Vaccinations: Is it your civil right to reject them due to religion?

Personally, growing up, I never was raised or around people who were raised to believe that vaccinating your child was hindering their religion. However, there are religions today that are expressing that their religious freedom is being hindered because of this push (this can almost be considered forced) vaccinations for their children.

Church of Christ, Scientist is one of the religions that are against vaccinations. They believe that one of their basic teachings of this denomination is that disease can be cured or prevented by focused prayer. Christian Scientists usually decline all forms of medical intervention, including vaccination. Another religion that doesn’t believe in this is, Dutch Reformed Congregations. This denomination has a tradition of declining immunizations. Some members decline vaccination on the basis that it interferes with divine providence. However, others within the faith accept immunization as a gift from God to be used with gratitude.

According to U.S. News, U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Briccetti denied a temporary injunction that would have allowed 44 unvaccinated children to return to class at the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, New York while the county is facing an “unprecedented measles outbreak.” Rockland County is in the midst of one of the longest measles outbreaks since the disease was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000. As of this Tuesday, there have been 146 cases and 82% of people who have contracted the measles were not vaccinated. The outbreak has mostly been contained within the Orthodox Jewish communities in several towns in the county.

There was another instance where on November 11^th, there were bishops appearing before the parliamentary health committee who said they had tested the vaccine privately and found that it was laced with a birth control hormone called beta human chorionic gonadotropin.

“We are calling on all Kenyans to avoid the tetanus vaccination campaign because we are convinced it is indeed a disguised population control program,” said Bishop Paul Kariuki, chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ health committee. This is just an example of what religions will do to protect what they believe in. They are willing to go through extreme lengths in order to not break their religion, which sometimes can lead to breaking the law.

This issue can be looked at as Church Vs. State. As readers, what do you think? When should state step in and be involved with this issue of vaccinations? Your Civil rights are the protections and privileges of personal liberty given to all American citizens by law, as specified in the Constitution, and the amendments to the Constitution. When kids who don’t get vaccinated and are sick come in contact with other kids it can lead them to get sick as well. This is how outbreaks occur in the United States. But how is State supposed to protect those kids from not getting sick without interfering or disrespecting the religions that don’t agree with vaccinating their children? This is a topic that you would have to put your personal views aside to be able to view the situation as a whole, in order to decide what’s “right” and “wrong”. Many people struggle with doing this and that is why this is now an issue we are all facing.

Kenya’s Catholic bishops: Tetanus vaccine is birth control in disguise

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2019-03-14/new-york-judge-bars-unvaccinated-students-from-school-amid-measles-outbreak

Spirit of Conscientiousness among Social Media Users

As we approach the time of Easter, Lent comes upon many people of the Catholic faith. The symbolism of sacrificing something important and meaningful, and maybe even iniquitous is obviously paramount to any sort of Christian faith. Though some have taken a step that even seems unexpected: some faithful media pundits and reporters have given up social media for Lent. Reasoning given was largely due to need for self-reflection, drawing upon the seemingly inherit nastiness that is expressed on social media. Some have even stated that social media can influence them more than their own faith, an enlightening and insightful statement seeing that faith is supposed to supersede all else in matters of Christian belief. This raises a question for those watching (myself included): can faith groups fundamentally change the way behavior is conducted on something as vile as social media?

Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, any internet space with some sort of forum has this in common: keyboard courage. When you place a large group of opinionated people in a space without the proper social cues to communicate an environment of nicety it will erupt into an articulated shouting match very quickly; the intuition required to see that is low as far as I am concerned. Many social media platforms have reacted to this spirit of toxicity, and the action taken in pursuit of mitigation has gained them media coverage because of it.

Being a figure in the media is no easy task with the amount of bombardment they must get, no matter what side they are on. That being said, opinionated statements are a big part of the media’s job, and are destined to divide. So, can this short period of personal sacrifice and discipline really change the way people act on social media (or at least a few people)? Well, the best way to answer that question would be to wait and see if it does. We can wait and see if those who are putting down their phones until April 18th have noticeable changes in online behavior. But I want an answer right now, so I am going to take a few stabs at it.

Let us start off with the null hypothesis: nothing changes. April comes. We go back to these individuals expressing anger on Twitter and other platforms. This is, unfortunately, the more likely of the two outcomes I will put forth today in my view. But what does this mean? It means that this devotional act may not be enough. It means that people cannot change in a short time, even if they really want to, at least pertaining to easy emotional outbursts. It means that maybe there needs to be more devotion, more discipline. It means that this long-standing tradition may not work. This is not the view of hope.

The alternative? One comes away from this spiritual devotion changed. Maybe not in a drastic way, one akin to a sudden burst of enlightenment, but more to the liking of a slightly different tone. Maybe those who are in the light of the media are slightly more careful, more thoughtful, more conscientious of those. Maybe their supposed internal battle between their faith and their mind is won by the former on most occasions, and they look to other places of emotional expression rather than contribute to any sort of toxicity. Maybe I was pessimistic and decisive and not conscientious enough when I previously stated that the null hypothesis was the more likely outcome. Maybe it is not a fundamental change that social media needs to help the rush of maliciousness, but a lot of little changes. Maybe that is what these media contributors are looking for: little changes. Maybe.

One should never underestimate the power of faith-based conviction in terms of an individual’s life, and the fact that we see that conviction take hold of everyone, including those in the blinding spotlight of the media, and show them a version of “right and wrong” is quite something. Social media is the great social experiment of the 21st century, and those closely connected to it are disillusioned to its power. Perhaps something greater than Twitter guidelines are needed in order to promote civility on these platforms.

Works Cited

Evans, Elizabeth. “Pundits Repent of Twitter Sins, Apply Faith to Social Media.” Religion News Service, 13 Mar. 2019, religionnews.com/2019/03/13/pundits-repent-of-twitter-sins-apply-faith-to-social-media/.

Powers, Kirsten. “Kirsten Powers: I’m Not Proud of Role I’ve Played in Toxic Public Debate. I Plan to Change.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 20 Feb. 2019, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/02/19/kirsten-powers-covington-apology-twitter-franken-social-media-toxic-column/2915856002/.

LGBT Growing Acceptance

America has struggled with taking on civil rights movements and minorities speaking out. From Native Americans to African Americans, from women to the LGBT community, it’s been an ongoing battle, especially on the religious front. However, people are becoming more accepting of the LGBT community. With the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges and various nondiscrimination laws enacted in the states, the growing movement is becoming harder and harder to ignore. Every year, nationwide, people gather for marches and festivals celebrating their right to love and live how they please.

Typically when opponents of the LGBT movement are thought of, most people think of those who have religious ties. According to the Human Rights Campaign, “religion has been a source of both solace and suffering for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Americans.” Those who a part of the community “have been forced to leave those communities behind because of condemnation of LGBTQ people” despite any religious community that they may have been a part of. Those individuals often still hold connections to their faith, but face exile coming from the church that they associate with.

However, according to a survey done by Religion News, a majority of religions have shown support for LGBT nondiscrimination policies. Overall, 69% of Americans support new policies and those are not all people with no religious affiliation. Even groups with the lowest levels of support, white evangelical Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses, support proportions are 53% and 54% respectively. Followers of New Age faiths have the highest recorded support at 86% and many others follow behind in support with ranges in the seventies. So regardless of the religion, support is greater than 50%.

One thing that should be noted is these people support non-discrimination policies but not necessarily the marriage of homosexual couples. While acceptance of the LGBT community is growing, there’s still resistance to their union. This would make sense because of many religions’ ideas of marriage. Much like during the twentieth century, people still believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman because that’s what God intended. Anything else was frowned upon. It’s sacred to them and homosexuality seemed to taint that. It goes against the idea of being able to reproduce and in many ways, a standard, perfect family to carry out God’s will.

Modern America doesn’t want to stifle anyone’s rights outright. As a result, discrimination of any kind is very much against social norms. However, because of the right to practice, they believe that they reserve the right to be against the marriage of homosexual couples. That would explain the increasing support for nondiscrimination policies but the constant disapproval for homosexual marriage. The government has taken action to help out the LGBT community by enacting some policies, and for the most part, they’ve got the public’s support.

It’s obvious that times have changed and people are understanding the rights of others. But ideals still reflect those of earlier times. Yet, society is changing, and people are changing with it.

Sources:

Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.). Faith Positions. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/faith-positions

Khan, A. (2019, March 12). Survey: Faith groups maintain widespread support for LGBT protection laws. Retrieved from https://religionnews.com/2019/03/12/survey-all-major-faith-groups-show-broad-support-for-lgbt-protection-laws/

Scandals in the Catholic Church

Catholicism is one of the largest religions in the world with 1.2 billion followers according to the Vatican. Those numbers have recently been shrinking due to the recent sex abuse scandals. Amidst all of these reports of child sex abuse by Catholic priests, people are starting to question whether they should remain in the church or not.

In the past, there have been many scandals of sex abuse by Catholic priests that have been publicized. More Catholics are questioning their faith today than they were in 2002 during the sex abuse scandal that broke out in the Boston Archdiocese. According to a poll released March 13, “more than a third of U.S. Catholics – 37 percent – surveyed in January and February said they have questioned whether they should remain in the church” (Survey). The amount of attendance changed the rate of people who were questioning their faith. The more frequently that people attended church were less likely to question their affiliation with the church. Compared to the 37 percent of Catholics in general that said they were questioning their faith, only 22 percent of people that went to church weekly said they were questioning it. Those who attended church monthly had 37 percent of people questioning and those who never attend was up to 46 percent.

In 2002 during the Boston Archdiocese scandal, only 22 percent questioned their faith. In all categories, they showed a minimum of a 10 percent increase in people that now question as compared to 2002. These issues are being investigated by numerous attorney generals along with federal authorities. One of the biggest names right now is Australian Cardinal George Pell who is a former treasurer at the Vatican. “He was found guilty of molesting two boys who belonged to a cathedral choir in the 1990s” (Voa). This feeling of question Catholic faith isn’t just in the United States. The judge in the case also said, “the crime showed ‘staggering arrogance’ – in other words, a strong sense of power and a shocking lack of feeling for others” (Voa). After the conviction of an Australian Cardinal, in a very Catholic city, less than one in four people say they’re Catholic. Even the ones who do claim to be Catholic rarely attend church. As compared to the 1990s, there are 5 percent less Australian people that claim Catholicism.  

This plague that is causing people to question their church and their faith is affecting the whole world. It has been something that has been swept under the rug many times but now that people have much more of a voice, it is finally being dealt with. These scandals are being learned about more and more each day and keep surfacing after people come forward and say something. One of the major reasons that people affiliate with a religion is for the sense of unity. When things like this happen though, it destroys that sense of unity that people are looking and need. Scandals like these make it hard for people to trust religious people in power which threatens the church and everything the church stands for.

Sources:

Survey: More than a third of US Catholics question loyalty in wake of scandals. (2019, March 13). Retrieved from https://religionnews.com/2019/03/13/survey-more-than-a-third-of-u-s-catholics-question-loyalty-in-wake-of-scandals/

Voa, and Voa. “Australian Catholics Leave the Church As Sexual Abuse Cases Increase.” VOA, VOA, 13 Mar. 2019, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/australian-catholics-leave-the-church-as-sexual-abuse-cases-increase/4827415.html.

Using Lent to Make a Change

               During this time of year a topic that is very commonly discussed among Catholics is Lent and what a person will be “giving up” for Lent. Lent is a 40 day period of time in which Catholics partake in some sort of fast in order to pay penance to when Jesus journeyed for 40 days in the desert. The idea of this is that through fasting those who participate in Lent will become closer to Jesus and their faith. Much as aspects of religion have changed over time so has the religious aspect of Lent. This original idea of lent has evolved trough time so now many people do not participate in the traditional, medieval fasting rules, but instead decide to participate in Lent by either giving up on habits that they partake in or by adding new good habits to their routine in order to better themselves. Pope Francis spoke on this in his homily about Lent, saying “We need to free ourselves from the clutches of consumerism and the snares of selfishness, from always wanting more, from never being satisfied, and from a heart closed to the needs of the poor” (Pope). With much of our current society revolving around consumerism and materialism, Pope Francis reminds the public that it is important to remember that these are things that can be abstained from as well. Helping the poor is a value of Catholicism that has been present for many years, with Mother Teresa being a very large proponent of making it a daily service to others.

Along will all of the physical aspects of Lent, many also decide to participate in Lent through scripture reading. This allows another way for Catholics to change themselves through the time period of Lent as they become closer to their faith through the word of their god as well as they are able to share this with those around them. As state by Pope Francis “In his homily, Francis said that the 40 day period of Lent is a “wakeup call for the soul: to rediscover the direction of life” (Pope), this shows how even though lent has changed throughout the years it is still used in a new way in order to better the self through the will of god.

               The religious tradition of Lent overall is related to that of how Catholics use their religion in order to work towards social justice. Religion is extremely important to Catholics and a core value of Catholicism is taking care of all of “God’s children”. Pope Francis talked about in his speech that Lent is about freeing oneself from the trap that is selfishness and to open one’s heart to that of the needs of the poor. This is how Catholicism works towards social justice, by using their religion to help the poor and to see everyone as being created in the image of their god. Helping others through bettering oneself and by suppressing selfishness and materialism means that there will not only be a better connection to god for those who are Catholics, but also a better world for everyone.

“Pope Opens Lent with Call to Avoid ‘Clutches of Consumerism’.” Religion News Service, Associated Press, 7 Mar. 2019, religionnews.com/2019/03/06/pope-opens-lent-with-call-to-avoid-clutches-of-consumerism/.

Reese, Thomas. “Fasting from Food, Feeding on the Bible during Lent.” Religion News Service, 7 Mar. 2019, religionnews.com/2019/03/06/fasting-from-food-feeding-on-the-bible-during-lent/.

World religious leaders coming together

Throughout history, we have seen groups of people originating from different backgrounds and beliefs and choosing to come together for the good of society as a whole. A common example is the civil rights movement lead by Martin Luther King Jr. The fight for acceptance was achieved by everyone involved coming together to fight for something they all had in common: they wanted unity. They chose to put their differences aside and accept each other has human beings.

In the contemporary world, we have recently seen the same kind of compassion as “ President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints made a historic visit to the Vatican on Saturday, March 9” (Church News 1). Nelson met with Pope Francis and discussed motives they have in common, rather than focussing on differences in doctrine between the LDS church and Catholicism.

Seeing the willingness from the two religious leaders to meet and have a cordial conversation should be very comforting to those in the worldwide religious community. The truth is, we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves. Religious leaders, who we look up to and respect, coming together is really just the start to what this world is capable of.

President nelson said about Pope Francis, “What a sweet, wonderful man he is…and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving and capable leader” (Stack, Noyce 1). The two men discussed global relief and the two religions’ mutual efforts to relieve human suffering (1). They have the common desire to help people all around the world.

Bibliography

Church News, “ Watch: The Prophet and the Pope: President Russell M. Nelson’s historic meeting with Pope Francis”https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900059689/watch-theprophet-

and-the-pope-president-russell-m-nelsons-historic-meeting-with-pope-francis.html, March 12, 2019.

The Salt Lake Tribune, “Pope Francis, Russell Nelson share a hug, discuss global relief in first-ever meeting between a Latter-day Saint prophet and a Catholic pontiff” https://www.sltri

b.com/religion/2019/03/09/pope-francis-latter-day/ March 12, 2019.

Lent – A time to let go of your pacifier

The season of Lent is here.  Every year, Christian followers accept this old tradition which began in order to recognize and celebrate the 40 days Jesus spent wandering in the wilderness before he began His ministry.  The recognition of Lent is the first step on the Christian journey to Easter.  Lent is further celebrated by fasting or letting go of something; both customary events throughout the Bible to indicate our faith.  People throughout the world, even those who are not believers in the Christian faith let go of something because fasting or letting go has, quite easily, become part of the celebration of Lent – especially within American culture.

Reviewing the story in the Bible, Jesus is wandering in the desert in order to (primarily) prepare Himself for the journey ahead of Him.  He is greeted by Satan who tempts him to turn away from this journey.  After three years of ministry, Jesus’ path eventually leads Him to the cross and He dies a very painful death through crucifixion.  Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, there are many stories and parables about temptation.  This particular story of wandering in the wilderness appears in three of the gospels within the New Testament.  While in the wilderness, Jesus is tempted by Satan three times – Jesus is offered world authority, food, and the opportunity to test God’s promise (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus always says “no” to these temptations.  There are many versions, interpretations, and explanations for this Biblical story, but maybe saying “no” is the point.

Many of us have something we wish we could more consistently say “no” to.  Perhaps we would like to change our physical self – losing weight, eating healthier, or stop smoking.  Additionally, many of us have personal habits we would like to break – chewing our finger nails, being too judgmental while silently making judgements in our hearts and minds about others, or eliminating foul language when we speak.  Habits are often developed during times we are frightened or in pain; these habits calm and soothe us, offering comfort and positive feelings.  Habits are pacifiers which we create.

When a habit is developed, it can confine our thinking, our believing, and even our behavior.  During this season of Lent, here are some ideas to begin the long slow process of breaking habits, letting go, and making new habits:

*Fast from hurting words and say kind words

*Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude

*Fast from anger and be filled with patience

*Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope

*Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity

*Fast from pressures and be prayerful

*Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy

*Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others

*Fast from grudges and be reconciled

*Fast from words and be silent so you can listen

While it is, as most things are, easier said than done, throw out that pacifier.  During this season of Lent be mindful of saying “no” to old habits and replacing them with new habits.

Sources

Alexander, SJ, Andy and Waldron, Maureen McCann.  “Lent through the Lens of Grace.”  Loyola Press, https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/articles/articles/looking-at-lent-through-the-lens-of-grace

Phillips, Sarah. “What is Lent: Honoring the sacrifice of Jesus.” Crosswalk, March 6, 2006, https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/lent-101-honoring-the-sacrifice-of-jesus-1382259.html

Reese, Thomas. “Fasting from food, feeding on the Bible during Lent.”  Religion News Service, March 6, 2019, https://religionnews.com/…/fasting-from-food-feeding-on-the-bible-during- lent/

All in Community, All Against God

One of the goals of many Christian groups is Evangelism, or spreading the Christian Gospel.

A long-time evangelist, Jerry Jace, explains it this way, “We are called to be proclaimers of what has already been written” (Drace). Like Jace, many Christians use biblical scripture as a guide in exclaiming to others the joy that can be found by believing in God (Drace). Recently, some Atheist and Agnostic groups have mimicked many Evangelical ideas to propagate their beliefs. The article, “Atheist summits aim to find community, and power, in networking nonbelievers” on the Religious News Service web page, outlines the Christian methods Atheists and Agnostics are devising to spread secularism and disbelief in God (Adams, 2019).

                Summits are meetings of large groups of people to congregate and discuss issue concerning their organization or general topics of some sort. Members of such clubs as the IEAA (Inland Empire of Atheists and Agnostics) take part in annual atheist summits, where they have a collective goal to counter belief in higher powers by creating a larger network of Atheists (History of the IEAA). Summits copy religious retreats by giving communities places to come together and share interests.  Evan Clark, executive director of Atheist United Los Angeles, states “In religious communities, retreats, leadership development, community building and physical spaces of gathering is very common” (Adams, 2019). IEAA looks to apply the idea of communal meetups into their own organization, to better give a chance for different Atheist and Agnostic groups to come together and connect. A newer Atheist summit, SoCal Secular Leadership Summit, wrapped up their first ever summit March 1-3 (Adams, 2019).

                Weekly sermons encourage congregations to go out into the world and spread their personal beliefs. Copying this idea, Atheist groups at the SoCal Leadership Summit discussed how to widen their outreach. With action necessary for their cause, “they also spent time talking about how to attract members…” (Adams, 2019). New members enlarge the community of believers. Many Evangelical groups provided a sense of community with weekly lessons. Mimicking this, Atheist groups such as IEAA hope to start their own communal events (Adams, 2019).

Many other religious groups have frequent charities or public appearances which help to familiarize non-believers with the religion. IEAA seeks to copy this desire to be part of the group and have recognition for personal opinions. During the summit, one primary point of discussion was creating public conversations about Atheism and working with other religious groups on various projects (Adams, 2019). Phil Calderone of the IEAA and others of his organization want to drop Christ as the center of community and implicate interactions “with faith communities in his area makes more comfortable with secularism” (Adams, 2019). Excluding the very center of religious body while trying to wedge into groups of faith is a very unique approach to community. It is a great idea that the SoCal Secular Leadership Summit brought atheists and those with similar views together but the goal to mimic Christian evangelism to only feel included lacks they very purpose of community, that is to “Forgive as the Lord forgives you.”

Bibliography

Adams, H. (2019, March 8). Atheist summits aim to find community, and power, in networking nonbelievers. Retrieved from Religion News Service (RNS): https://religionnews.com/2019/03/08/atheist-summits-aim-to-find-community-and-power-in-networking-nonbelievers/

Drace, J. (n.d.). The Work of the Evangelist. Retrieved from R.G. Lee Society of Fellows: https://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/fellows/FALL97/Drace.htm

History of the IEAA. (n.d.). Retrieved from Inland Empire Atheists and Agnostics: http://ieatheists.org/about-us/history-of-the-ieaa/

Contraceptives vs Catholics

Sometimes our Constitution, both literal and moral, can contradict itself, forcing us and our court systems to determine the just solution to the discrepancies within it. Especially with the encroaching Presidential campaign, we often forget to do this and then we find ourselves with greater issues down the road, especially when these issues concern fundamental parts of the American spirit such as the First Amendment. Our discussion in class got me thinking about the crossroads between the First Amendment and a religion’s right to express its authority over business, especially when it comes to abortion or contraceptive services. We have freedom of religion, and yet not supremacy. We have freedom of expression, and withhold our institutions from expressing themselves in a detrimental way to others. How can we continue this in the future, and how is it affecting us now?

Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, believes that the government can step into businesses and compel them to dispense contraceptives for free or at a price. This problem has been explored already on college campuses, where some alumni have expressed their disdain at free contraceptive services, but on a federal level it gets trickier.

Both sides have something to say about it: “Sen. Kamala Harris of California believes the government ought to have that power [of compelling businesses to dispense contraceptives],” said creation.com, a Christian website. “She has made it one of her crusades […] she apparently will not tolerate American families who own businesses freely exercising any religion that teaches them it is evil to cooperate in the taking of an innocent life.”

Harris and many other Americans believe otherwise. “Covering birth control matters,” she tweeted recently. “This is an issue of security and economic justice for women.”

This issue is particularly-relevant because today is International Women’s Day, and both sides bring good points to the table: on one hand, many conservative Christians may feel as if their religion is being disrespected or discriminated against if the government steps in and compels them to offer contraceptives or advice for terminating pregnancies, but on the other hand a woman ought to choose if she wishes to prevent having a child.

There comes also a moral dilemma: many Christians believe premarital pregnancies are the result of immoral and irresponsible actions, whereas many women believe Christians are being overly-fundamental and oppressive in denying them the rights to contraceptives guaranteed to them under cases such as this year’s Philadelphia District Court decision in which President Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act’s provisions, some of which compelled the manufacture and distribution of contraceptive services, was upheld.

And so, we’re at a societal stalemate, in which one side must budge but both sides are unwilling. Will the Christians back down and allow progress to take hold, or will Harris remove her statements on requiring contraceptives to avoid alienating a large bloc of potential voters? I’m looking forward to the 2020 election, where decisions like this will be put to the test and, like with gay marriage five years ago, set a permanent course for the nation’s constitutional policy.

Jeffrey, Terence P. “Kamala Harris’ Crusade Against Freedom of Religion.” Creation.com, 6 March 2019.

Education and Overcoming Ignorance about Judaism

Over the last couple of years there has been a fluctuation of recorded Anti-Semitic acts in France. However, during the last year it has increased approximately 74%. Some instances include, “an attack on an 8-year-old schoolboy” and the “murder of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll, who was stabbed and burned in her apartment (Jacobsen).” Jax Jabobsen, wrote an article called, “Ant-Semitism is on the rise in France”, for the Religion News Service, where she addresses some of the problems in society. Throughout this article, it discusses how ignorance on religion, specifically Judaism, has lead to both Anti-Semitic acts and an inability to prevent them.

            Ignorance on Jewish beliefs, starting in schooling, has lead to people committing Ant-Semitic acts. In France there is a complete separation of church and state. One person said, “Religion is something that you’re constantly told to keep private (Jacobsen).” By not being able to talk about religious beliefs and practices in a safe environment, children and young adults have looked to outside sources to find the information they seek. Without factual information about different beliefs and practices of the Jewish culture, individuals have been open to outside influences. Social media has been one of the main sources of Anti-Semitism.  Posting conspiracy theories and exaggerating the reality of Jewish culture has lead to a misrepresented view of the Jewish community. Lies, such as Jews meeting together and drinking the blood of Christian children and that groups of Jews are trying to take control of the world, have been spread to all parts of France. Since this has been the only source of information that people have received, “there is a sort of kind of public tolerance nowadays for anti-Semitic tropes and claims (Jacobsen).” The ignorance of the people has lead them to be open about their opinions and have allowed “people to feel emboldened to act out on there sentiments (Jacobsen).” Ignorance of the basic beliefs of Jews have lead to violence.

            Much of the problems that France is facing can be overcome by awareness. Traditionally, Jews have been unwilling to conform to society. They want to be set apart from others and be allowed to act on their beliefs. As they are set apart of the normal, they become targets. One of the main problems is the police in France need to be able to recognize when the Jewish beliefs and culture are being attacked. “Police know what child pornography is. They know what homophobia is. They should know what anti-Semitism is.” It is fairly simple. The people need to be educated and recognize when Jews are being verbally attacked. If we can stop it at the source, then we might be able to overcome the persecution found in France and prevent if from happening again.

            Overall, it comes down to the education. In order to overcome the trials that the Jewish culture now faces, people need to be educated on the beliefs and culture of the Jewish people. If we start young most individual won’t be able to be influenced by the social media and will know the truth. The second part of overcoming the trial in France and the world is being able to recognize Anti-Semitism. As we learn and recognize when people are making false claims, we can overcome this type of discrimination. It begins with our actions now.