Is there Religious Discrimination & Double Standards
towards Conservative Christians in 21 st Century America? Heather
Yeager
Slide 3
Discrimination against people of faith, particularly
Christians, has become an epidemic in this country. - M. Staver,
(founder of Liberty Counsel) 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. ?
Slide 4
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.
Slide 5
This situation focuses on Conservative Christians in the 21 st
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.)
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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
Slide 7
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 whats
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 Amendments 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 IHSAs new
policy violates the First Amendment rights of private Christian
schools that host IHSA state series events, the letter
said.(WorldNetDaily. 3/7/09.) Provided by the National Alliance
Against Christian Discrimination:
http://www.naacd.com/http://www.naacd.com/ State High School Bans
Prayer
Slide 8
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 shouldnt be censored for expressing their
beliefs, said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum in a statement. Its
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) Elementary School Blots Out God The U.S.
Supreme Court has refused to hear a case involving a high school
football coachs 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. Its a sad statement on our rights as Americans that schools
are no longer bastions of freedom. Weve 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 gamesa school tradition of 25 years.
(WorldNetDaily. 3/3/09.) Coach Cant Bow Head In Prayer
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http://youtu.be/nswT9XS5v5g Christian Racism Rampant in
Dearborn, MI The YouTube video, Christian Racism Rampant in
Dearborn, MI (Campbell, 2011), tells the story of just one mans
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.
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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
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The American Center for Law and Justice http://aclj.org/
http://aclj.org/ National Alliance Against Christian Discrimination
(NAACD) http://www.naacd.com/ http://www.naacd.com/ Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association:
http://www.billygraham.org/specialsections/onelife/onelife.asp?QR=1
73&BA=2091
http://www.billygraham.org/specialsections/onelife/onelife.asp?QR=1
73&BA=2091 Christian Rights Ministries
http://www.christianrights.org/ http://www.christianrights.org/
Christian Coalition of America http://www.cc.org/
http://www.cc.org/