Describe Asian American Religions and Institutions

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Asian American Religion and Institutions
Religious beliefs, value, and practices vary from one community to the other and are a source of identity for a given group of people. The American society is known for its diversity in the social, cultural and political backgrounds owing to the diverse origin of its numerous communities. A country that boasts of a democracy emulated all over the world is expected to observe or rather have standards of religious tolerance. On the contrary, structural differences of race deeply rooted within the American society denies minorities their privilege and right to freedom of worship and expression of their religiosity. The White supremacist refuse to let go of their oppressive values that put them above the people of color by refusing to accept other people’s religious practices and only giving recognition to Christianity or its splinter groups (Jonathan, pg. 1). Historically, Christianity is closely attached to the oppressive rule of the White community over the colored races, an ideology that is subtly used to undermine other religions and their freedom. The Asian American religions and institutions, for instance, have been on the receiving end of religious oppression that has in some occasions spiraled out of control or mutated into extremist activities of violence. The two aspects arising from religious differences and supremacy battles of race take various forms as witnessed in the establishment of Asian religions and institutions in America.
According to Melvin Urofsky, the United States government advocates for religious tolerance as a means towards individual religious freedom that is devoid of federal or state interference (Melvin, pg. 3). However, the common assumption falls short of its actualization as the white community, which predominantly practices Christianity, enjoys more freedom and privileges compared to the colored groups. The building of Asian religious institutions in America proves to be a very challenging process owing to the strong opposition forged by the White residents living in the intended sites for construction. The His Lai Si, a Chinese Buddhist Monastery in North America took ten years to complete due to opposition from the mainly white neighborhood (Jonathan, pg. 2). Under the disguise of traffic, residential congestion, noise, and disruption of the natural sceneries the White residents petition local governments who impose sanctions against the construction of the Asian religious institutions. It is a form of religious oppression that spreads across all forms of Asian religions in the United States and infringes on both the individual and communal rights to perform and exercise their religious freedoms.
The dominant ...