A North Carolina teenager faces suspension from school for refusing to remove her nose ring, a violation of school dress code policies. So, why is this tidbit of student rebellion in a church-state blog? Because Ariana Iacano belongs to the Church of Body Modification, and argues in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU that her religious freedom rights prohibit school officials from kicking her out of school.
The Iaconos say the school system is ignoring its own dress code policy, which allows exemptions on religious grounds. The effect, Nikki Iacono, 32, says, is that Johnston County school officials are setting themselves up as judges of what constitutes a "real" religion.
"We pretty much flat-out asked them, what guidelines are you following? What do you need to establish a sincere religious belief?," she said. "We were told that if we were Hindu, or she were Muslim, it would be different."
