Religious Equality in America - Essay Example

Teacher Religious Equality in America Introduction From its very inception, America has long espoused the virtues of religious freedom. In fact, the early pilgrims came from Europe, to a large degree, in a concerted effort to escape what they perceived to be religious tyranny at the hands of expected and forced religious beliefs throughout society. If fact, freedom has always been spoken about throughout the formation of the country, but many do question whether true liberty has come to the land. During the American Revolution, liberty was actually spoken about in terms of religion. Americans truly wanted to be free to worship as they so choose and, to a large degree, this ideal has held firm. While the debate does linger on as to whether or not people enjoy liberty throughout society, freedom of religion is a concept that is both spoken of and acted upon. Whether or not religious equality is evident in America, however, is another question altogether. Since the early days of the American colonies, America has been considered to be a Christian nation. While other religions and systems of belief are certainly tolerated, society has developed a predisposition towards the Christian faith. In fact, every American President, save Thomas Jefferson, has been a professing a Christian (Belford 121). Jefferson himself was a deist which still puts him within the family religious family as the others. When considering Hindus and Buddhists, for example, individuals adhering to divergent faiths other than Christianity, while free to do so, have largely been look at differently in the eyes of society. This can be seen dating back to the 1800s with the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and continues to this day with the discrimination and prejudice that many Hindus and Buddhists, among others, report in various sectors of society. The concept of equality must be treated differently than that of freedom. While the Constitutional protection guaranteeing Freedom of Religion is very real and is, for the most part enforced, it an entirely different concept to mandate that all people of various faiths be treated equally. America is not set up to be a Utopian society, nor is egalitarian in its scope. People are free to both accept, and reject, this individuals that they choose to. As a result, America has become over the years a country that is dominated by Christian beliefs and society, as a whole, has traditionally looked down upon, or outright discriminated against, people scribing to divergent belief systems (Song 38). While this might be understandable, on a cursory level, when considering religions that much of the world considers to be in the minority, it is nonetheless surprising to learn that individuals from the dominant religious groups of Buddhism and Hinduism has expressed being treated unequally throughout American society at various times during the nation’s young history. In fact, this feeling of inequality seems to go against the grain and fabric of the very ideals that America is predicated upon. It is important to note that religious discrimination in America, particularly in the workplace, has long been declared to be illegal. The line between discrimination, and prejudicial treatment, however, is quite blurred. Consider the reality that America operates on a Christian holiday where many of their holiest of holidays are celebrated on an annual basis. Such employees enjoy the day off to either spend with their families, or to observe the specific religious traditions of their faith. Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, however, do not enjoy such a privilege (Rodgers 19). They are required to work on their holiest of days if their employer requires them to. Many people of divergent faiths have reported negative reactions on the part of their employer if they request time off for a religious observance. This has even reported by members of the Jewish faith, which are largely the most similar to the system of beliefs adhered to by Christians. This is a representation of the reality that, while religious freedom exists in America, all faiths are not treated equally, either by the public or private sectors. To be fair, there has been a renewed emphasis placed upon creating a culture of religious equality in America in recent years, but again it is difficult to legislate social opinion and action. Throughout North America, there is an apparent and increased emphasis on equality, which has raised numerous philosophical, moral, legal, and political questions about the meaning of how far religious liberty has come in this country. Consider the reality that it is still extremely difficult to get elected to seats of local, state, and national governments without espousing a belief in Christianity (Day 498). Other religious are unequally represented in government, and atheistic beliefs are marginalized even further. While this is certainly a fundamental tenet of democracy, that being the reality that the majority should be free to elect whom they went to positions of power within the government, there is still the reality that minority religious groups, by de facto causes, have become underrepresented throughout most spheres of society. This has resulted in instances of Islamic mosques being denied building permits in certain areas, while Christian churches had no problem being erected. Buddhist and Hindu temples have also reported widespread issues when it comes to building their houses of worship in certain areas, as it is perceived that their religious belief system is deviant in one way of another, and is counter to the majorities way of thinking (Hamilton 1). Hinduism, while being one of the five dominant world religions, represents less than 0.5 percent of the total American population. The two prominent public figures that have openly declared their allegiance to Hinduism are Julia Roberts and Allen Ginsberg. While being underrepresented throughout many sectors of society due to their relatively small numbers, it is interesting to note that America is still home to the world eighth larges populate of Hindus in the world, counting over 2 million adherents in their flock. It is further interesting to note that American Hindus has the highest rate of educational attainment and household income of any major religious group in America, that they have lower divorce rates than that of Christian household, and that nearly 50% hold an advance university degree. The average income of American Hindus is staggeringly high, with nearly 50 percent earning for than $100,000 and 70% earning at least $75,000 per year (Mahoney 308). This makes them the highest wage earners, on average, amongst all dominant religious groups in the United States. Even with these figures, American Hindus do not truly feel equal with their Christian counterparts. In actuality, however, many would question whether they can be. Because of their strikingly small numbers when compared to other religious belief systems, such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, it is plausible to assume that some unequal treatment would be thrust their way. In the end, however, Hindus in America are free to practice their religious faith openly just as they would in South Asia or Southeast Asia, and this fact alone has made America an attractive place to live in and worship freely. Similarly, while Buddhism is certainly one of the several dominant minority religions in America today, it still accounts for just over 1 million people, and over 40 percent are living the souther portion of California. The most recent estimate has just under 1 percent of Americans claiming to a Buddhist, but this number is growing. As such, some communities around the United States have seen a remarkable rise in the number of Buddhists, and along with that has come more recognition and notoriety (Hankins 841). To gain true equality, this is what will have to happen amongst all minority religious groups. As they grow in number, they will also grow in stature. Until this happens, the dominant faith of Christianity will continue to dictate the social landscape of the country, leaving Buddhists and Hindus, among others, to be forced to adapt their religious beliefs to fit with the construct of a dominant Christian American society. It is interesting to note that, while a majority of Hindus are Hindu by family tradition and belief, there is a growing number of individuals who are becoming what is referred to as ‘import Buddhists’. These individuals are proving to be white, upper middle, and more liberal in their political views. This entails a noticeable number of practicing Buddhists affiliating themselves with the Democratic Party at a rate of 3 to 1. As such, the Democratic Party has expressed a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogues with Buddhists in recent years and, should this growth trend to continue, they will likely continue to do so. Once again this demonstrates that, while there is religious freedom in the United States, equality has not quite arrived, and it is not likely to do so anytime soon (Hankins 301). American society has long been built on the premise that the dominant groups in society tend to dictate matters of social policy. This moves beyond the government, however, and into social communities as well. In America, families are largely bought up, and children raised, in a household adhering to the Christian faith. Parents, by and large, are often skeptical of their children associating at great length with children whose families adhere to another religious belief for fear that they will be proselytized to the point of conversion. This is a false premise, of course, because it assumes that children and adolescents should not be permitted to make their own religious choices. In a country of cultural pluralism, all faiths and walks of life should be embraced and not shunned, yet cultural diversity has just recently become a buzzword in educational circles. It was not too long ago that our nation’s school systems, and universities, began to realize that they needed to do much more to educate the public about the need to embrace other cultures and beliefs (Nefsky 1771). This teaching has come far too late, however, as much of society still has a prevailing negative attitude and perception against anyone who professes an open belief in anything other than Christianity. This can be further reflected in the aftermath of the horrible terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington D. C. While this was an attack on all Americans, many saw it as an attack on Christianity. Others viewed it as the beginning of a social war between Islam and Christianity in America. It got to the point where most Muslims living in the United States because hesitant to openly espouse their faith for fear of persecution. Their fears were justified. In Phoenix, Arizona, for an example, a Sheik was mistaken for being a Muslim and was shot to death. This was not only a hate crime attempted against another person on the sole basis of religion, but it represents the lack of understanding that many Americans have towards any religious belief system other than Christianity. In the after math of 9/11, there were numerous other reported acts of discrimination, such as persecution against Muslim in neighborhoods, buildings of mosques that were blocked, and prejudicial treatment within the workplace. In conclusion, it cannot be said with full integrity that religious equality has come to the United States of America. Just as various ethnic groups continue to fight for civil rights, minority religious groups continue to fight for equal recognition in governmental and social circles. The fight has come a long way, to be fair, and more religious groups are openly claiming their adherence to a divergent faith group, but the struggle still remains. Until American society can look at a Hindu or Buddhist (or any non-Christian individual for that matter) with the same decency that they look upon a fellow Christian, then equality will still elude the nation as a whole. In essence, freedom and equality are not the same. Equal rights, throughout human civilization, have had to be fought for, and this struggle over religious equality in America continues to this day. Works Cited Belford, Lee. “Equality in America.” Review of Religious Research, 9.2 (2008): 121. Day, David. “Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality.” South Dakota Law Review, 55.4 (2010): 498. Hamilton, Lemondra. “Equality Under the Law”. Research in Higher Education Journal, 24.1 (2014): 1 Hankins, Barry. “Getting Over Equality: A Critical Diagnosis of Religious Freedom in America.” Journal of Church and State, 44.4 (2012): 841. Mahoney, Jon. “A Democratic Equality Approach to Religious Exemptions.” Journal of Social Philosophy, 42.3 (2011): 305-320. Nefsky, M. “Jews in Christian America: The Pursuit of Religious Equality.” Choice, 43.10 (2006): 1771. Rodgers, Daniel. “Contesting Equality”. Raritan, 33.4 (2014): 19. Song, Sarah. “Religious Freedom vs. Sex Equality.” Theory and Research in Education, 4.1 (2006): 23-40. Read More