Decision on tea; Ash Wednesday in the office

Kevin Eckstrom reports in Tuesday’s RNS report that the Supreme Court has ruled that a New Mexico sect may use hallucinogenic tea: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday (Feb. 21) unanimously upheld the right of a small sect in New Mexico to use hallucinogenic tea in its religious rituals. Writing in his first opinion in […]

Kevin Eckstrom reports in Tuesday’s RNS report that the Supreme Court has ruled that a New Mexico sect may use hallucinogenic tea: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday (Feb. 21) unanimously upheld the right of a small sect in New Mexico to use hallucinogenic tea in its religious rituals. Writing in his first opinion in a religious freedom case, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected the government’s arguments that the tea violated U.S. drug control laws. Roberts said Congress has mandated that the government strike “sensible balances” between regulations and a religious group’s right to religious expression. The Supreme Court also said Tuesday it will take up the issue that opponents call “partial birth” abortion. The newly configured court will consider whether the late-term abortion procedure is constitutional.

Read an earlier story here: https://religionnews.com/ArticleofWeek110305.html

We also report on how some Christians observe Ash Wednesday at work. Amy Green writes: John Spink, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution photographer, often observes Ash Wednesday while shooting services for the newspaper. He sets aside his camera, walks to the altar and feels the sensation of a priest’s finger making the blackened image of a cross on his forehead. Spink


says he then returns to the office, sometimes getting quizzical looks and odd comments such as, “Excuse me, there’s something on your forehead,” as if he didn’t know. Many Christians will mark the start of Lent on March 1 by observing Ash Wednesday, when an ashen cross is smeared on the forehead as a sign of one’s sins and penance. But the day poses a dilemma at work. With office religious displays often a sensitive issue, could the ashen cross be seen as a proselytizing gesture? And if workers wipe ashes off their foreheads, are they somehow denying their faith? For Spink, the answers are clear. For others, they’re not.

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