Historic Oppression

Religious oppression is prevalent and common when looking at both recent history and the present day. The following are only a few examples, so if there is a specific group or event not on here, it is not because it is not important.

In 1838, the Governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs, ordered the expulsion of all Mormons from the state. Three days later, 17 Mormons, including children, were murdered at Haun’s Mill. In 1844, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, was murdered by an angry mob. This is an example of how the government violated the First Amendment by persecuting a religion in favor of another. 

In the late 1800s, assimilation schools were used to “Americanize” Native American children. According to Sarah K. Elliot, “The schools prohibited the children from speaking their tribal languages, required them to wear American-style dress and hairstyles, and made them give up their native religion for Christianity.” This is another example of how the government violated the First Amendment by weaponizing education in the same way Patrick Henry attempted to in the late 1700s. 

This one is actually very interesting, it’s the demonization of atheists in the 1950s. Instead of oppressing one religion, this government regime heavily endorsed Christianity and turned Atheists into a target for fear and hatred. In an attempt to fight communism on the home front during the cold war, President Eisenhower inserted Christianity into daily life, trying to equate being a patriotic American with being a Christian. He had Congress add “Under God” to the pledge of allegiance and replaced the United States motto, “E Pluribus Unum”, with “In God We Trust.” These are all direct violations of the First Amendment’s decree that Congress would not favor one religion over another.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, anti-Muslim sentiments grew exponentially. In 2001, there were at least 480 anti-muslim incidents, including assaults, attacks on mosques, and other hate crimes against Muslims. In 2017, President Trump attempted to implement travel bans against Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, predominantly Muslim countries. This was initially struck down by federal courts as violating the First Amendment, but in 2018, the third version of this ban went through, with the inclusion of Venezuela and North Korea.