If the exercise of religious rights is an American value, why would anyone find this move troubling? And if absences can be excused based upon legitimate religious observances, why wouldn't this be included?

At Marshall University, pagan students are now allowed to miss classes to observe religious holidays or festivals.

A new policy makes the university in Huntington, W.Va., with an enrollment of about 14,000, possibly the only college in the country to protect pagans formally from being penalized for missing classes, although many institutions have policies intended to protect students of every faith.

One Marshall student, George Fain, took advantage of the policy on Thursday, missing class in observance of Samhain, a pagan and Wiccan holiday honoring the dead.

“I think we may have opened a door,” Ms. Fain said of the policy. “Now that we know we can be protected, that the government will stand behind us and we feel safe, it’s going to be more prevalent.”

The decision to allow pagan students to make up missed work is an extension of existing policy toward members of other religious groups, said Steve Hensley, the dean of student affairs at Marshall.

“I don’t think there are a lot of students here who have those beliefs,” Mr. Hensley said, “but we want to respect them. It was really just a matter of looking into it, and deciding what was the right thing.”

Students are responsible for establishing that they are religious believers and that the holiday in question is important to their faith by filing a written request with Mr. Hensley.

Paganism experts say they are not aware of any other university with such a policy.

For all that we are a nation founded upon a historically Judeo-Christian framework, there can be no argument that our laws and Constitution enshrine freedom of religion as a fundamental value. Indeed, I believe our nation's civil rights laws would require this accommodation for all religious groups if a university granted it to any. It isn't a question of political correctness -- it is an acknowledgment of religious freedom. If Christians, Jews, and Muslims enjoy such an accommodation, why shouldn't pagans?

Posted by: Greg at 02:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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