Thanks to an NFA supported bill that went into effect today, Nebraska’s teachers now have more religious freedom than they did yesterday. The law repeals an out-dated statute that prohibited teachers from wearing religious attire or clothing.
At one point, 36 states had laws that banned religious clothing. They were originally supported by the KKK and adopted as an anti-Catholic measure to prevent nuns from wearing the habit in classrooms.
The Nebraska Legislature voted to repeal this law 39-5 in March of this year. Senator Scheer, representative of District 19, introduced the bill because of an experience of someone who had lived in his district: Sister Madeleine.
Sister Madeleine was denied a teaching position in the Norfolk public school system because she wears a habit. She moved out of state due to the law and now teaches in Iowa.
But Sister Madeleine isn’t the only one who encountered problems. A Mennonite student preparing to graduate from Peru State College was told by her university academic adviser that she would not be allowed to teach in Nebraska because of the current law.
Further, in Pennsylvania, the only state where this law remains in effect, a Christian educator already employed by the public school system was barred from teaching for simply wearing a cross necklace.
We are grateful to the Nebraska Legislature for putting an end to this unnecessary law. Good teachers like Sister Madeleine should not be discriminated against because of their faith. Whether Christian, Catholic, Jewish or otherwise, no one should have their job or their livelihood threatened because of peacefully expressed beliefs.
The right to live and work according to one’s beliefs is a critical component to any free society. Whether one is religious or not, religious freedom protects every citizen by assuring them that the government is not the gatekeeper of their conscience.
Nate Grasz