Challenges to Philanthropy

Challenges of Minority Religious Communities

Religious Discrimination

Another challenge that comes with being a minority religion is heavy religious discrimination. According to a survey done by the American Jewish Committee, a Jewish nonprofit that is working counter anti-semitism and support Jewish Americans, anti-semitism is not as recognized by the general public as it is among the discriminated and thus this problem is not adequately being recognized by the public. The second most-popular non-Christian religion is Islam, of which its followers are likely to be discriminated against (Eckart). 63% of Americans have said “that being Muslim hurts someone’s chances for advancement in American society at least a little, including 31% who say it hurts their chances a lot” (Masci). General hatred from Americans can marginalize these groups and make it much more difficult for them to set up and publicize communities.

Government Challenges

As well, it doesn’t help these groups that the government has historically and currently is Christian and although there is separation between church and state, there are still deep rooted Christian ideals and the people making decisions are majority Christian. In fact, almost all US presidents have been Christian, with none coming from religious backgrounds other than Christianity. As well currently, 82% of congress is Christian, meaning that the laws are being decided on by people with Christian ideologies and beliefs. (Pew Research Center). Due to the current administration, it has become harder to give towards islamic philanthropy because there has been a shift in focus towards anti-terrorism laws, which have made it harder to help out in islamic countries (Lynch). These factors combine to make it harder for non-christian philanthropies to thrive and move society forward.

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