TruthBook Religious News Blog

The Associated Press

Americans are learning more about Islam, and familiarity with the faith makes people more likely to view Muslims favorably and less likely to believe Islam encourages violence, according to a new study.

The survey by the Pew Research Center also showed that Americans still believe Muslims face far more discrimination than the nation's other religious groups.

The findings can be linked because increased knowledge about Muslims is tied to more sensitivity about bias they face, said Greg Smith, the report's senior researcher.

"To say that Muslims are discriminated against ... it's not the same thing as expressing an unfavorable view of Muslims. In fact it's just the opposite," he said. "People who are most sympathetic to a group are more likely to see that group as being discriminated against."

In the annual survey released Wednesday, 58% of Americans said there was "a lot" of discrimination against Muslims. Jews were seen as the religious group with the next highest level of bias against them, with 35% saying they faced a lot of discrimination.

Homosexuals were the only group seen as facing more discrimination than Muslims, with almost two-thirds of Americans saying homosexuals are discriminated against a lot.

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Labels: bias, discrimination, Islam, Pew Research Center survey, violence

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Jimmy Carter confronts 'religious prejudice' against women

By: Eric Young
Christian Post
Thursday, 23 July 2009

Former president Jimmy Carter and The Elders group of global leaders are calling for a change to "the harmful and discriminatory practices against women and girls and give their full support to the equality of all”.

"Religion and tradition are a great force for peace and progress around the world," said The Elders, a group of global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela, in statement to mark the launch of their latest initiative.

"However, as Elders, we believe that the justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a higher authority, is unacceptable," added the 12-person organisation brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela.

In an effort to bring change to and end religious and traditional practices that discriminate against women and girls, The Elders are using their latest initiative to reveal how the "deep-rooted belief that women are worth less than men has infected every aspect of our societies."

They say such beliefs have led to brutal violence and mistreatment against women and have denied girls and women fair access to education, health, employment, property and influence within their own communities.

"It is not just women who are paying an enormous price for this cultural and religious prejudice. We all suffer when women and girls are abused and their needs are neglected. By denying them security and opportunity, we embed unfairness in our societies and fail to make the most of the talents of half the population," The Elders state.

Last week, former President Carter attempted to draw greater attention to The Elders’ gender equality initiative by submitting an op-ed to newspapers including The Observer.

In his piece, Carter recalled his "painful and difficult" decision to sever ties with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 after having been a part of the denomination for six decades.

The decision, he said, was "unavoidable ... when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be ‘subservient’ to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military...

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Labels: discrimination, equality, Eric Young, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, religion, The Elders

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Friday, January 18, 2008

To continue freedom's work

A Christian Science perspective on daily life.
from the January 18, 2008 edition

For many people, the Martin Luther King holiday has become yet another three-day weekend, time off from work or school. The Civil Rights movement, which began with the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955, may seem like ancient history in a society where there's "instant" everything from coffee to messaging.

But this special day is a time to consider that despite the progress that has been made, racism hasn't been completely eliminated.

Discrimination against indigenous peoples, against immigrants (including legal ones), as well as those of different races still remains, even though it sometimes takes subtler forms. For example, in many large cities young African Americans still grow up in poverty and remain there because they can't escape that mental environment. Breaking out of the culture of poverty isn't just about getting more money. It's about knowing that you have value, that your presence in this world can be a blessing.

In a way, that is perhaps the last but also the most challenging aspect of the civil rights struggle. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Monitor, witnessed this country's struggles with slavery, and the transition out of it. In her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," she observed, "Legally to abolish unpaid servitude in the United States was hard; but the abolition of mental slavery is a more difficult task" (p. 225)

For Jesus, healing was not only about setting people free from suffering, but also about changing the thought of society, especially among those who felt superior to others. So, for example, when he was criticized for healing a woman on the Sabbath (because no work was supposed to be done that day), he replied, "Doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound ... be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" (Luke 13:15, 16)

To me he was saying, "You value your animals enough to take care of them. Can't you see that this woman, as a descendant of the man to whom God promised His care, has an even greater heritage?

Society has changed greatly from the times of Jesus, yet the same mental struggle goes on: the need to value each individual, to see his or her spiritual heritage and the blessings to be gained from unlocking those talents. Each of us can contribute by not looking down on someone else because of race, background, handicap, or gender, and by praying for the day when all people will be valued.

And there's a direct, personal benefit to taking this step. Each time we can see others as children of God, we reinforce our own spiritual heritage as God's offspring. We become freer from the mental slavery that says some are "top dogs" and others are not. We are loosed from the burden of despising or rejecting others to rejoicing in the knowledge that our Father's house is big enough for everyone to have a place and for each one's gifts to be joyfully expressed.

Labels: discrimination, Jesus, Mary Baker Eddy, racism