No Yoga In Alabama
"No yoga for kids, please, we're Alabama!" |
Yoga, for example. Apparently, doing yoga could make you very un-Christian, or at least do un-Christian things, so it has no place in Alabama.
At least that's the opinion of a number of Republican state legislators.
Last month, a bill that would have allowed yoga (allowed, not mandated) was shot down once again in the Alabama legislature.
According to the Associated Press, a bill was introduced to allow yoga in schools. The AP reported:
".....representatives for two conservative groups objected, saying they were worried it could lead to the promotion of Hinduism or guided meditation practices. The Alabama lawmaker sponsoring the bill, a former college athlete, said the bill is about exercise and not religion.
'This whole notion that if you do yoga, you'll become Hindu - I've been doing yoga for 10 years and I go to church and I'm very much a Christian,' said Democratic Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika."
By the way, the vast majority of yoga instructors and practitioners in the United States are not Hindu, and there hasn't been any noticeable trend in conversions to Hinduism.
I have to wonder about the separation of church and state here. Yoga as practiced in the United States has pretty much been stripped of religious connotations. I wonder how much Christianity is foisted on public school students in Alabama. Even for families who want no part of it.
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