Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

The Islamic republic of Pakistan is an Islamic state, but also home to many non-Muslim residents. There have been a number of unfortunate incidents where Christians were targeted, losing their lives, property, and fundamental rights. Due to the religious differentiation, Christians have been subject to discrimination by the majority groups, often for personal vendetta where manipulation of their social status as a minority religious group is exercised as a primary weapon. This study explores the socio-economic conditions of Christians as minority citizens, primarily focusing on the level of discrimination they face in the employment sector and living conditions. To investigate these aspects, quantitative research design was adopted and questionnaires were used to collect data from 240 Christian persons from F-7 and F-6 sectors of Islamabad using cluster sampling technique. The data obtained from the population was further statistically analyzed to assemble the data according to the requirements of this research. The major findings of the research showed that Christians in Islamabad are generally more dissatisfied with the government’s ignorance towards Christians’ economic conditions rather than the inequalities imposed by other members of the society. The results revealed that most of the Christian community is working as janitors, sweepers, low skilled workers, and less prestigious manual labour where they are not paid enough. Moreover, the Christian community is living in very poor conditions, usually in slums where there is lack of proper sanitation and hygiene. Very few Christians in Pakistan find the opportunity to experience upward mobility in social hierarchy.