Oh, the pain of it! Illustration: A Journey through NYC religions
Most New Yorkers say that religious minorities experience discrimination. In a scientific telephone survey of registered voters, the Siena College Research Institute found that New Yorkers (78%) were even more likely to think that discrimination happens against religious minorities than they (73%) think that discrimination happens against racial and ethnic minorities.
The Siena Poll, released on Monday, found that regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs, most respondents in New York agreed that religious discrimination is taking place.
This poll reinforces the rising concern about anti-religious prejudice and discrimination that is leading to violent attacks against people in churches, synagogues, and mosques. Complaints in New York State about religious discrimination on the workplace are rising at record rates. The New York Police Department reports that hate crimes against Jews are the highest that they have been in recent history. Regularly, papers headline defacements of churches, synagogues, mosques, cemeteries and other religious sites. Religious discrimination comes in many forms ranging overt stereotyping to the covert making some groups invisible in the public square.
Some people might ask, what is a religious minority in NYC? Although the survey specifically mentions Jews and Muslims, its category of “Others” seems very broad. How small does a group have to be to be considered a “minority?” Should evangelical Protestants, who make up around 20% of the city, be considered a minority? White evangelicals, which many news reports brand as big Trump supporters, may be the most despised minority in our liberal, anti-Trump city.
What can you do?
Usually, the first step is to raise one’s consciousness about the discrimination that is going on around you. Each religious community should ask itself three questions: how many of its own congregants experience religious discrimination; what is the congregation doing about it; and how is each religious community reaching out to help those of other faiths who are experiencing discrimination?
This Siena College Poll was conducted January 11-16, 2020 by telephone calls conducted in English to 814 New York State registered voters. The pollsters say that their poll has an overall margin of error of + 4.1 percentage points.
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Insightful, thanks.
A first step is conscious-raising: what areas of the public square need more religious voices. The absences of religious voices often reveals de facto or de jure discrimination.
This is a sign or a call for the government to stop religious discrimination and make a new bill about this. Discrimination is rising nowadays and it should be prioritized.