Pluralism in the News
The religious pluralism is an essential component of the democracy, which is the central feature of the modern American society. Such aspects of the contemporary life as the variety of religions and the freedom to choose distract people from forming the homogeneous community but forces them to appreciate diversity. Nevertheless, the harmonic society is a utopia now as the religious plurality sometimes leads to the conflicts, as in the case with Oghenetega Edah.
The conflict took part recently in New York, Bronx. As a punishment for the inappropriate behavior of an 8-year-old student, the teacher, Oghenetega Edah, ripped off the girls’ hijab. In addition to the teachers’ ethics, the cultural codes of Islam forbid such a disrespectful behavior. As a result, the authorities managed to dismiss this teacher almost immediately. According to one of the decision-makers, the behavior was unacceptable, both in the context of the teaching practice, as well as amid the cultural and religious specifics ("US Teacher Rips Off 8-Year-Old Girl's Hijab, Fired", 2017). The inappropriate behavior of the teacher against the child with a brightly expressed religiosity and the immediate reaction of the authorities prove that the modern American society appreciates pluralism and accepts different religions.
In the terms of my Christian worldview, the situation appears to be challenging for both the child and the teacher. In the biblical light, the human behavior has a direct connection with the punishment, while the punishment itself is connected to forgiveness. Therefore, on the one hand, the child received the punishment for her misbehavior, while the teacher’s penalty was the dismissal. However, neither of the punishments was fair. Firstly, the ripping off the hijab was an aggressive move of an ignorant person, who despises religiosity, which is was too impressive for the 8-year-old girl. On the other hand, the teacher has made a mistake and he can receive the chance to repent, accept his blame, and become better. Therefore, the decisions of all the participants of the case lead to the dead end if judging from the Christian worldview.
The most appropriate way to answer this conflict is to join and accept each other’s’ religiosity as an inviolable fact, which eliminates the possibility of such an abuse. In the terms of the modern plurality, an ability to unite on the equal basis offers the opportunities for the harmonic development. Another way of solving such conflicts is to forgive in order to make the punishment efficient. The forgiveness, which is the second chance, accelerates the realization and brings out the repentance. These ways of coping with such cases are appropriate in the context of the modern society with a significant religious plurality.
References
US Teacher Rips Off 8-Year-Old Girl's Hijab, Fired. (2017). NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017, from …
