The California Assembly passed a bill 78 to 0 last Monday to designate Diwali, a Hindu religious festival, as an official state holiday and encourage public schools to celebrate the Hindu festival in class. If this bill gets approved by the Senate and signed by the Governor, it will make Diwali the only religious holiday celebration public schools fund, while most public schools treat California’s most popular religious holiday, December 25th, as a secular holiday. The bill, AB 268, would also authorize public schools and community colleges to close on Diwali and would encourage employees to take paid time off in recognition of the religious festival.
Hinduism in Class
Bill author Assemblywoman Darshana Patel (D-Escondido) described Diwali in vague terms as a holiday highlighting “good triumphing over evil, light overcoming darkness, and the enduring power of community, resilience, and hope,” when she testified before members of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. “These are actually all California values. These are all human values.”
However, Diwali is a distinctly religious holiday often referred to as the “festival of lights,” and typically involves ritualistic prayers to Indian deities such as Maa Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Lord Rama, whose triumph over evil is central to the celebration of Diwali. Other gods include Sita, the goddess of fertility and devotion; Hanuman, the monkey god; Kali, the goddess of power and destruction; and Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles.
AB 268 allows each school district to decide whether schools are closed on Diwali, a date based on the Hindu lunar calendar that falls during the last few weeks of October or the beginning of November. Public schools may also “include exercises, funded through existing resources, acknowledging and celebrating the meaning and importance of Diwali.”
If this bill becomes law, Diwali will join Native American Day and Genocide Remembrance Day as the third holiday that the education code specifically encourages public schools to celebrate through special “exercises.” The bill also mentions that the State Board of Education may develop a model curriculum to be used during or near the holiday.
Nothing in the bill clarifies if exercises “celebrating” Diwali will be limited to class decorations, facts and history related to the holiday or if it will allow actual Diwali religious rituals or prayers to Hindu idols.
Religious Favoritism?
AB 268 would make Diwali the first and only religious holiday that California public school teachers are specifically allowed and encouraged by law to lead students in celebrating. California education code doesn’t officially recognize Christmas and refers to “December 25th” without mentioning the Christian holiday.
“Why is it that public schools can’t even say ‘Christmas’ without controversy, but now Sacramento wants to celebrate a religious Hindu holiday with full government blessing?” asked California Family Council President Greg Burt. “We’ve gone from Christmas Vacation to ‘Winter Break,’ yet suddenly religious holidays honoring Lakshmi and Rama are fine?”
A Dangerous Precedent
Proponents of AB 268 have calculated that Californians who observe the holiday, including American Indians, American Nepalis, Jains, and Sikhs, along with the Buddhists who celebrate it, could add up to over 1.2 million celebrants. Yet, there are 1.26 million Jewish Californians, and no Jewish holidays are recognized by the state. The Muslim and Buddhist populations are not far behind, yet no Islamic or Buddhist holidays are recognized. Will California soon encourage schools to celebrate Yom Kippur, Vesak, or Ramadan? The unchallenged passage of AB 268 would open the door to virtually limitless religious celebrations in public schools. The only religion that we can depend on the California legislature and public education system to never celebrate is Christianity, despite 55% of Californians identifying as Christian.
What Must be Done
With AB 268, legislators send a clear message to Californian students: Hinduism should be celebrated, but not Christianity. We urge the legislature to reject this bill and call on citizens to raise their voices in protest.
