9. No Crucifixes in Classrooms

For those who are not aware of the case, non-Christian parents of a child in Italy convinced the European Court of Human Rights that it should ban crucifixes in Italian schools.

What is happening?

More than 90% of Italians claim to be Christians, the vast majority of them belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. In such circumstances we should expect to see crucifixes in homes, schools and public places. It's part of the Italian culture. Yet, it seems, one family which objects to these symbols, and the protection they afford, can get a court to rule that they are no longer allowed to be seen.

Whatever happened to respect? Whatever happened to tolerance?

If we live in a Christian community, even if we are of another faith, we should expect to see Christian symbols, and we should be tolerant of people who value them. If we aren't prepared to allow the majority of people in the country we live in (whether that be Italy, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Australia, or any other) to express their faith freely then we should consider living somewhere else, or taking our children to schools where symbols of that faith aren't found.