Grace Farrell
We often think about privilege in a strictly black or white scope. African Americans are blamed for having privilege when enrolling in universities seeking diversity and granting scholarships. Whites are mainly pointed out for having privilege when dealing with any judicial or legal consequences. But what about a person's religion? Can we point to a certain people for having privilege in their faith? This source is called the "Christian Privilege Checklist," and it examines the advantages that Christians, 32% of the world's population, or 2.2 billion people, (Washington Times) have over the rest of the world.
The checklist is comprised of 33 statements that social activist Sam Killermann pieced together by studying the Christian religion for over 10 years, traveling to 24 different countries. Some of the most identifiable privileges that many Christians have are:
-You can
expect to have time off work to celebrate religious holidays.
-Fundraising to support congregations of your
faith will not be investigated as potentially threatening or terroristic behavior.
-It is easy for you to find
your faith accurately depicted in television, movies, books, and other media. -You are never asked to speak on behalf of all
the members of your faith.
-Your faith is taught or offered as a course in most
public institutions.
Source:
Harper, J. (2012, December
23). Christian Faith Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.washingtontimes.com
Killermann, Sam. (2015, October). Christian Privilege Checklist - Arizona State University: Project Humanities April 20, 2016, from https://humanities.asu.edu/christian-privilege-checklist
Grace,
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting topic! I never would have thought about religion as a factor of inequalities. I'm sure when people are in legal trouble, they use their religion, especially Christrianity, to help them defend themselves against crime. It is also interested to note that the Christian faith has predominantly been white (I'm assuming?), so not only are people using white privilege, but they can also utilize their religion to place themselves in a positive light.
Emi,
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, I did not even realize Christian privilege can really tie in to white privilege as well. European Whites/ Caucasians have been the predominant race in Christianity. I also did not think about the criminal justice and legal system and how race and religion, specifically Christianity, can be a weighing factor with criminal punishment.
Great points and important posting. Christian privilege is extraordinarily powerful in public affairs. This is not to say that it is a privilege across racial groups. Martin Luther King, Jr. made some powerful statements about churches being among the most segregated institutions in our nation.
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