Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego, California (United States of America) has held that yoga classes taught at an elementary school do not violate students’ right to religious freedom, after parents complained Hindu and Buddhist doctrines were being promoted. By this ruling, the California court has upheld a lower-court ruling in support of the Encinitas Union Elementary School District, which had been sued by parents who argued the school yoga program was inherently spiritual and therefore unconstitutional.
Court concluded:
“When it comes to testing whether words and actions are violative of the Establishment Clause, context is determinative.” While the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga classes as taught in the District are, as the trial court determined, “devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings.” Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court properly determined that the District’s yoga program does not constitute an establishment of religion in violation of article I, section 4 of the California Constitution.
Read the complete judgment here:
