Prompt: What are the implications of banning religious items of clothing or jewelry? Do you think banning religious symbols has any value or is this just removing basic rights/freedoms?
To counter xenophobia and anti-religious sentiments, many nations have decided to ban religious symbolism present in clothing or accessories. Most of the countries that have implemented the aforementioned laws are progressive European and Scandinavian nations who, in fear of religious hate crimes have taken this preventive measure to make religion invisible.
A common characteristic seen in all the countries that have implemented said laws is the substantial public dissatisfaction and many religious communities have expressed concern over the line between secularism and bias in the treatment of different religions. Critics of the laws have also voiced out their opinion on the hypocritical nature of these countries that only sought to bring about these laws following an increase in numbers of immigrant and refugee populations in the country. Statistically, a large percentage of the immigrant and refugee population is comprised of Muslims. The vast majority of the population comes in search of viable job opportunities that can lead to a better standard of living owing to the fact that many of them come from impoverished and/or unstable nations. However, following a similar immigration in the 80s, the mentioned country is also home to 3rd and 4th generation immigrants that have integrated well into a society that – to them – is building walls around them.
Banning religious symbolism in clothing most prominently affects followers of the religion of Islam, because of their scriptures that preach such attire to maintain modesty. It is then no surprise that Muslims in countries such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Denmark have started to feel further marginalized from the country’s concurrent communities. Terrorist attacks in recent years carried out by Islamist fanatics have led to the perception of communalized radicalization and has added fuel to the surging anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe. Though on the larger scale of the matter, the issue gets cut down to laws and state policies, the nuances of the issue such as religious clothing in school and freedom to practice religion freely have been greatly infringed by the said ban. It also creates difficulty in passing down cultural practices and traditions from one generation to another by lawing down said impositions. restrictions on the freedom to practice religion freely can cross the line on restrictions on freedom to believe, this is a dangerous notion which questions fundamental human rights.