This article in USA today presents the new ruling in the ECJ (European Court of Justice) that employers may ban their staff from wearing any religious attire, whether that be a cross, a hijab, etc. However, it is likely that employers in Europe will be more inclined to prohibit the hijab rather than a Christian cross necklace. This ruling tells one of the six stories of religion today presented by McGuire and Dr. Spickard. The banning of any religious attire (but especially islamic) is a sign that a society is moving towards a more secular landscape. Removing visible and public symbols of religion like the hijab creates an impression that religion is disappearing from the society. The freedom employers gain from having the control to ban the hijab can be viewed as secularization through privatization. Employers can chose whether they want public religious symbols in their work environment. However, this takes away religious freedom from the individual, and defeats the idea of pluralism within the European Union.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/14/top-eu-court-rules-employers-can-ban-visible-religious-symbols-including-islamic-headscarves/99156814/

On Tuesday evening, the Tallahassee Democrat reported on a Florida Senate bill SB 436 that would allow Florida public school students greater religious freedom. For example, it explicitly allows them to wear religious clothing or jewelry, to express their beliefs as part of their school assignments, and to engage in religious activity during the school day. Introduced by State Senator Dennis Baxley, R-Lady Lake, the bill promises to “let freedom ring” in public schools.
However, the bill has faced some criticism for its expansive definition of “religious” and for its refusal to set boundaries on students’ expression. In the first place, opponents worry that the lack of definition of “religious” and “religion” will allow students to express hate speech or other offensive views. In addition, the bill sets no explicit limits on students’ expression of their religiosity, and other senators worry that it will protect students who are disrespectful or disruptive to teachers who present material they disagree with on religious grounds. Brandon Haught, a high school biology teacher, said that the bill would have “chilling effects” on science teachers presenting material on evolution. Despite his concerns, the bill passed the judiciary commission Tuesday night with a 5-4 vote, and it now moves forward to general debate on the Senate floor.

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/03/14/senate-committee-pushes-religious-expression-bill-forward/99183076/

One of the “Six Stories About Religion” is the idea that religion is becoming increasingly and militantly conservative. One of the cultural trends of this is the reaction to modernity. In the article, “Would Jesus be a gentrifier? How Christianity is embracing urban renewal”, published in The Guardian, Joel Duddell, describes an emerging urban community called, Stokes Croft. Stokes Croft began as a group of abandoned Victorian buildings and over the course of a two decades, has eventually developed into an urban community with artisan coffee shops, craft ale pubs ,and is adorned with local art. Although the building is not obvious to tourists or visitors, Stokes Croft, like most communities, also has it’s own church. At the LoveBristol church, members, “pursue idiosyncratic beliefs within a loose structure – a belief in prophecy, speaking in tongues, and the power of the Holy Spirit in instigating modern-day miracles.” (Duddell). Although studies have shown that religious attendance and beliefs have been decreasing since the 1930s, evangelical, charismatic, Pentecostal and other “new churches” have almost doubled in size while Anglican, Catholic, and  Presbyterian churches continue to shrink. While it is not very common now, churches like LoveBristol could gradually become more appealing to newer communities as they begin growing.

EU headscarf ban ruling sparks faith group backlash

The news is about Court of Justice said Belgian firm may ban employee to wear “religious and political symbols” and doing so is not discrimination. Although it says  “religious and political symbols”, the case was about receptionist who was dismissed because of wearing headscarf, so it is mostly on Muslim woman.

It is kind of surprising that they passed it because I am pretty sure that it is obviously discrimination against certain religion and against freedom of performing religion in general. I knew that people in EU are less religious but this is more about basic right. Also, even worse, the conservative candidate commented that it will create “social peace”.

This might be completely irrelevant, but I wondered something; first thing I thought when I see this article was that the rule would not be (I mean, hopefully) passed in US if that happens. And I was wondering, since I was reading “Religious America, Secular Europe?” and “Secularization and its discontents”, is this can be something that related to secularism?

The article I read discussed a ban on visible religious symbols. This article was a shock to me because I have always known that there is a lot of religious discrimination in our world but it was this prevalent. I feel that expressing your passion about your religion should be seen as a freedom that we have no matter what country you come from. These symbols are in no way inappropriate and if they bring that person pride they should be able to show it off. The article was set up by explaining that a law was just passed by a European court saying all EU countries can ban religious symbols in the workplace. I understand that everyone is meant to feel comfortable where they work but I feel that these symbols truthfully do not mess with the environment. If anything they promote peace and show that these are dedicated individuals. I admire people who show their strength in their religions through their appearance. As a Christian, I wear my cross every single day and I have a tattoo of a cross. It is something that I take so much pride in and I wear it because of the meaning it has for me. I do not wear it to try and pressure anybody else. I think that as a world we need to try to unite and understand the beauty that comes from differences. If someone feels happy in their headscarf or wearing a cross then they should continue expressing themselves.

Onyanga-Omara, Jane. “Employers in EU Can Ban Visible Religious Symbols like Islamic Headscarves.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 14 Mar. 2017. Web. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/14/top-eu-court-rules-employers-can-ban-visible-religious-symbols-including-islamic-headscarves/99156814/.

This article points out that there is a harsh division in our country between non-evangelical and evangelical Christians. “Christianity Today magazine noted that, when the views of evangelicals were removed from the mix, only a third of nonevangelical Americans had warm feelings toward evangelicals. Flip that around and that means two-thirds of nonevangelicals have lukewarm or cold feelings about evangelical Christians”. This ties into our six sociological narratives that help to explain what’s happening to religion. This can be correlated with the idea that there is a conservative resurgence. The right winged Christianity sector is growing and this is an example of the feelings each group feels towards one another. I think it’s interesting to view this study because we can view the disconnect within our nation and understand the politics behind the governmental system as it truly changes within this next presidential term.

The article also mentions how millennials are now becoming more unaffiliated with religion and are becoming categorized as “nones”. Because of our past class I can now have a better understanding of how and why millennials are being driven away from religion or have a change of thought about religion in general. There are many cultural trends that are affecting the choices made by millennials which are important to note. The idea that “conservative religious groups stand out, and are seen as a threat, because their beliefs are not normal” is also very important to examine. It has been fun to implement the things we are learning into up to date news articles and examining why their statements make sense.

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/columnists/terry-mattingly/2017/03/11/religion-quiet-rise-secular-coalition-us-politics/98971648/