{"id":15779,"date":"2016-09-01T06:29:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T06:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too-50208\/"},"modified":"2016-09-01T06:29:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T06:29:00","slug":"to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/","title":{"rendered":"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Headscarf_Credit_BestPhotoStudio_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA<\/a>).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver\u2019s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair.<\/p>\n<p>Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,\u201d Allen said in a statement. \u201cRevealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen\u2019s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution\u2019s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul\u2019s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was \u201chumiliating and demeaning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her \u201cin a smug and condescending tone\u201d and said that Christian women don\u2019t cover their hair, she charged.<\/p>\n<p>Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government \u201ccannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,\u201d the Alabama news site AL.com reports.<br>\n\u00a0<br>\nThe lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities.<\/p>\n<p>It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory.<\/p>\n<p>Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU\u2019s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to \u201cend the use of religion to discriminate\u201d and another $100,000 to support \u201ccommunications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are \u2018un-American\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=5bMYHJpGIsc:o5PlhgBF6-0:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/5bMYHJpGIsc\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Headscarf_Credit_BestPhotoStudio_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA<\/a>).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair.<\/p>\n<p>Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge&#8217;s office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged.<\/p>\n<p>Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities.<\/p>\n<p>It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory.<\/p>\n<p>Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=5bMYHJpGIsc:o5PlhgBF6-0:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/5bMYHJpGIsc\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair. Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge&#039;s office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair. Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge&#039;s office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo; &nbsp;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Headscarf_Credit_BestPhotoStudio_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/\",\"name\":\"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair. Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. 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Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo; &nbsp;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too","og_description":"Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair. Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo; &nbsp;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Headscarf_Credit_BestPhotoStudio_Shutterstock_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/","name":"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-01T06:29:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Montgomery, Ala., Sep 1, 2016 \/ 12:29 am (CNA).- A devout Christian woman has said Alabama county officials violated her rights by forcing her to remove her headscarf for her driver&rsquo;s license photo when she considers it part of her religious practice to cover her hair. Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, Ala. said the Lee County clerk told her only Muslim women are allowed to cover their hair. &ldquo;I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver license photo,&rdquo; Allen said in a statement. &ldquo;Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.&rdquo; The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Montgomery federal court, names as plaintiffs Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's office, and Probate Judge Bill English, her supervisor. The lawsuit says that the officials violated Allen&rsquo;s rights under the Alabama constitution and the U.S. Constitution&rsquo;s establishment clause and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. Allen says that the practice of covering her hair is rooted in her reading of St. Paul&rsquo;s words in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 regarding women and head coverings. &ldquo;I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,&rdquo; she said. In an April 25 statement at the ACLU website, Allen said she was treated in a way that was &ldquo;humiliating and demeaning.&rdquo; The Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles clerk spoke to her &ldquo;in a smug and condescending tone&rdquo; and said that Christian women don&rsquo;t cover their hair, she charged. Alabama law enforcement rules allow a headscarf to be worn as long as it does not cover the face, the Associated Press reports. Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said the government &ldquo;cannot discriminate between faiths in granting religious accommodations,&rdquo; the Alabama news site AL.com reports. &nbsp; The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order allowing Allen to re-take her photo with her head covered. The ACLU, the legal group representing Allen, has in the past been a frequent opponent of religious freedom. It has filed lawsuits that seek to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions and sterilizations at their facilities. It is also a player in a well-funded campaign against religious exemptions which it considers discriminatory. Grant listings show that the Arcus Foundation, founded by billionaire heir Jon Stryker, has given the ACLU&rsquo;s foundation $600,000 for its campaign to &ldquo;end the use of religion to discriminate&rdquo; and another $100,000 to support &ldquo;communications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are &lsquo;un-American&rsquo;.&rdquo; &nbsp;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/09\/to-this-christian-woman-headscarves-are-a-religious-freedom-issue-too\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"To this Christian woman, headscarves are a religious freedom issue too"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}