Bus Segregation

2328 Words5 Pages

Religion has been one of the driving forces in society that people look to for advice, for direction and merely for guidance on how to handle certain situations as well as live their everyday lives. However, religion has also been a force of burden and somewhat a problem for some individuals. When I say that it is somewhat a burden and a problem for some people, I am referring to the freedom of expressing individuality and sexuality as well as equal rights between genders. Homosexuality has been frowned upon in multiple religions, as well as the little rights that women have and are given inside multiple religions. “Religion is a huge contributing factor or a way that social norms are sacralized within a religious system.” (Coukos) To decode …show more content…

It has now come to my attention that segregation on public transportation is still going on. When you think about segregation regarding transportation, you normally think back to when Rosa Parks wouldn’t give up her seat on the bus to a white person, and it was merely race related. I had no idea that this kind of discrimination was still going on, with that being said, the discrimination isn’t against color or race, but against gender. In the article, “Balancing Women’s Rights and Religious Rights: the issue of bus segregation” by Mariam Feldheim, it explains the type of discrimination that women in Israel face. “Founded in 1998, the Mehadrin bus lines adhere to strict separation of men and women: women must board the bus at the back and sit only at the back, and men at the front. In addition, women must adhere to strict modesty rules in their attire that is; for example, wear long skirts, no pants, and sleeves. “ (Feldheim) Women that refused to use this type of transportation were given very few other options. The other ways discussed were that the transportation would take twice as long to arrive at your destination, or there would be many stops during so women often took the “Mehadrin” style transportation and just dealt with the gender discrimination. This goes hand in hand with how a religion can be functional on a societal level, …show more content…

Most religions have such specific guidelines regarding what you can and can’t do, who you can and can’t be, etc. so it makes it hard for one to truly express who they are. Zuckerman states “ Individuals are socialized into their beliefs by people close to them.” This poses a threat to both gender and sexuality. In terms of gender, if growing up in a super Christian family that has not experienced anyone coming out about whether they are a homosexual or not, it may be harder for you to be accepted in that area or inside your family because they have lived by a certain lifestyle that has not accepted homosexuals for so long. Although the world is changing and there are Christian families that do accept Homosexuality, strong Christians that haven’t had to accept and understand Homosexuality, will be more against the idea. In a source called “Shaping attitudes about homosexuality: The role of religion and cultural context” it states “economic development and political stability may play a major role in shaping public opinion towards non-normative groups and behaviors, like homosexuality.” Homosexuality is feared by most religions and is looked at as unjust, especially the Christian faith. I am a Christian, however I don’t agree with a lot of the rules that the Christian religion has set forth, so in other words I am not a strong

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