Imagine you’re a geology teacher in a Washington postsecondary school. A student approaches you and says, “I am a Flat Earther. The state says you have to provide me with a final exam that matches my faith.” The student hands you a copy of Washington State Senate Bill 5166. Your eye drifts down to: “Students’ sincerely held religious beliefs and practices must be reasonably accommodated with respect to all examinations and other requirements to successfully complete a program...” Another student approaches you. “I believe that homework is of the devil, so you can’t assign me homework. SB 5166 says you can’t question the sincerity of my beliefs. You also can’t tell the other students why I don’t have to do homework.”
I find myself strangely on the same side as Christian Nationalists over Washington state Senate Bill 5166. I oppose the bill because it redefines “religion” as a handicap deserving of special rights and accommodations at Washington colleges. This bill turns non-believing students into second-class citizens. Christian Nationalists oppose SB 5166 because it is a pretty obvious attempt to make Washington State more Islam friendly. The bill was definitely not written for Christian students, because Christians don’t follow Sharia law and prefer to make sacrifices for their faith. This bill removes the need for Muslim students to study, to write papers, and to attend classes during the Islamic holidays. Both Christian Nationalists and I don’t like that SB 5166 makes “faith” something confidential, secret, something to be ashamed of. Teachers are not allowed to explain to the other, “non-faithful” students why the “faithful” students are getting special favors. It is un-American and unfair to give secret preferential treatment to one group of students over another based only upon “deeply held beliefs.” There are 10 Republicans on the House Rules Committee, and they have clearly lost track of their Conservative values here. The 15 Democrats on the committee have apparently forgotten that government must not serve one religion at the expense of all the other religions. Where I disagree with Christian Nationalists is I think the government should not serve any religion, and should instead serve citizens, but as I said, we are on the same side about this particular bill. There is no secular reason to inconvenience everyone with the legal crutches for Islam provided by SB 5166. If you are an employer, you should know that SB 5166 teaches Washington students that they need not meet your deadlines as long as they mumble something about a “god.”
