Davenport decides to rename 'Good Friday' 'Spring Holiday'
Davenport, Iowa has decided to re-name Good Friday "Spring Holiday" for purposes of closing schools and government offices that day.
I have mixed feelings. Certainly Jewish kids should no more have to take a day off from school to celebrate a Christian holy day than Christian kids should have to take a day off to celebrate Yom Kippur. On the other hand, I don't think many kids- Christian or Jewish- would object to strenuously to being given a day off from school for pretty much any reason. And more to the point, there is a difference- which modern secularists fail to recognize- between government acknowledging even sectarian religion and government endorsing it.
Personally, if it were practical, I think it would be reasonable to close the schools and government offices for all holidays celebrated by major religions- and to call the holidays by their proprer, sacred names, too. I think it would be great for Christian kids to learn about Yom Kippur, and its significance for the religious lives of their Jewish classmates. And I have a strong hunch that a lot of Jewish parents feel the same way.
Nor do I think that many Jewish kids would really object too strongly to not being required to go to school this Friday, no matter what you call it.
ADDENDUM: They've changed their minds. Good Friday will remain "Good Friday" in Davenport after all.
HT: Drudge
I have mixed feelings. Certainly Jewish kids should no more have to take a day off from school to celebrate a Christian holy day than Christian kids should have to take a day off to celebrate Yom Kippur. On the other hand, I don't think many kids- Christian or Jewish- would object to strenuously to being given a day off from school for pretty much any reason. And more to the point, there is a difference- which modern secularists fail to recognize- between government acknowledging even sectarian religion and government endorsing it.
Personally, if it were practical, I think it would be reasonable to close the schools and government offices for all holidays celebrated by major religions- and to call the holidays by their proprer, sacred names, too. I think it would be great for Christian kids to learn about Yom Kippur, and its significance for the religious lives of their Jewish classmates. And I have a strong hunch that a lot of Jewish parents feel the same way.
Nor do I think that many Jewish kids would really object too strongly to not being required to go to school this Friday, no matter what you call it.
ADDENDUM: They've changed their minds. Good Friday will remain "Good Friday" in Davenport after all.
HT: Drudge
Comments
Look, I'll make you a deal: I'll recognize the significance of Darwin to the culture as a whole if you'll do the same for Jesus. That would be a step toward restoring civility to an increasingly uncivil culture that itself would be cause for celebration.