Religious Discrimination

                                                            

We live in a World

Filled with hate and war

We live in a world of violence

What are we fighting for?

Bombings

Shootings

Terrorism

Killing the young and the old.

Death

Murder

Bloodshed

How long will this story have to be told?

Who am I to judge you

I am no one

I am not your maker

We are all the same

Who are you to judge me

To put me down

To punish me

All of this turmoil is such a shame

Don't Judge Me by the language I speak,

the religion I practice

The clothes I wear

the color of my skin

Don’t judge me by my place of worship

Where I come from

How I pray

We're all next of kin

You say you judge me because your religion tells you to?

You misinterpret the words you read

You cowardly hide behind lies

You make those words suit your needs

The words that were written out of good

You judge me because My beliefs are not the same as yours

You take the words written hundreds of years ago

Those words were written out of good

“Religion does not in fact cause racism”*

You will be the master of your fate.

It is the evil pulsating in your veins

It is alive because of all your hate.

Don’t turn religion into hate

Don’t turn love into war

Don’t hide behind your gun

Because in the end we are all one!

*(Harris)

         I wrote this poem to show that it is not okay to judge people based on their religion, traditions, and beliefs. We should not discriminate against those who are different from us whether it is religion, color of skin or beliefs. Many people hide behind their religion and use it as excuse as to why they feel they have the right to discriminate, but, it is the evil in the person making them do this, not the religion. I found many pieces of evidence to support my claim. One major piece of evidence was in “Does religion breed racism?” When my husband was young, a white grade school teacher informed him that African Americans were meant to be oppressed, secondary citizens, because they were descendants of Ham, an Old Testament figure whose son, Canaan, was cursed by Noah. To this woman, the inequities among races were not man-made but divine. Her Bible told her so. Religion as a justification for racism is not uncommon”(Harris). This passage supports the fact that people use words of the bible, or religious doctrine, and dissect them to suit their needs and use them to be racist. The article “Racism Lives on Under the Cover of Religious Freedom” also supports the fact that racial discrimination continues and is blamed on religious beliefs. “That doesn't mean prejudice has disappeared; quite the opposite, actually. But this particular attitude, that outward racial discrimination is permissible because of a "religious belief," seems extreme and dated; these days, socially acceptable racism is a lot more subtle. It's also telling that racial discrimination is being paraded as "religious freedom"(Green). This reading supports that fact that it is the person, not the religion that is doing the discriminating. People are using their religious beliefs to discriminate and show hate toward their fellow man.

                                                                               

                                                                             Works Cited

Information about the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/religion.cfm.

Boorstein, Michelle. “In an America with so Many Religions, What Does Religious Freedom Mean?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Aug. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-an-america-with-so-many-religions-what-does-religious-freedom-mean/2012/08/10/a3bda324-cc45-11e1-9986-640e8e5f844f_story.html?utm_term=.6af9101f9c3d.

Dcoxpolls. “Religious Diversity May Be Making America Less Religious.” FiveThirtyEight, FiveThirtyEight, 23 Aug. 2016, fivethirtyeight.com/features/religious-diversity-may-be-making-america-less-religious/.

“Does Religion Breed Racism?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/colorstruck/201006/does-religion-breed-racism.

Green, Emma. “Racism Lives On Under the Cover of 'Religious Freedom'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 June 2014, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/american-racism-lives-on-under-the-cover-of-religious-freedom/372083/.

Kilpatrick, William. “Should Different Religions Be Treated Differently?” Crisis Magazine, 16 Jan. 2017, www.crisismagazine.com/2017/different-religions-treated-differentl.

Wuthnow, Robert. “'America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/books/chapters/america-and-the-challenges-of-religious-diversity.html.