Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Freedom of religion

Last night, I was walking on UC Berkeley's campus. As I crossed over Strawberry Creek, I noticed something on the concrete bridge. Someone had drawn a pentagram with a tea candle in the middle. Not only that, but the pentagram had been drawn in what appeared to be blood--it was a thick, red fluid. It had also been recently drawn; some of the fluid was slowly flowing down the slight downgrade of the concrete bridge.

Needless to say, I was uncomfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, that it actually crossed my mind to call PPCS (Physical Plant - Campus Services) and ask them to hose it down. But it appears nature took care of that. Today, I walked on the same bridge, and it was gone. Apparently last night's and today's rains washed it away.

The question has appeared in my mind: if I had called PPCS, would they have come and washed it away? The answer is probably, because you are not allowed to draw or advertise on campus property except for designated signs and areas. But let's suppose that you could post or chalk wherever you wanted on campus. If I had called, would they have washed it away because it was a pentagram?

If the answer is yes, then that could arguably be a violation of one of the U.S.'s most valued aspects: freedom of religion. It would be a similar situation if someone had chalked a cross on the ground, and someone called PPCS to hose it down because it made them feel uncomfortable. Would Christians be offended by that, and claim that they were being persecuted? What then does that mean for the pentagram case?

I guess the point is, how far does the right to freedom of religion go?

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