Take a look at some interesting statistics regarding the breakdown of different religious groups in the United States from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (explore the site a bit), an interesting look at the role of religion in the 2016 election, and a 2015 snapshot detailing how Americans broadly feel about Islam and Muslims.
I would like to leave this blog post fairly open ended. To that end please respond to the questions below or more generally to the theme at hand and to the comments of your classmates.
- Do religious minorities face the same political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face?
- What does your answer suggest about potential strategies that might be used by religious, ethnic, or racial minority groups in order to improve their political or social standing?
UPDATE: In light of the recent Executive Order passed by the Trump Administration severely restricting immigrants and refugees from a number of majority-Muslim nations feel free to include this into your discussion. Be sure to do some research on what the E. O. actually says, how the Trump administration is defending it, and the many critiques of the E.O. from massive protests, to members of congress, to leaders around the world. What do you think? Is this a religious test to enter the nation? Is this reasonable? What does this suggest about religion and America today?
I thought the article on the role of religion in the 2016 election was very interesting. I knew Americans had a general preference for a presidential candidate that identified as religious and believed in God, but I had no idea it was over half of the entire population. I'm definitely on the exact opposite side of the situation. I'm absolutely bias in the situation, but I don't see how believing in God makes one a better presidential candidate, while something like attending a prestigious school (according the article) hardly matters at all to people. A major argument people would have is that those with the same religious views as themselves would hold similar values and morals, but I very much believe that morality and religion are two distinct things that should be viewed separately. Religious minorities do face political challenges in America, including the under representation of the beliefs in positions that have the power to change aspects of our government to benefit their beliefs as well as other minorities.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that religious minorities face the same political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face and often times, a certain religion is assumed because of someone's race. I found the information about the past election very interesting, especially about the strong desire for a religious candidate and yet the common perception that Trump is not very religious. Although President Trump may not have spoken personally about his religious beliefs, religion was a prominent topic in his campaign by targeting Islam. I think people may have been less concerned about the president being religious and more concerned about the president dealing with the Islamic population.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I am surprised about the discrimination Americans have towards Muslims and Islam. I think part of the issue is due to the way the media portrays Muslims ( i.e. negative coverage on the news news and lack of representation in entertainment.) I think comedian Aziz Ansairi captured this well in his recent SNL monologue:
"Maybe what needs to happen is when they do the news report, they should do a second report about some other brown people that are just up to normal stuff - just to calm those people down. So the reports are like: The suspects are considered to be armed and dangerous. Not armed and dangerous - these four other Muslim people that are eating nachos in Chicago.”
I completely agree with your statement that often times people are assumed to be apart of a specific religion based on their race and/or ethnicity. It was really no surprise that the presidential election showed that a Christian president is normally favored or expected. As it showed in the article of the percentages of religion in America, Christians make up about 70% of the population.
DeleteI think that religious minorities do face the same political challenges when it comes to representation. But a major issue is that specific religious minorities, such as Islam, are marginalized because of political policies and laws issued against them. In order to combat these issues, the protests that are occurring now is beneficial in showing representation and sending a message to the government. Also as Delaney mentioned, there needs to be a better representation of minority religions in media.
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DeleteI also agree that one’s religion is often ascribed to one’s race/ethnicity, which is relevant to Americans’ views on Muslims. It’s interesting to note, however, that in the Pew Forum, a majority of Muslims are white. While this is in part due to the inaccurate/essentialist classifications of race offered by many demographic studies, it could prove to be an eye-opening statistic for those (especially white Christians) who vilify immigrants for their religious views. Unfortunately, many (white Christian) Americans fail to consider that race/ethnicity and religion are not dependent on one another, ultimately insulting the complexity of human identity.
DeleteDelaney mentioned another detail I had also noticed--that a majority of Americans prefer a religious candidate, however, Trump was seen as the least religious candidate. This, combined with the statistic that religion is losing influence on American life, is particularly ironic considering the hot-button conversations about the morality/liability of those who practice the Islamic religion (a.k.a. Muslims). The current political climate on immigration is a familiar one, one that scapegoats those who are different to distract from other questionable issues/policies. The expression, “history repeats itself” may be trite, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
I believe that the United States needs diversity whether that be race or religion. Who is to say who can live in a country and who cannot? Without diversity, our country would be boring. I studied Trump's recent Executive Order regarding immigration. Understood, Trump is trying to eliminate the risk of terrorists entering this country, thus being the reason he put a block on Syrian refugees and immigrants from "Muslim majority" countries. Since when does terrorism persist to the Muslim religion? Last time I checked, many white Americans have attacked their own country.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Trump did not include every single Middle Eastern country in this E.O. The countries chosen are ones with the most al - Qaeda and ISIS influence and control. This validates his reasoning at a certain extent. I do not believe that US citizens in opposition of Trump's E.O. will take this as a good enough reason but it is something to take into consideration. The E.O. mentions in Section 11 (C), "This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person". I do not think Trump means to discriminate. I believe he is doing what he thinks is best to restrict the possibility of attacks on our country. He does have to understand that an E.O. this impactful will create repercussion and outbreaks. It does seem he is discriminating, even if this is not his purpose.
Trump also tweeted something along the lines that many Christian have been killed and scrutinized in Muslim majority countries. I can personally say that this is true. My family had to leave their country for this sole reason. I think this is his way of defending himself and convincing himself that his Executive Order was for the best.
I completely agree with your statement that the United States needs diversity whether that be race or religion, and I think that it is ignorant to look down on immigrants when this country was built on the backs of immigrants--not to insinuate that is what President Trump is saying.
DeleteI understand that President Trump initiated this executive order in the interest of national security, however, I do not think that the grounds with which he used as justification were sufficient. Without an imminent threat, it would seem much too controversial for the president of the United States to cut off all refugees and immigrants from "Muslim Majority" countries. I also heard that Trump conveniently left the companies he has business interests with out of the immigration sanction, which I think is another problem in itself (not sure how accurate that is though). The only aspect of your argument I do not necessarily agree with is the idea that Trump does not mean to discriminate. I think that the whole idea of cutting off immigration from countries based on the religious views of its populace is entirely discriminatory. Yes, most of the terrorist attacks on American soil came from radical Muslims, but that does not mean that the entire country should be barred from seeking refuge.
I just want to make it clear that I, in no way, support Trump's E.O. I was strictly giving both perspectives!
DeleteReading each section allowed me to have my own take on each policy. For the Realignment of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, I believed that this was a restructuring of the USRAP application and adjudication process. I think that whenever restricting occurs it is hard to keep the flow of things going when policies are going to change, hence the abrupt stop. I hope that this is not an indefinite ban of Refugees to this country but only a 120-day pause. Trump’s ban of people coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen actually stems from a 2016 law concerning immigration visas as “countries of concern”. The bans of these countries only make up a small part of the entire executive order. Under this executive order Trump wants to “Prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality.” He also wants to expedite the completion of the biometric entry-exit tracking system that had been recommended by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. I liked the section of Transparency and Data Collection because we as American citizens have the right to get current data information. This data can show whether or not this is a wild goose chase or if this is a real problem in the United States that has not be covered by the media.
ReplyDeleteIn some aspects this is a religion test. Lots of people are saying that this is a Muslim ban because the countries on the list on predominantly of Islamic faith. I think that stopping the inflow of refugees and immigrants for a short period is okay as long as it’s a universal ban so the policies can be changed for everyone. Then after the 120 days he should allow the same opportunity no matter which country a person is from. At the same time there are many other things involved with this executive order. It’s not strictly based on religion, but Trump has definitely made his thoughts clear on his feelings towards Islamic extremist and is willing to create extremely controversial policies in order to exterminate the “rats”.
Religious minorities absolutely face the same political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face. They face the same negative representation through social media as does everyone that is non-white. Like many issues, this one stems from social media. The way a Muslim shooter is described is complete different than that of a white shooter. (Daily Mail described the shooter at the mosque in Quebec as ‘Lone wolf’.) Usually the Muslim shooter is defined as a ‘terrorist’, represents the entire Muslim population, and sometimes the word refugee is tossed around. Even if the person does not actually practice the religion or is 2nd generation. These false statements are made to make us believe that the outside world is always in the wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, What American really think about Muslims and Islam, the first point that “Americans differentiate between ‘Muslim people’ and the ‘Muslim religion’, and they view Islam more unfavorably that they do Muslims” is an interesting point, but I cannot agree that any distinction is actually made.
This same images translates into our politics and cannot be easily altered. Social media runs the world, and it is hard to see the positive side, because it takes effort. Our attention span, and unwillingness to do research, of the simplest matter, does not help this case. As Delaney mentioned with the example of Aziz Ansari on SNL, describes the culture we live in, and it is not something that can be changed so quickly and easily.
Additionally, on the topic of Trump’s Executive Order in regards to banning Muslim majority nations, it is something that cannot be defended by anyone as having any moral basis. It was a strict ban on Muslim-majority nations that are struggling, primarily due to government issues, and instead of offering our assistance as a powerful nation, we decide to potentially let them ‘fight till death’. The main point here to take into account is that countries such as Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, to name a few, were not on the ban list; this is for multiple reasons, most obviously that these nations have either been on America’s side and/or have the power to cause a severe repercussion. However, these nations have ‘bred’ more terrorists. Trump’s attempt to defend his actions by stating these Muslim majority countries have killed many Christians, is a foolish and almost juvenile reasoning to say the least.
The answer to the first question, “Do religious minorities face the same political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face?” is complicated. The answer really depends on which religious minority one is referring to. In terms of Judaism, it was not until fairly recently that Jewish people were considered white. Given that they were both religious and ethnic minorities, I would argue that before this period, (and before/during the Holocaust) Jewish people faced similar political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities faced. Today, Jewish people, such as myself, are usually classified as white. We no longer face direct persecution in the United States, and thus our political challenges as a religious minority diverge from our previous ethnic challenges.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Muslims and as Darcy mentioned, many individuals from a variety of ethnicities practice Islam. It is difficult to pinpoint the challenges between religious minorities and ethnic minorities because people are multifaceted beings. However, from a more general standpoint, both Muslims and racial minorities recently share similar discriminatory factors. As seen from the data, Muslims and Islam are not highly favored by Republicans. With a Republican president and a Republican majority Congress, Muslims are beginning to face blatant discrimination (see Muslim Immigration Executive Order). The correlation between Muslims and racial/ethnic minorities was not as close as it is now and, unfortunately it appears that that won’t be changing anytime soon.
In general, I would say that religious minorities and racial and ethnic minorities both face political challenges, but for different reasons and in different ways. For instance, one’s race or ethnicity most people would consider reflected in their physical appearance making it that much easier for the average person to stereotype them. Meanwhile, because religion is predominately thought of as an internal characteristic, people would not necessarily do it. This is not to say that religion isn’t a political challenge- it’s just harder for society to label. In our current political climate, it is hard to tell which of the two groups has more stereotypes to combat. On one hand the racial climate of our nation has never been more heightened (at least in recent years). However, with the recent Executive Order by President Trump issued it seems that religious groups are facing political challenges as well. In both cases, it is the fact that others cannot seem to separate the person from the organization that seems to cause problems. A person is not just their religion or race or ethnicity. The minute we begin to just accept these stereotypes without question is the day that we contradict the values on which our nation was founded.
ReplyDeleteI do think that religion is affected as race and ethnicity are. Religion has been a big problem among countries, specially in the U.S. Some people in this country portrait different religions as something awful. If you are from another religion and you express it in this country, Some U.S citizens will treat you differently and even discriminate you, because they have an erroneous perspective of some religions, I think this happens because media is influencing in a big deal the point of view of some people. And media as well portrait religions in a negative way. For example, when it happened the 9/11 incident, media started to cover it as if all Muslims were bad people, when that was not the case; people of the same religion can have different views or perspectives of their religion, not everyone is the same.
ReplyDeleteI think that religious minorities definitely face the same political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face. I thought that the article “Faith and the 2016 Campaign” was interesting because it stated how over fifty percent of Americans would never vote for an atheist for president. Also, it highlighted how Trump is viewed as less religious than the other candidates, yet some deeply religious people still think that he would be a good president. I think that even though Trump isn’t as religious as the others, voters are still content with voting for him because he is not an outright atheist. Many Americans consider it to be political suicide for a candidate to openly admit that they are atheist. For example, there has been speculation that Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson were atheists, but they never openly admitted to it. Personally, I think its ridiculous that a majority of Americans would not vote for an atheist, but I may be biased considering that I am an atheist. I don’t think your religious beliefs play a part in whether you will do a good job running a country, but often religious people are viewed as “more moral,” just because holy scriptures outline ethical guidelines. However, I think religions that are in the minority in this country face discrimination. Especially with Trump’s presidency, Muslims are facing more discrimination due to the travel ban that he has placed on Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, which are predominantly Muslim countries. I think the media plays a role in why some Americans are scared of Islam and Trump is using that fear to guide his decision to enforce this executive order.
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ReplyDeleteEvery case is different but I believe that racial and ethnic minorities face more political challenges than religious minorities in the sense that at times it may be easier to distinguish an individual based on their race more than their religion because of their outward appearance and not beliefs. But there may be times when individuals wear specific items from their religion like a cross necklace or hijabs where it helps make it more distinguishable. But also some religions views may not be visibly represented in the government or even at all and that can have an impact. In regards to the recent news of restrictions of refugees from many Muslim nations, I could see where religion becomes conflicted in politics in a way that just seems so unthinkable. On the other hand, if you look back into U.S. history, for the most part we have seen segregation more so in racial and ethnic groups and unfortunately still today. I believe that the best way to improve is to get educated about these various topics and be open to learning new things. If we are not always applying ourselves to something new, then we cannot move forward and grow. Exposure is key and I believe that more representation in the world is important, whether that be in politics, media, or entertainment.
ReplyDeleteIn section 1 of the E.O. it says "The visa-issuance process plays a crucial role in detecting individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States...And while the visa-issuance process was reviewed and amended after the September 11 attacks to better detect would-be terrorist from receiving visas, these measures did not stop attacks by foreign nationals who were admitted to the United States."
ReplyDeleteProblem #1 with the E.O. The countries in which the ban was placed have not carried out any attacks on Americans in the U.S. since 9/11. Counties that have carried out deadly attacks on U.S. soil include: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, RUSSIA and Kyrgyzstan. so if this E.O. was really meant to help keep Americans safe please tell me why all these countries we left off? @realDonaldTrump
Also if you dissect the E.O you will find that no where does it directly use the words "Muslim" or "Christian", but that does not mean a certain religion was not singled out. In section 5(b) it says , "to prioritize refugee claims... provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individuals country of nationality." The seven countries that were affected by the executive order are majority Muslim countries. so why do I believe then that Trump is supporting Christians while discriminating against Muslims? Because in an interview with David Brody, who works for the Christian Broadcasting Network, Broday asked Trump if Christian refugees were a priority and trump replied with "Yes." Trump has also called this E.O a "Muslim ban", but asked Giuliani to come up with a legal framework for it so the based it on "danger" instead of religion. Seriously? OK.
This executive order is not reasonable. To me it seems as if they tossed something together the same way a college student who forgot they had a mid-term paper due in 3 hours does it, sloppily. I believe that even if you base this on the idea of "danger" it still comes off that Americans think all Muslims are dangerous which is a ridiculous and false statement to make. It is just enforcing the idea of Islamophobia in the U.S. We are a country that was built from immigration so what gives us the right to tell others they are not welcomed here?
Honestly, I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around why we are even having this discussion. I keep thinking about the separation of church and state and how religion should not be affecting our political decisions... but alas we are not living in a Utopian society. I definitely think that religious minorities face the same challenges as racial/ethnic minorities. After reading and analyzing the Pew Research Center data suggesting that people favor candidates who are religious, specifically Christian, I wholeheartedly believe that religious minorities are being discriminated against. In my personal opinion, I do not care what the religious affiliation the President is-- as long as they can govern our country fairly and justly, then I have no qualms. However, the majority of Americans feel otherwise. I could not even begin to imagine the prejudice and negative reviews a presidential candidate would receive if they were Muslim. For example, remember the uproar that Obama faced when people accused him of being Muslim? I think that fear of the other simply rears it's ugly head when religion in politics is resurfaced. The only way I can think of to combat that is by having more (positive) representation to the broader public of these minority groups, specifically religious minorities. Most religions preach love and acceptance, so I feel as though there should be no need for fear. I realize that there are outliers to that statement, but there are outliers to every statement when generalizing large groups. Regardless, I believe that increased positive representation can help to negate some of the negativity.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very hard to compare the political challenges of religious minorities to racial and ethnic minorities in the same way that it's hard to compare the struggles of any minority group to that of another because that makes it very easy to fall into the trap of "My oppression is worse than yours so people should be fighting for my equality and not yours". However, I do think there is some merit in acknowledging just how prevalent the struggles of religious groups are, because they are not always at the forefront of discussion. I think this is partially because it is often harder to tell a person's religious beliefs just by looking at them than it might be to tell their race or ethnicity. For example, my best friend is Muslim, but she is also white, so people are less likely to assume that she is Muslim than someone from a Middle Eastern country, but that does not mean that she does not feel the Islamophobia in this country.
ReplyDeleteSaying that it is easier to tell someone's race or ethnicity than their religion is also problematic, though, because that isn't always the case. We've talked so much in class about how the ways in which we are perceived by others can differ from the way we see ourselves. I think because of this misunderstanding and the assumptions we make about other people based on the way they look may change the instances of discrimination at an individual level, but at an institutional level, I think religious minorities face many of the same struggles as racial and ethnic minorities.
I do think that religious minorities’ definitely experience a lot of political challenges that racial and ethnic groups face. What we see now with Trump’s executive orders on banning people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen is misrepresentation of those people. I think most of Trump’s actions is due to social media and how Muslim and Islam is represented on social media. I do agree with Ermin that a Muslim shooter is described differently as a white shooter. That Muslim shooter represents all Muslim people and all of Middle East which is wrong at times. I think I once read somewhere that Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion in the United States. But according to the article there are not much Muslim people in the United States. Just how Lauren said that Trump’s order is some sort of a religious test. I think it’s all about to see the reaction. Because after 120 days everything should be the same. And it would be very odd if Trump will only favor Christian immigrants and ban Muslims. That would create a lot more religious issue in the long run.
ReplyDeleteReligious minorities can face similar political challenges that racial and ethnic minorities have faced, but I think the level of political challenges that religious minorities face depends heavily on what religion is being discussed. I also think the level of one’s religious involvement influences the challenges that they face. For example, someone who is a devout Hasidic Jew may face more discrimination and challenges then someone who considers themselves a “Lapsed Jew”. I also think those who wear religious clothing or symbols are more likely to see challenges, as it is difficult to infer one’s religious affiliations by merely looking at them. An important strategy to improve a group’s political or social standing is through organizations that can represent that group’s interests. African Americans have found their voice through the NAACP, and Jewish people have had many groups including AIPAC. I think it is important especially in the aftermath of the recent Executive Order, that religious groups get behind a strong unified organization that can represent their political interests.
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