Religious oppression
Some recent examples in North America
Sponsored link.
Until recent centuries, religious freedom was a luxury enjoyed in few areas
of the world. Most people were expected to conform to their country's dominant
religion or suffer the consequences. The latter could be as serious as execution
on a charge of heresy or other thought crime. Today, in North America, we don't
execute or sentence people for thought crimes. But some forms of religious
oppression still exist. This continues is in spite of:
- In the U.S.: A guarantee of religious freedom and a wall of
separation between church and state which the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized
as part of the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and
- In Canada: A guarantee of religious freedom in the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms -- Canada's constitution.
There are many factors that reduce oppression in North America:
- A growing tradition, at least since World War II, of considerable personal religious
freedom and respect for religious and cultural diversity.
- The U.S. and Canada have the greatest religious diversity of any countries in the
world.
- Essentially all religions practiced in North America sharing an
Ethic of Reciprocity -- called the Golden Rule in Christianity
-- that calls on everyone to treat others decently.
Some religious oppression is experienced within high-demand faith groups.
Occasionally, their leadership is unable to convince all of the membership of
the correctness of group teachings and behaviors. In order to enforce
conformity, some of these groups resort to excommunication, shunning, or
disfellowshipping of their members. We describe such actions in some of our
essays on
individual religions and denominations
and on new religious movements.
Some high-demand faith groups have strict policies
regarding health care that are interpreted by some as a form of religious
repression. These include forbidding members to seek medical treatment, thereby
shortening their life expectancy and drastically increasing infant and child
mortality rates within the group. The ban on blood
transfusions by the Jehovah's Witnesses
drastically increases pregnancy-related death rates among the women in the
group.
This section discusses a few typical instances of oppression within and
between religions, and oppression of individuals because of their beliefs or
practices.
Topics discussed in this section:
Site navigation:
Originally written: 2004-JAN-12
Latest update: 2008-SEP-04
Author: B.A. Robinson
|
Page Translator: