Abstract
This study examines religious minorities’ experiences of bias, discrimination, and stereotyping in the United States. The purpose of this research is to develop an analytical and conceptual qualitative narrative regarding two cases that occurred in Dearborn, Michigan, between 2010 and 2011. Both of the events examined in this case study involve Christian missionaries and evangelists seeking to convert Dearborn’s Muslim community to Christianity and intending to speak or act directly against the city’s Muslim population. Dearborn is unique in the American context as one of the largest populations of Muslims, and due to this fact, has been the repeated target of discrimination. The cases at hand involve intergroup conflict, which occurred in close succession. The research demonstrates that both instances of targeted religious antagonism are associated, either directly or indirectly, in a manner that motivates civic actors to engage in analogous acts of contention, necessitating a more in-depth contextual evaluation of the actor’s motivations. The study involves questions of religious liberty, religious pluralism, the rights of religious minorities and their imbalances, conflict, collaboration, and social and intergroup relationships. The study begins with the case of an evangelical Christian organization named Acts 17 Apologetics. The second event examines Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center. The focus of this article is to analyze the effects on a community when minority groups are targeted for religious conversion and proselytization, as well as the variety of interfaith and governmental responses in the community to these cases.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Religion, Discrimination, Prejudice, Stereotypes, Interfaith and Intergroup Relations, Government, Society
