Religious Pluralism and Expression

By Evelyn Lillemoe

Religious pluralism was a common theme throughout our trip. We saw it in many forms, but one of the most basic, and yet for me most influential, forms was in clothing. We saw lots of different religious clothing, the ones standing out most to me being turbans, hijabs, and other forms of head coverings. There was an abundance of religious clothing being worn with such ease and comfort that I truly had never seen to that extent before. That was really powerful to me. In the U.S., people who wear non-christian religious garments are often subject to judgement, discrimination, hate, and more. Often, these people are also subject to attacks and hate crimes. This horrifying reality makes many people rightfully afraid to wear their religious garments. This fear alone is terrible, but it also makes many people stop wearing their religious garments.

Religion is something so powerful and so central to many peoples lives, and hiding that religion, not being able to express it, and not being able to follow one’s religious customs, is such a horrible sacrifice people of minority religions in the U.S. have to make just to have basic safety. And even then they are still at high risk of discrimination and attacks because of their religion. Just before our trip I was talking to a girl in high school who opened up to me about her struggles with wearing a hijab and having such immense fear that she does not wear it anymore. Something so important to her was taken away. That opportunity to simply wear a hijab on her head was stolen from her and is stolen from so many others in the U.S. That’s why it was so beautiful to see how people could openly and comfortably wear their religious garments in India.

It really is such a simple thing, but it is something that is not present in the United States. That cooperation with and accepting of other religions should be the norm. The U.S. claims to be a place where everyone has opportunities but that is clearly not the case. The U.S. needs to change so that religious minorities can freely and fully express their religion without fear of so much as an out of place glance. I hope someday the U.S. will be a safe and welcoming place to all religions, but to make that happen, we have a lot of work to do. I hope to help this change by learning about different religions, speaking out about religious discrimination and religion based hate crimes, calling out Islamophobia, antisemitism, and other forms of religious discrimination when I see it, and making an effort to educate others in my life who are un- or ill- informed about other religions and religious discrimination.