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The commonly cited reasons to support religion and the religious mindset refer to these phenomena ability to facilitate the creation of communities and bring different people together thanks to their shared beliefs and values. In reality, however, religion-related differences between people often create collective boundaries and put some individuals in a privileged position, causing division between those who could be friends (Phelp-Roper, 2017). Inequalities between different religious groups in access to power create a situation in which only some peoples worldviews and values are respected and represented positively.
Multiple examples of privilege based on religious identity can be found in Christian-majority societies. For instance, in the United States, Christian prayers in public places or, for instance, before sports events, can be considered as something normal and usual (Adams & MacDonald-Dennis, 2018). This excludes the representatives of other, even very popular religions and makes them feel that their perspectives and opinions are unwelcome. At the same time, if non-Christians wanted to pray collectively at a public event attended by the religiously diverse audience, they would likely be prevented from doing that or accepted negatively.
The opposite side of the majoritys religious privilege is the oppression of religious minorities, including the media representations of such groups. One common example of institutionalized oppression is the tendency to represent Muslims and Islam in a negative light when it comes to media sources in non-Muslim societies. For instance, as Mogahed (2016) reports, in the United States, around eighty percent of news coverage about these two topics is negative, which only strengthens prejudice against Muslims in everyday life. Therefore, when reading news articles, those practicing Islam are more likely than Christians to read about the links between their beliefs, terrorism, and violence. In contrast, due to the existence of a religious privilege, if Christians commit crimes against the representatives of other religious movements, it will not be immediately termed and framed as Christian terrorism.
References
Adams, M., & MacDonald-Dennis, C. (2018). Religious oppression: Introduction. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, D. C. J. Catalano, K. H. W. DeJong, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (4th ed.) (pp. 229-237). Routledge Press.
Mogahed, D. (2016). What do you think when you look at me [Video file]. TED. Web.
Phelp-Roper, M. (2017). I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Heres why I left [Video file]. TED. Web.
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