IANAL but I think a case could be made that if the school is actually having students engage in a religious ritual, that’s a first amendment violation. (Of course, it would be nice if they applied that principle consistently and didn’t try to impose, say, Christian prayer on students either.)
I think that number’s way too high. ISTM that a lot of US yoga practitioners are at least aware that chanting “Om” is a spiritual practice related to Indian religion(s).
While I think Christian fundamentalist hysteria about “pagans” and “idolators” is silly, it’s not unreasonable for devout Christians to eschew engaging in a practice that has religious significance in a non-Christian religion.
Whether it makes sense to teach yoga as a stretching workout without the traditional spiritual-practice aspect and still call it “yoga” is another question.
I don’t think either of these assertions are true. I can’t think of any legal strictures that weren’t followed and the way I see it the law gives schools greater freedom to set policy than they had before.
Yes well, that’s because most people don’t belong to or know anything about the religions where ‘om’ is a sacred word. As I said before it is as significant as the word ‘amen’ in Judaism and Christianity. I wouldn’t be okay with schools instructing students to say ‘amen’ at the end of each pose, even if most people were not saying it with religious intent. The tradition of saying ‘om’ during yoga is highly religious, and I agree with Kimstu when she guesses that many instructors know it has spiritual significance.
Not a lawyer, but I think it would be okay here so long as the ban only applies to yoga class and the school likewise prohibits eg: Christian spoken meditation.
I went from having my exes chained upside down, hanging from their ankles, in my secret basement prison, to being chained standing upright. I’m now a “good” person.
“I went from having my exes chained upside down, hanging from their ankles, in my secret basement prison, to being chained standing upright.” “I didn’t become good. I became slightly less vile.”
Is this hypothetical or do you have a cite? I found a court case and not a law; the court decided the yoga program in some school was “devoid of any religious, mystical or spiritual trappings” and therefore legal.
There being no existing ban on teaching yoga in California schools, and presumably there being no evidence of any religion being taught or push to teach religion in yoga class, I have a hard time believing a law imposing new restrictions would be an improvement.
The law reads, “Each local board of education may offer instruction in yoga to students in grades K-12, subject to the following […] Chanting, mantras, mudras, use of mandalas, induction of hypnotic states, guided imagery, and namaste greetings shall be expressly prohibited.”
Christianity does not have mantras, mudras, or mandalas, but I have heard of meditating on words like ‘Jesus’ or more commonly, biblical passages. To my understanding Christian meditation is usually silent (not always - not everyone has an inner voice), but if you were to repeat the same word or phrase out loud, I think that would be a chant.
The law is not quite content-neutral as mantras, mudras, and mandalas are characteristic of tantric traditions. It is a restraint on the students’ free exercise of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech. That means it is unconstitutional unless it is narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest. But the government has a compelling interest to not teach religious practice (which would also be unconstitutional), and with prohibitions only affecting spiritual components of yoga class, I think it is narrowly tailored…
… with the exception of the namaste greeting or English names, those go a bit further than I think is necessary.
It’s a hypothetical. Those restrictions are pulled directly from the text of the “good law” that you espouse in the OP stating as a good law that “allows” yoga. Absent the previous law, there is nothing good about this law. It simply lessens the volume of shit in the pile by a handful or two.
I concede that Governor Lee & the TN Legislature have done good things with Education lately.
2 year scholarships for anybody with a C average or better, at State-owned Community Colleges. Or the same 2 years at Tech or Trade schools.
I find this topic really blah.
I was born a Hindu, went to Catholic boys school from Kindergarten to High School. Currently I lean towards Hindu Atheism.
Mantras are like verses or poems. A short mantra wishing for peace on earth and peace to every living creature and non living forces of nature, is one of my favorites. Mantras are used in Tantra but tantra doesn’t have exclusivity to them.
Anyways this whole thing makes me sick. There are Hindu fanatics who think “Hinduism” shouldn’t be stripped out of Yoga and there are Fanatic Christians who think “Hinduism” should be stripped every bit out of Yoga.
Personally, I don’t care one way or the other. Serenity Now, Serenity Now, …
