Welcome to the Social Justice Challenge 2010 everyone! I’m more excited about this challenge than any other because I sincerely hope it will be life changing for all involved. I have long wanted to focus more of my reading on what matters and I hope that this challenge helps us to not only learn but take action on what we’ve learned.
To start things off on this month focusing on Religious Freedom, I thought it would help if we confronted our feelings about the subject. Below you’ll find a few questions that you should feel free to answer either on your own blog (and leave a link in the Mister Linky) or in comments. We have so much learning that we can do just from each other.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of religious freedom?
What knowledge do you have of present threats to religious freedom in our world today?
Have you chosen a book or resource to read for this month? (If not don’t worry, I’ll be updating the resource list this week)
Why does religious freedom matter to you?
I look forward to reading your responses everyone and I look forward to a great month!
Written by Amy at My Friend Amy
Religious Freedom – Social Justice Challenge – caribousmom // Jan 3, 2010 at 6:58 pm
[...] give me an opportunity and incentive to take action on these issues. The first monthly theme is Religious Freedom. Amy writes: To start things off on this month focusing on Religious Freedom, I thought it would [...]
I am really excited about this challenge – I’ve posted my answers on my blog
I’m looking forward to this challenge as well. It’s a great idea!
When I think of religious freedom, I think that the 1st Amendment mandates that “The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed.”
You’d think that might have been straightforward enough, but it hasn’t stopped even fairly recent a California athiest from wanting “under God” to be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, an Alabama Chief Justice from being removed for not removing the 10 commandments from his court house, public schools from changing Christmas concerts into Holiday Concerts etc.
Things are not nearly as simple as the founders of our country intended them to be when they ratified the 1st Amendment.
Religious freedom matters to me because I believe we should all have the right to practice or not as we wish, but we also should not force our personal beliefs on others. Still, we need tolerance in order to promote harmony in a nation comprised of people of many religious beliefs.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of religious freedom?
I think of the right that every human being has to worship as they choose. Not that all worship is equal–it’s not–but it should all be equally protected.
What knowledge do you have of present threats to religious freedom in our world today?
I visit every few years a Central Asian country that is by law religiously tolerant, but it’s not in practice. Those who convert from the religion of their parents are seen as traitors and often face difficulties if not persecution.
Have you chosen a book or resource to read for this month? (If not don’t worry, I’ll be updating the resource list this week)
I’m reading Marcia Burnam’s In the Presence of My Enemies. She’s from a town near where I grew up, so I remember the situation at the time as it was heavily covered by our local media. So far I’ve really been taken in by the book.
Why does religious freedom matter to you?
Because without religious freedom, brothers and sisters of the faith will continue to be persecuted and killed. Religious freedom for all is an important piece of the Christian message.
I’m hoping to learn this month as I’m not in the least religious and when I think of challenges to religious freedom I tend to think of those in the past (Catholics vs Protestants, Christians vs druids, Romans vs Christians and the Nazi oppression of the Jews). So I’m really interested in beoming more aware of current day religious oppression.
As to why religious freedom matters to me even though I’m not religious, everyone deserves for people to respect that their way of life is important and valid even if they don’t particularly understand it. All humanity deserves to live unoppressed.
Your Religious Freedom theme for this month runs parallel to our current PaperTigers theme of Respect for Religious Diversity. I’ve added a link on your Mr Linky to my post highlighting two new book reviews – but if you only want posts that answer your questions there, please feel free to remove it.
I am really looking forward to taking part in the Social Justice Challenge and I think it will be truly challenging and rewarding working through it with my own children and highlighting resources for younger readers…
I’ve left my answers to the questions on my blog
http://helensbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-does-religious-freedom-matter.html
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of religious freedom? I believe religious freedom is important, personal and involves choice.
What knowledge do you have of present threats to religious freedom in our world today?
When religion is taken to the extreme and violence or suppression is the result, people’s choice of religion can suffer. There is more of a tendency in underdeveloped countries to stifle religious expression by denying one’s religious practices.
I have chosen to add 2 fiction (Does My Head Look Big In This? and Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature)and 1 nonfiction title (Slave by Mende Nazer) of YA books that are good reads.
Religious Freedom matters to me because I have always had this choice and I cannot imagine being told that I can’t practice my faith. It is a right I covet and hold dear.
Here are my basic answers.
http://ashleyhoffenberg.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-2010-social-justice-challenge.html#links
Well today (1/8/10) listening to the news of the Christian/Muslim violence in Egypt is so very sad, especially when they said it has been “long standing”
I have thought long and hard this week about answering this question. You have called me to expose myself with these questions – thank you for the nudge.
I’ve posted properly this time, answering the questions!
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of religious freedom?
I think about how hard people fight for this freedom. Controlling what people believe is an important in controlling their actions. Repressive regimes all over the globe try to prevent citizens from having faith in something that challenges the regime.
What knowledge do you have of present threats to religious freedom in our world today?
Tibet; Middle East; France; Germany; Nigeria; India; China. I think we struggle with religious freedom right here in the US.
Have you chosen a book or resource to read for this month? (If not don’t worry, I’ll be updating the resource list this week)
I’m going to read Many Windows: Six Kids, Five Faiths, One Community byRukhsana Khan, with Uma Krishnaswami and Elisa Carbone; Napoleon & Company, 2008. Thanks to PaperTigers for leading me to this selection.
Why does religious freedom matter to you?
Religious freedom allows me to order and define the world for myself.
Thanks for organizing this challenge—I am looking forward to what we will learn in the year ahead! My goal is to click on a few participant responses each month to meet some new folks and hear from a variety of perspectives. Can’t wait for the momentum to build!
This month’s reading: I’m finishing up Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer and hope to squeeze in The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams.
This is a complicated issue for me, because… well, while I’m absolutely opposed to oppression because of faith or differences in faith globally, I feel like I spend most of my time thinking about religion in terms of keeping it out of my government, particularly the fundamentalist influence on marriage, equality, and abortion issues. So I’ll be interested to see what the action steps will be this month for non-believers like me.