Are YOU part of a vulnerable religious minority?

Last updated on: January 2, 2016 at 11:21 pm by Dan Peterson

Are YOU part of a vulnerable religious minority? 2016-01-02T23:21:49-07:00 Dan Peterson

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Martin Niemöller in 1952
(Wikimedia Commons)

“Americans place a higher priority on preserving the religious freedom of Christians than for other faith groups, ranking Muslims as the least deserving of the protections, according to a new survey”:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/de486b3d64154d0baae9f04fba0a4094/ap-norc-poll-religious-rights-us-christians-most-valued

Understandable, in a way.

And, in fact, too many Latter-day Saints, I’m sorry to report, have been quite serene about (or even supportive of) recent suggestions that Muslims be singled out and barred at the American border; that Muslims, specifically, be obliged to register with the federal government; and that Muslims in particular be barred — simply for the crime of being Muslim — from ever serving in the American presidency.

But guess which American religious minority ranks only marginally above Muslims as a potential target for publicly-supported government discrimination?

Have a look at the survey report itself to find out. And, if you want confirmation, see this little piece.

In this context, it seems appropriate, once again, to quote the famous passage from the German Lutheran pastor and theologian Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), a prisoner between 1937 and 1945 at the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps, about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, one by one, group after group.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

And a famous passage from Robert Bolt’s play A Man for All Seasons:

WILLIAM ROPER: So now you’d give the Devil benefit of law!
THOMAS MORE: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
ROPER: I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast — man’s laws, not God’s — and if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it — d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil the benefit of the law, for my own safety’s sake.

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