Religious Freedom in the Philippines

One of the main reasons that the settlers came and founded America was for religious freedom. Colonist made the long and dangerous journey for other reasons as well, but a major factor was the search for religious freedom. Coming to America alone did not solve this problem; the journey to religious freedom was just that, a journey. Everyone had a slightly different idea of what this new nation’s ‘religious freedom’ should look like and it took many years to come to a compromise.

After 9/11, Muslims became a target of racial profiling. Law enforcement officials began to profile Muslims and people of Arab descent as terrorists.They reported being kicked off planes and “randomly selected” at airport security. Shortly after the attack on the

These shortsighted views contribute to the major issues that affect Muslims, which involve prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is a preconceived judgment, that is usually based on insufficient information (Tatum 102). Discrimination is the actions taken toward members of a group because of their group membership (Feldman 444). Specifically, these issues include harassment at airports, accusations of aligning their beliefs with ISIS, and alienation from U.S. communities. In particular, Muslim Americans can experience discrimination at airports for expressing stereotypical attributes of Muslims, such as Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, a

When America adopted the term Freedom, as far back as the country’s founding. To how we as a nation obtained freedom and the patriots who had to fight several wars in order to continue to possess it. As citizens and members of a society, we are extremely fortunate to have several different types of freedoms. Although this is a good thing in some cases, there comes to a point where too much freedom can be dangerous because there would essentially be no protection for the people. To prevent this from happening, we give up particular freedoms and swap it for safety. The freedoms that are most important to me are religion, economic, education, and gun control. With that being said, there should be the same “restriction” on each of the freedoms, no acts of violence will be condoned.

The act of defining religion has been a contentious issue in a wide variety of situations, particularly in the United States. The US is a nation that prides itself on religious inclusivity and freedom. There are consequences to this belief and tenant. Through the social, legal and moral structures of the United States, defining religion has become imperative. In The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Sullivan outlines the legal implications of defining religion in the United States. In order for religious freedom to be protected by the American state, religion must be clearly defined. As a result, religious theory must be used to maintain some semblance of religious freedom in the United States. Likewise, Josh Dubler’s Down in

Religion is one of the largest controversies in the world, due mainly to different people with different backgrounds and cultures are in America. Religion creates positivity and brings people together, but can also cause arguments and debates. America founded its nation on religion; however, society has slowly pushed it away year by year. Religion is being pushed out of our classrooms, schools, and communities because of the miniscule percentage of people in America who aren’t religious. People are becoming offended easily by religious topics, which is causing the negativity among American citizens. America’s youth are being deprived of an education that includes world religions and culture. There hasn’t been a single successful effort to reinstate religion into schools despite efforts to slowly take away the changes that have been made to take religion out. I propose to reestablish religion into Athens High school because it forms good morals that will help America’s youth become better contributors of society.

As citizens of the United States, we have certain unalienable rights that were set by the framers of our country back when our nation’s government was just forming. Among these is the First Amendment to the Constitution that includes the freedom of religion for all who reside in and call this country their own. The First Amendment is meant to give rights to the people that the government cannot limit or take away. These rights serve to protect and help us in times of need, and the freedom of religion that the United States provides has given security to members of all religious backgrounds coming from other countries where this freedom is not among the rights given to their people. People all over the world have sought refuge in

In addition, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Muslim immigrants have faced increased discrimination and racial profiling (Ghaffari & Ciftci, 2010). For example, Congressman Goode wished to preserve “traditional” values and beliefs by adopting strict immigration policies to prevent more Muslims from entering the U.S. This prejudicial letter was referencing the request to use the Quran for the swearing-in ceremony of a newly appointed Muslim congressman (Sue & Sue, 2012). Also, legislation such as the Patriot Act and travel restrictions have made Muslim immigrants vulnerable to unfair targeting, including home raids, unjustified arrests and detentions, and interrogation (Ahmed & Reddy, 2007; CAIR, 2006). The negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam in the media has exacerbated this discrimination and racial profiling. In a study conducted by Hasouneh and Kulwicki (2007) that looked at discrimination, trauma, and mental health among Arab Muslim women in the U.S., the authors found that 63% of respondents reported being discriminated against post-9/11. While this study looked only at Arab women, Arab and Muslim men share similar experiences of discrimination (Abu-Ras & Suarez, 2009). Muslim immigrants have also experienced

Religious freedom has been a staple of the American doctrine since the Bill of Rights. Since then, religious freedom has been challenged non-stop. From the Supreme Court’s rulings that have shaped what religious freedoms mean, which include the enactment of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the legalization of same-sex marriage; to obstacles that Muslims face. Religious freedom has been and continuous to be a center point in American politics.

Instead of punishing only the terrorist Muslims, the American government punishes all of them. "Today the government uses both political repression and cultural fearmonging against Arabs and Muslims in the United States" ("Arab). A year after 9/11, Special Registration began and it required not only the interviewing and fingerprinting of more than 170,000 Muslim-country originated men, but also the deportation of 14,000 people ("Arab"). Muslim-Americans are the most oppressed minority in the United States. Muslim women can't wear traditional garments without recieveing a venomus glare. In a country that is engulfed in christiananity, the Muslim faith isn't widely accepted by the tyrannical nation. However, the government has made attempts

The free exercise of religion, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of assembly are each absolutely essential for the health of our Republic. That is why the Founding Fathers enshrined them all in the First Amendment. While some people up hold the first amendment and respect its meaning. Unfortunately, these freedoms are currently under assault by the government, state officials and communities.

Another is that Filipinos have a culture of apathy and tend to use religion incorrectly and passively. People depend on religion and settle for what’s okay. In addition, the initial reaction of Filipinos to change is resistance, and this is why the country does not necessarily progress, or at least, progress at a continuous rate. Then, countries like Spain and Portugal only rode the “economic tiger” after “they realized that the only way to survive was change” (3.Y). Plus, according to another critic, the Philippines already had the experience of being under the parliamentary system during the time of Marcos which only resulted in a People Power Revolution. So why should the country bother going back to that? (4.Y)

Standing against religious discrimination will decrease harassment on different religion of different classes. Muslim women experienced racism in workplaces. People determine others by their appearance. Muslim women often follow rules of their own religion, but people will start isolate Muslim women due to their religion and their habits. “By permitting a ban on the hijab, Europe is essentially permitting a ban on Muslim women in the workplace.‘I have friends who have taken to wearing the hijab in recent years because they feel their Muslim identity has been threatened, and they have decided to take a stand for their faith’.” (Amrani). In the column, a muslim women feels her identity has been threatened, harassed by people. But still, she chose to stand for her faith. If we stand against religious discrimination, there will be less people threatening muslim women because of their beliefs and identity. In

One of the avenues of influential learning is in school. The place where students spend half of their life. Going to school aids students in acquiring knowledge, establishing rapport and developing skills. When students attend school, they showcase not only their characters traits and attitudes, but they also carry with them their cultural differences and religious practices. (Green & Oldendorf, 2005). Looking at how diverse our society is, the question of teaching religions and their ideologies at a school-level rise. Whilst the state practices neutrality towards religion, there are still issues and challenges when it comes to accommodating religious diversity and its integration in the education system (Berger, 2013, p.104). Therefore, integrating religion in the education system can lead to

“Rizal had a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the Philippines when the Spaniards came ashore to the islands. His theory was the country was economically self-sufficient and prosperous.  Rizal entertained the idea that it had a lively and vigorous community enriched with the collective and sensitive art and culture of the native population. He