The United States was founded on the basis that those who were escaping the British could have religious freedom and now have to suffer from the taxes by the British. The puritans were the first example of individuals looking for religious freedom in the midst of a growing government that could not separate the clergy and state. The first amendment gave the right of freedom of religion to all citizens of the United States. It took several years after the whole United States Government was formed for the officials to come to a consensus on how much religion should affect the sanctity of politics in the new world that they were establishing. They came to an understanding that religion should be chosen by the individual and expressed to their own extent. As well as the choice to not make a set religion mandatory in the country (A state decreed religious affiliation).

Many countries around the world chose to affiliate their nation with certain religious groups. Most of North and West Africa are affiliated with Islam, as well as the middle east. Most countries have a majority of the countries having primarily a population that associates with Christianity. Currently, there are 20 major religions being practiced around the whole world. From the older religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., to some of the newer religions such as Bahá’í and Rastafari which have emerged in the last century. Each has a unique role in the locations that they are currently being practiced in. There are also major religions that do not have a distinct holy individual like Jesus within Christianity, or Allah within Islam. Atheism is also a very popular religion situated in many countries spanning the globe in where there is no higher being and that is man made and that it is meaningless.

There are many issues that blend in to create a large web of intersectionality between themes of racism and prejudice to religion and faith. While in the first amendment it claims to grant the freedom of religion to every American citizen. It is questioned heavily in the viewpoint of the government and even the citizens of the United States. I wouldn’t state that we are being forced to conform but I will bring up the argument that religious affiliation does matter heavily in terms of politics. When an elected official is being sworn in they must place their hand on a central religious text of their faith. In the terms of the most recent presidential election, the President of the United States during his inauguration was sworn in by reciting an oath with his hand placed on the bible because his religious affiliation was with Christianity. While the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019, Ilhan Omar, was sworn into office by placing her hand on a Quran because her religious affiliation is with Islam.

In many cases around the United States, individuals have been confined to dress a certain way or wear their hair in a specific nature when many style themselves to appropriately follow their religious affiliation. In the neighboring county of mine, Prince William County in Virginia, two teens were sent home for donning a hijab to their classes at Freedom High School prompting significant backlash from lots of individuals. While religious freedom may be respected in the eyes of the laws. There are still many instances where it is not respected by other individuals. Hate and religion are two things that most would not normally be linked to each other but in the recent years there have been an increasing amount of hate crimes that are resulting because of prejudice of an individuals religion. After 9/11, there was a sudden backlash and hateful remarks directed towards Muslims because the perpetrators were Islamic terrorists. On October 27, 2018 a Jewish Synagogue was the victim of a mass shooting where 11 people passed away and 6 were wounded.

These hate crimes may not be supported be supported by the government but their is no protection given to those that practice religions that may not be as common as some others. This leads to a sad dynamic where certain religions are persecuted more than others. This is sad to see, especially in a country where the freedom of religion is literally their first amendment in the constitution.

The Second Amendment in the Constitution of the United States of America states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (1789)” This amendment was made for the purpose of being able to form a militia in the 1700s because of the threat that loomed over the colonies from the British empire. Also it was a large way to keep military power under civil control. To many in the United States now, it is a stupid addition to the constitution. The threat of invasion from the British ceased almost 3 centuries ago, while new threats have come into fruition like terrorism and gang violence. Weapons have changed in their necessity from many years ago. Every time there is a mass shooting in the United States, there is a sudden call for gun control and new legislation to counter the threat of gun violence but nothing ever happens to end the ability for those to obtain guns. This is because of the second amendment.

The 5 deadliest shootings in America are the Las Vegas Shooting, Orlando nightclub shooting, Virginia Tech shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, Sutherland Springs church shooting. 4 out of the 5 were committed in the last decade and all were committed using a semi automatic rifle, pistol, or a revolver (or a combination between them). The most fatal was the Las Vegas shooting where 59 people (including the shooter) were killed during a music festival. The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting was one of the most publicized around the world because of how young the victims were and how many died. So many mass shootings happen at schools, that children live in constant fear. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, children would duck under desks in an attempt to shield themselves from the direct hit of a nuclear weapon. Currently, kids lock their door, turn off all the lights, and grab anything that can be considered a weapon. The closest that anybody has gotten to establishing real legislation to counter gun control or even just better gun regulations was after the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting where 16 students and 1 faculty member were shot and killed. Those who were victims in the shooting became known as the Parkland kids and they advocated for gun rights across the nation.

Gun regulation is another option for those who choose to not support the full disbanding of the current gun laws that are in place. Semi automatics are legal in so many states but those are the primary weapons of the shooters that commit mass shootings. So by regulating the attachments that allow for semi automatic weapons to become full automatic weapons such as bump stocks and larger magazines to increase the faster output of bullets from the weapons. It seems that in the media it is a party issue with Democrats being for the de-establishment of the current gun laws in the United States and Republicans being for the continuation of the current gun laws in the United States.

The Gun Control issue also brings up the much discussed answer of mental health and age restrictions. Who should be allowed to purchase and possess firearms? Should it be those who are 18 and straight of high school possibly with or without a degree or GED? Should people who have been diagnosed with mental illness be allowed to be in the possession of guns? This is a debate in a lot of America with those who are for gun regulation stating that there needs to be greater assistance given to those with mental illness or just better laws to find those with mental illness. Stronger background checks need to be given to properly ensure that those who are trying to get possession of firearms are adequately able to handle it and are not a danger to society because that is what leads to mass shootings happening. Gun supporters always state that its not the gun who kills people but its people who kill people but rather than giving them adequate mental assistance we stick them in jail or give them medication in hopes that it will solve the issue rather than us having to address it properly. Gun control will forever be a controversial topic because no side is willing to concede.

LGBTQQIP2SAA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit (2S), androgynous and asexual. Although, most individuals refer to the acronym as LGBTQ+ as a more condensed and centralized acronym. LGBTQ+ rights have always been an extremely controversial topic with same sex marriage only being allowed by law in 2015 in the United States. It was always something that was never discussed and if it was it was met with extreme punishment and violence. Religion was a large reason as to why this was so widely opposed especially in the later years of America. With a large amount of Americans that practiced Christianity, they based the fact that same sex relationships are wrong. While it does not explicitly say anything against same sex relationships or interactions in the bible, many interpreters of the bible took different verses to mean that it was morally wrong and that it is a sin. This is true in many different religions such as Islam and Hinduism. Although, not all in those religions view those in the LGBT community as being sinners or haram. It is a small group in every religion while most have the own views on the matter.

Many would say that the beginning of the gay liberation movement in American history was the Stonewall Riots at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. A bar in New York called the Stonewall Inn Bar was raided by police and then a series of spontaneous and violent protests against the police intervention erupted inside and outside the building. It lasted 6 days and was extremely violent. It ended with lots of press on the issue and is considered by most as the start of the modern day LGBT movement. Every year, since the incident there has been a pride parade and different advocacy groups that actively support the matter and petition for more rights. The United States has expressed support for the LGBT community especially in the global sector with them supporting declarations made in 2008 and 2011 by the United Nations in regards to LGBT rights. Although, there is heavy backlash in regards to the extent of rights for members of the community. They face discrimination even to this day with many being killed because of their sexuality. There are organizations like the Westboro Baptist Church that actively tries to hurt LGBT people. The younger people in the community also may be forced to go to conversion camps because there is no legal precedent outlawing the abuse of LGBT individuals except for the baseline discrimination laws.

In military services around the world, sexual orientation and gender expression is a topic that is changing significantly. In 2017, Donald Trump (President of the Unites States) decommissioned all transgender individuals in all branches of the military. This was a heavy hit to the Transgender community who only wants to be regarded as their chosen gender. Multiple lawsuits came out against the Trump-Pence Administration saying that the ban was unconstitutional and is a hate crime. The ban was implemented on April 12, 2019 much to the discontent of transgender troops that previously served in the military. There are still currently a large amount of legal battles that are going on to fight this discriminatory ban.

Depending on where in the world you look into, LGBT rights may be extremely advanced or extremely draconian measures to ensure that they have no rights. In 12 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, the death penalty is possible to those who participate in sexual activities with someone of the same sex. Although, only in 6 countries is it actually enforced which are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, northern Nigeria, Sudan, and southern Somalia (as well as parts occupied by Al-Shabaab). This is mostly due to these countries practicing sharia law which is a religious law code that is an extremely strict interpretation of the Quran. While, many of these countries have laws in place to kill those participating in same sex activities, most do not actually apply those practices. In many European countries, same sex marriage has been legalized or even just civil union. Hate crimes are still committed in many of these nations due to it not being globally recognized as an “acceptable” practice. Globally, there are few countries who have actually issued laws protecting the rights of those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Feminism has always been a sore topic in the eyes of the American society. It has always had a negative connotation to its name. Women who consider themselves feminists are “sluts” and “whores” and Men who consider themselves feminists are “pussies” and “wimps”. These connotations were extremely detrimental in trying to normalize the equality of women in comparison to men. It wasn’t until the 19th amendment on August 18, 1920 where women were given the right to vote. This is unacceptable because the United States government barely acknowledged the fact that women should be considered equal as men under the law years after they stated their initial plight with not being considered equal.

In the beginning stages of the feminist movement, women started small clubs around their neighborhood and community that slowly grew into a worldwide. They started to talk about issues that did not just affect themselves but many other women who were struggling with the same issues involving their husbands and overall daily lives. These women tried to express it on a larger scale but were shot down almost immediately by men all across the nation some even with their own husbands and men in their lives. This was the big start to the feminist movement when women realized that they can’t exactly express their beliefs without being dismissed almost immediately.

The feminist movement can be described as having 3 prominent waves. The first was focused mostly on abolition and suffrage and lasted from 1830-1920, although they did tackle other issues like marital rape, property, and the early efforts for birth control. Abolition movement and the Suffrage movement worked almost hand in hand. Key thinkers and outright activists like Mary Wollstonecraft who advocated for the vindication of the rights of women believed and fought for the movement. She believed that women aren’t pieces of property and objects that can be traded, they are human and deserve to be treated with respect. Margaret Sanger was an obstetrics nurse who opened the first birth control clinic in 1916, she was almost immediately arrested for distributing contraception in Harlem, New York. She founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 which later turned into the modern day Planned Parenthood. The most prominent first wave advocates were Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They were both abolitionist and suffragists. They started the Women’s National Loyal League which fought for women’s rights to vote and the outlawing of slavery. They campaigned heavily for education reform to allow for women and former slaves from elementary school to high institutions. All their efforts resulted in African American men and women being able to vote.

The second wave movement fought the issues of Patriarchy, Birth Control, and Employment in benefit of women and lasted from the 1960s to the 1980s. It also involved the issue of Abortion and the Politics of Marriage. This wave was the most outspoken in the nation, there were groups established that advocated for a wide variety of individuals. Betty Friedan was an influential figure during this period, she wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) which brought housewives’ restlessness and depression to attention. She was also the Founder & President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). They recently just had the Women’s strike for Equality which was for the 50th anniversary of the 19th amendment. Another advocate for this wave was Shirley Chisholm and Gloria Steinem. Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to congress in 1968 and she was the first women to run for the Democratic party presidential nominee in 1972 (She was supported by NOW). Gloria Steinem was a pro-choice individual who fought for equal marriage and against rape culture. She was an undercover playboy bunny that exposed harassment and objectification within the community (1963).

The third wave of the feminist movement mostly focuses on the internet, sexuality, and just the global movement. It has been going on since the 1990s and is still in progress today. Many different issues are talked about in this wave such as the Slut Walk that targets rape culture. The reproductive freedom of women especially in low income communities. The wage gap and how the Equal Rights Amendment cover the equal pay of women for the same qualifications as men. As well as the education for girls by advocating for girls who are menstruating and their ability to learn and desegregation of schools. This wave doesn’t exactly have leaders than push the movement forward, the internet is the main forum where all these issues come into light.