Respond to at least two colleagues by selecting one of their examples to review further.
Discussion: Religion and Privilege
SOCW 6051: Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice
Week 8
Response to Discussion: Religion and Privilege
For citizens in some countries, religious oppression is common and long standing. While freedom of religion is guaranteed in the U.S., religious intolerance still exists. According to the Equal Opportunity Employment commission, the number of lawsuits filed for religious discrimination doubled between 2000–2010 (Pledger, 2011). Social workers must be alert for the complex ways that religious privilege functions. By creating an awareness of the privilege given to some while marginalizing others, social workers can understand how this bias impacts their clients.
By Day 07/23/2021
Respond to at least two colleagues by selecting one of their examples to review further. Research and report on a situation in which that group experienced treatment on the other end of the spectrum of oppression or privilege, either in the present day or during an earlier historical period.
Colleagues Respond: Diana Thorne
RE: Discussion – Week 8
Top of Form
A situation in which members of a religion, experience privilege can be demonstrated in one week in the lives of the “Smith Family”. It is 1 week before Christmas. The Smith family consists of mom, dad, and twin girls ages 10. The Smiths are an all-American Christian family. Their week starts on Monday morning where mom drops the kids off at their elementary school. As the mom drops the children off at school, she and the dad can rest assured that their children will be taught and administered by teachers who share their Christian faith. Their children will also have friends who share their Christian faith and values (Adams et. al., 2018). The dad drives his suburban that has a bumper sticker that states “Jesus Saves” to work proudly and has no fears of his vehicle being vandalized while he is at work (Adams et. al., 2018). Once the dad arrives at work, his boss reminds him of the office Christmas party tonight. The dad and his boss take their Christian work-based holiday party privilege for granted as it is widely supported by the other employees as the norm.
The boss makes an announcement that the company will shut down for the entire week of Christmas as a bonus to the employees to celebrate the religious holidays. During the rest of the week, the family continue to shop at stores that have an abundance of Christian items for the family to practice their faith and celebrate the Christian Christmas holiday while being greeted warmly with salutations “Merry Christmas” (Adams et. al., 2018). Later that Sunday morning, the Smith family attend observed Christmas services with their church congregation where they’re able to worship freely, without fear of violence or threat (Adams et. al., 2018).
A situation in which members of a religion, experience religious oppression are Muslim college students being targeted for wearing the hijab and practicing the Qiblah, which is the direction Muslims face when praying. The majority Christian students and staff feel uncomfortable when non-Christians practice their faith and religion. The dominant Christian groups feel threatened that their established normative religion and dominant identity are being challenged (Adams et. al., 2018). Dalia from the Ted Talk explained how marginalized religious groups like Muslims are targeted and discouraged to congregate to worship by inflicting fear and violence as a means to control (Mogahed, 2016).
References
Mogahed, D. (2016, February 23). What it’s like to be Muslim in America. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/dalia_mogahed_what_it_s_like_to_be_muslim_in_america
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Catalano, D. C., Hackman, H. W., Dejong, K., Hopkins, L. E., Love, B., Peters, M. L., Shlasko, D., & Zuniga, X. (2018). Read
