Is there Religious Discrimination & Double Standards towards Conservative Christians in 21 st Century America?

1. Is there Religious Discrimination & Double Standards towards Conservative Christians in 21stCentury America? Heather Yeager

2. “Discrimination against people of faith, particularly Christians, has become an epidemic in this country.” - M. Staver, (founder of Liberty Counsel) Religious Discrimination • My research brief focuses on issues surrounding: • Religious freedoms • Double standards regarding our religious rights and • Whether or not Christians are being discriminated against in the United States. ?

3. Definitions Religious Discrimination -  is valuing or treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe. Constitutional Freedoms-  refers to those freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Such freedoms are granted by the Constitution to its citizens and they can enjoy it under the protection of the Constitution. The freedom guaranteed under the Constitution includes the aggregate of personal, civil, and political rights of individuals. These freedoms are secured against invasion by the government or any of its agencies. Freedom of religion, speech, and press as guaranteed by the first amendment and the due process clause of fourteenth amendment are certain basic freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to its citizens.

4. Who is Involved This situation focuses on Conservative Christians in the 21st Century living in the United States and those who would have animosity towards them and their religion. (Although every religion is discriminated against at some point and by different types of people, stations, races and cultures.)

5. Benefits from Examining the Topic • By looking deeper into this topic it helps educate us more on the issue at hand; discrimination towards Conservative Christians and other religious groups. • It helps us to: • Identify the problem • Recognize our differences and learn how to become more tolerant • Agree to disagree • Fight for our constitutional and religious freedoms • Stand up against religious discrimination towards ourselves and others • Put into practice our constitutional rights a.k.a. the First Amendment and • Help educate our youth to do the same “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves” – Abraham Lincoln

6. Examples of Discrimination Provided by the National Alliance Against Christian Discrimination: http://www.naacd.com/ State High School Bans Prayer “The Illinois High School Association is being challenged on policy that bans Christian schools form offering a prayer or any religious message over their public address systems when they host association events on their own property.‘It is blatantly unconstitutional for public school officials to come into private schools and enforce a policy prohibiting them from expressing what’s central to their religious beliefs,’ said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).The ADF wrote to association chief Marty Hickman recently after several private schools complained about the new restrictions. ‘In enacting the policy, the IHSA was purportedly concerned that allowing private host schools to conduct customary pre-game prayers violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause,’ the letter said.The ADF is trying to persuade the IHSA that prayers on private school property is constitutional. ‘There is a strong likelihood that the IHSA’s new policy violates the First Amendment rights of private Christian schools that host IHSA state series events,’ the letter said.”(WorldNetDaily. 3/7/09.)

7. Examples continued… Elementary School Blots Out God “An elementary school in Tennessee, after successfully rebuffing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit over religious expression on campus, has nonetheless ordered the words ‘God Bless the USA’ and ‘In God We Trust’ covered up on student-made posters in the hallway.Administrators at Lakeview Elementary School in Mr. Juliet, Tenn., told parents that the posters, promoting the See You at the Pole student prayer event, mentioned ‘God’ and are therefore precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the always as inappropriate.‘Christian students shouldn’t be censored for expressing their beliefs,’ said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum in a statement. ‘It’s ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer—one of which is the national motto.’” (WorldNetDaily. 3/3/09) Coach Can’t Bow Head In Prayer “The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case involving a high school football coach’s effort to respect his players’ tradition of stopping for a moment of prayer prior to games, leaving in place an appeals court decision that essentially mandates a school policy of ‘hostility,’ according to The Rutherford Institute.‘This decision undermines a time-honored tradition that has less to do with religion than it does athletic tradition,’ said John Whitehead, chief counsel of The Rutherford Institute which argued the case on behalf of Coach Marcus Borden of East Brunswick High School in New Jersey.‘It’s a sad statement on our rights as Americans that schools are no longer bastions of freedom. We’ve become so politically correct and secularized that religious individuals who seek the same First Amendment rights as others are censored,’ Whitehead said.A federal court of appeals concluded the high school coach broke the law routinely when he would bow his head or ‘take a knee’ while his team prayed before games—a school tradition of 25 years.” (WorldNetDaily. 3/3/09.)

8. Examples continued… Christian Racism Rampant in Dearborn, MI http://youtu.be/nswT9XS5v5g The YouTube video, Christian Racism Rampant in Dearborn, MI (Campbell, 2011), tells the story of just one man’s experience with anti-Christian animosity. The gentleman being interviewed came to this country with hopes and anticipation for a happy and successful life and was met with anger, hate and ridicule. Jobs were hard to come by because of his religion and his word was often disregarded for being a Christian. Not all Muslims in his community met him with disrespect and animosity, about 30% were friendly and unbias, but he stated that the other 70% did.

9. Solutions • Get educated • Educate others • Stay active in our government • Stand up and help keep our constitutional rights • Pay attention to laws being passed and fight for what you believe in • Get involved in your communities • Volunteer • Create positive art • Be tolerant • Step back and look at others points of view • Start dialogs that allow people to hear each others views

10. Additional Resources • The American Center for Law and Justice • http://aclj.org/ • National Alliance Against Christian Discrimination (NAACD) • http://www.naacd.com/ • Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: • http://www.billygraham.org/specialsections/onelife/onelife.asp?QR=173&BA=2091 • Christian Rights Ministries • http://www.christianrights.org/ • Christian Coalition of America • http://www.cc.org/ My entire research brief on Religious Discrimination & it’s references : http://yeagerartspot.weebly.com/globalization--me.html