Ridgeview HS student voices concern over sacred songs

A 15-year-old Ridgeview High School student said Friday she is concerned about religious songs in her choir’s class and is asking for changes from the school.

Eve “Jazzie” Goldsworthy loves to sing and enjoys her choir classes at the Redmond school.

“I want to do choral, and it’s something I see myself doing outside of high school,” Goldsworthy said.

But while she loves her class, she does not love the religious songs they’re singing.

“Glory to the newborn king, and then God and sinners,” she said, reading the lyrics.

Although she grew up in a Christian household, she is not religious herself.

“It makes me feel really uncomfortable, because it’s not something I want to be singing about, because I don’t really believe in it,” Goldsworthy said.

She emailed the principal, Lee Loving, about her concerns.

“We want to give our students a wide variety of experiences,” Loving said. “Sometimes, especially in the music program, that means secular and non-secular pieces.”

According to school policy, students don’t have to sing religious songs.

“Our teacher says that we can sit out if we feel uncomfortable singing them,” Goldsworthy said. “I don’t think we should be left out of something because they’re doing something that’s against the law.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified in the past that the Constitution prohibits schools to sponsor prayers or religion, but that doesn’t mean schools are religion-free-zones.

“It’s difficult to study the great arts of the world without having to look at some religious content,” Loving said.

In the handbook for the choral class, it says the U.S. Supreme Court stated that public school choirs may study sacred music, as long as it does not advance or inhibit religion.

Goldsworthy said she does not mind most Christmas songs, which don’t have specific religious references in them.

“There is no diversity. I mean, even if they added something about Hanukkah,” Goldsworthy said.

Loving said he is glad she spoke up.

“Any time a student feels uncomfortable with a practice that we have here, a policy, a way a teacher is doing things, if that really bothers them, we want to know about it, and sometimes that means that things just have to change,” Loving said.

He said he will look personally over the syllabus for all choir courses to ensure that the song selection meets the standards of the school.