated by Muslims and Buddhists, an Anglican bishop said in an interview that his congregation was newly nervous about being used as “pawns” in parliamentary campaigns, where allegations of “proselytizing” are being aired.
— In almost exclusively Muslim Saudi Arabia, a woman was beheaded for practicing “sorcery” and “witchcraft.”
— In Afghanistan more than 60 Shiite Muslims were killed in bombings for which Sunni Muslims claimed responsibility.
— In (no kidding) predominantly Jewish Israel, Jew versus Jew resumed, with 200 West Bank residents attacking two government outposts in response to rumors that their settlements, on land they consider a gift from God, would be dismantled.
— Almost two dozen human rights organizations issued a joint report claiming a sharp increase in the number of homes and businesses destroyed by the Israeli government in areas formerly held by Palestinians, predominantly Muslim but with sizeable minorities of Christians, noting also higher rates of assaults and vandalism, including arson, against Palestinian neighborhoods, farms and mosques by Jewish fundamentalists. — In Egypt and Syria, Christians, Jews and some Muslim sects continue to watch, intently and with apprehension, to see if the protection they enjoyed from the secular dictators of both countries, one already unseated and the other teetering, will continue as the Arab Spring approaches winter.
That’s 24 hours overseas. In our country, overwhelmingly Christian:
— Three rival groups of Christian evangelicals are maneuvering to dominate the religious right in Iowa, where the first delegates to the Republican National Convention will be chosen, and where a written pledge to adhere to conservative religious positions on public issues is essential to securing a goodly share of their votes.
— A Gallup Poll finds that more than one in five Americans would not vote for a candidate because of his or her religion, specifically, Mormonism. — Muslim Americans wishing to build or even make improvements to their houses of worship are subjected to protests by neighbors and sometimes elected officials, the latter erecting bureaucratic barricades that would be unthinkable if the denomination was mainstream.
So, by all means, let’s keep that “Happy Birthday, Jesus” poster up there, and to Heaven with the law. After all, we don’t behead people in America; we don’t even burn them at the stake any more. What this country needs is more religion in its politics, the better to balance the budget, lower the cost of health care, create jobs and put the Razorbacks into the BCS. You get it. Or, you don’t.
• • •
Steve Barnes is a native of Pine Bluff.