Necessary Roughness

Reuters reports (link dead) that a girl has gone to High Court in Great Britain to overturn her school’s ban on jewelry, so she can wear a “purity ring” that symbolizes her commitment to abstaining from premarital sex.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, from West Sussex, says the silver ring is an expression of her faith and should be exempt from the school’s rules on wearing jewellery.

“It is really important to me because in the Bible it says we should do this,” she told BBC radio. “Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves and other faiths can wear bangles and other types of jewellery. It feels like Christians are being discriminated against.”

If other religions are allowed to wear jewelry, this girl may have a case. I don’t know what British law counts as free speech (perhaps John H could lend a hand). The article does not say whether her parents have the option of enrolling her in a school that lets her wear jewelry.

While petitioning the government to wear a ring may be an appropriate legal thing to do, it may not be the most Christian thing to do. A school may ban the use of jewelry and other items to maintain order if it feels necessary. Jewelry can be stolen. Physical activity may cause injury from long earrings, rings, and necklaces. That authority comes by parental delegation, when parents choose to enroll a child in a school. The child may be disregarding the Fourth Commandment in her announcement of her intention to keep the Sixth.