Religious Discrimination
By: Alex M., Brandon, Kayla, Lc, Leotrim, and Will
Discrimination
Religious Discrimination
Pictures of Religious Discrimination
Religious Discrimination in the United States
Discrimination is the unfair treatment of different types of people or things, especially about race, religion, age, ethnicity, and gender. Religious discrimination is the mistreatment of a person or group based on their religious beliefs, specifically under the law or in employment or housing. One major way religious discrimination has shaped the United States was the voyage of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims journeyed to the New World to escape religious discrimination from the Church of England. There they built their own settlements, and enjoyed free religious worship. The Pilgrims got along very well with the Native Americans at first. The Native Americans were polytheistic which meant they believed in more than one god, and the pilgrims soon betrayed the Native Americans. The Pilgrims knew their base of foundation was seeking religious freedom, but as more settlements started appearing, the Pilgrims did not allow people to practice whatever religion they wanted. At first, the pilgrims would punish people by putting them in stocks (a wooden instrument of punishment with holes for securing a person's feet and hands where criminals were locked and exposed to public ridicule or assault) simply for falling asleep in church. They believed that they needed to keep the people in check, and that God was telling them to punish the people harshly. They slowly realized that this was not the work of the God that they believed in, but rather cruel and unusual punishment. They realized that they came to the new world for religious freedom, and that they were now holding people back from just that. Soon later, citizens were protected under law to have their religious rights. Without the pilgrims brave voyage, we would not have the religious freedoms that we have in America today.
Bibliography
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