Is it surprising to know that Religious Discrimination still exists in our society? Research shows that the system of Religious discrimination still exists in our society and most of the women are the ones suffering. First of all, let us know what Religious Discrimination really means, it means treating individuals differently solely based on their religion. It can also involve treating someone differently just because he/she is married to a person that belongs to a different religion. It can hurt a person in a very serious manner, and because every person has the Right to Choose and Freedom to any religion, everybody deserves to be happy without having to go through any kind of Criticisms or Discriminations. Sometimes even the Government has to take actions by getting involved in this system and making attempts to eliminate certain groups. Once a person is categorized to a particular religion, it is very difficult to escape from the criticism of other existing religions. Hence, with the existing religions throughout the world, People should learn to respect and value their own as well as others beliefs.
Hating on other religions affects the never ending discriminations going on in the society. Religious conflicts have been going on for at least hundreds of years and it still has a drastic effect in the world today, this conflict has been haunting the society since past and still continues to do so, as written in the article by Huffington post “A Muslim woman (Ms. Kazan) who was forced to remove her hijab by Police in Michigan claims her religious rights were violated, and she’s hoping a Civil Rights lawsuit will ensure other women don’t have the same experience.” (Lambertz1). This shows how people are judged and discriminated solely based on their appearance and what they wear, and just because the woman wants to follow her religious obligations, she is looked at differently and not allowed to follow her Cultural obligations. For others it might just be a simple headscarf that has no meaning at all, but for her stated the lawsuit. People should not have to go through any humiliation or shame solely because they want to follow their Religious obligations and beliefs. Nobody has the right to cause shame or embarrassment to others just because they belong to a different religion and are following their beliefs. People do have the right to have their own faith and beliefs but other’s faith and modesty for a particular religion should be respected as well. The above quotes fit in with the temporal dimension because it shows how the discrimination still continues to affect the society and how it is hurting the current people.
Since so many Religions exist in the world today people should respect their own as well as value others beliefs too. Some people are also discriminated at workplaces only because they wear different clothing, as stated in another article by Huffington Post “Samantha Elauf, argued that clothing retainer Abercrombie & Fitch denied her a job because of her Hijab and Although Abercrombie involves a Muslim plaintiff, Sikhs, who wear religious turbans and maintain unshorn hair, faces discrimination in the workplace. (“Abercrombie Religious Discrimination” 1) Does clothing define us? Are clothes or belonging to a particular religion more important than people’s capabilities? At workplaces if people start discriminating others based on the clothing/outfit, then they will not be able to learn about individual’s capabilities and talents which will result in their loss. The world is full of all kinds of people belonging to various existing Religion, if everybody is discriminated based on their clothing or religion then that in the first place will cause a chaos in the society and nothing good will be produced out of this, so instead of judging others based on their clothing, if they are judged based on their capabilities and personality at a workplace, that group of people will surely succeed.
Religious discrimination should not be taken lightly; it is a real thing that is causing so much suffrage to so many people in the world today. Currently, ISIS – A terrorist group “too radical for Al Qaeda” has targeted thousands of Yazidi people for extermination, solely because of their ancient Religious beliefs. It is very tragic how some people use God as an excuse to cause pain and suffering on other people, who are just trying to live their lives peacefully. Also as written in another post by Huffington Post “The First Amendment protects your right as an American to the free exercise of your religion. It does not protect your right to use your religion as an excuse to discriminate against other Americans. Also, watching the breaking news of the tragic consequences of genuine religious discrimination unleashed against the Yazidi people makes it all the more urgent that we stand together and speak against it.” (“Religious Discrimination 101” 1) Some people misuse their freedom of Religion rights granted by the constitution and hurt other people in the name of religion, this is also a type of Religious Discrimination, causing pain and hurting other people because of religious beliefs, this is a complete misuse of the freedoms. There is no need for torturing other people just because of a mere belief or faith. Nobody has the right to cause suffering to others that is a complete nuisance no matter the reason, esp. Religious faith, that doesn’t make sense at all. This kind of discrimination should not have happened in the first place, since it only hurts and inflicts pain upon others. Severe Actions needs to be taken about the above incidents, only then the world will be free of at least 5 % of discrimination.
What are some of the biggest problems that Religious discrimination causes in society and to the people? There are discriminations at workplace, at school, and many other public places, even mentioning your religious group on a resume does not result in a positive outcome. According to the research, the religion – MUSLIM is an outcast among other Religious groups, as written in the article by Huffington Post “Recent college grads, take note: Mentioning a campus religion group on your resume – particularly a Muslim club – may lead significantly fewer job Opportunities. Two sociology studies find new graduates who include a religious mention on a resume were much less likely to hear back from potential employers. Muslims faced the sharpest discrimination with 38 percent fewer emails and 58 percent fewer phone calls to the voicemail boxes set up by the researchers.” (Grossman 1). If a group of people from a particular religion caused pain and suffrage to innocent lives, then it doesn’t necessarily mean that all the other people belonging to that religion are as bad. Why take away the opportunities of other innocent people whose only fault is that they belong to that religion? As written in an article by Huffington Post “Kazan experienced extreme shame, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress when she was forced to remove her hijab.” (Lambertz 1) Not all Muslims are bad or terrorists or have caused suffrage to others; it is not their fault that they are Muslims. Just because a person or a group of people from Islamic Religion does something wrong, does that make every Muslim a criminal? No, they are not, but the others without even being at fault faces discrimination at workplaces, schools, job opportunities etc. and that too because of their own people. Everybody should be given an equal opportunity and should be treated equally.
Many members of religious communities face discrimination in their everyday life. They are restricted from their social, cultural and political civil rights. It is important to know that they suffer from discrimination when they try to access a public or private education, health service or public posts; to know that in that occasionally they are arrested and even in more extreme cases killed for their very own beliefs or religious affiliation. A possible solution for this issue is to support the movement for freedom of religion that has been happening for thousands of years. This freedom of religion gives us the choice of what to believe without any fear to be prosecuted of their own beliefs, as throughout time people fled to escape their own homes to have a choice on what to believe. Many countries were formed so that one shall have that basic human right to have freedom on what to believe. In conclusion it is extremely important to respect others rights to let them choose what they may want to believe.
