These days, it seems like the First Amendment is seen by some as a huge constitutional loophole.
Among them are the roughly 3,500 members of the Church of Body Modification. The church is a non-theistic faith who views piercings, tattoos and other bodily modifications as spiritual expressions.
Earlier this month, one of their members, Ariana Lacona, was suspended from her high school in North Carolina for wearing her nose ring in class. Apparently, wearing exposed body piercings is against school dress code.
Now, with the American Civil Liberties Union in her corner, Lacona and her mother, also a parishioner, are ready to fight the system. They claim that, by forcing her to remove her piercing or be suspended, Clayton High School is infringing on her First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
The issue here is that, for other religions, exceptions are made. For example, a Muslim would be allowed to wear her religious dress if it violated the dress code. Essentially, by following through on their suspension, the school has determined that the Church of Body Modification is not a real religion.
As you might imagine, this can be a difficult position to take. The ACLU disagrees. They are defending her right to wear the nose ring.
It would seem to me that there are a couple reasons to defend the girl. Body modifications, especially something as tame as a simple nose piercing, does not seem like an egregious, offensive display. I don’t think it is wrong or sinful in anyway — I see piercings and some tatoos all over campus, and I’m fond of most of them myself.
Moreover, the church’s members seem genuinely interested in the spiritual aspects of their piercings and tattoos.
Still, at the end of the day, she was asked to comply with school officials, and refused to do so at her own peril. If she gets suspended out of school for this, she is a fool.
To claim that her spirituality hangs on whether or not she wears a nose ring is a weak argument at best.
Though you would not know it by looking, the average Biolan’s ability to worship God does not hinge on V-neck tees and Toms. There is a place for ceremonial garb, but not in a public school. I would go so far as to say that the Church of Body Modification is being oppressive to Lacona if it demands that she wear her nose ring, even to the point where she fails out of high school. The church should respect her need to get an education, and encourage her to wear her ring with pride whenever it is allowed.
Dressing appropriately for one’s environment is something that Lacona will face once she graduates, however. For the same reason businessmen wear suits and power ties and football players wear thick pads and black paint under their eyes, she should remove her piercing — it is what’s called of her to fit the situation.
People dress the way they expect to be perceived. If her high school feels that body modifications, such as piercings, detract from a professional learning environment, that is their decision, and their right to remove anybody from that environment who refuses to comply.
Religions and cults can be oppressive. Muslim women, depending on sect, are often forced to wear thick, heavy burqas in the summer sun, hiding their skin and their face. It has to be embarrassing, annoying and belittling — though don’t ask me, I have never worn one.
Thankfully, as Christians, we are not forced to wear anything as a statement for our faith. Instead, our actions should speak for our beliefs. But for Lacona, and members of the Church of Body Modification, it seems asking them to speak without their gaudy display is cutting down their freedom of religion.
In the interest of maintaining a uniform environment, it would not harm Lacona to remove the piercing. Her spirituality can shine through in other ways.
