ACKNOWLEDGING OUR ADVANTAGES:RELIGIOUS DIVERSITYACCEPTANCE OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IS A PRIVILEGEAdrik Dutta Investigations Editor18VOL. 91 ISSUE I
Alona Miller“Kill All Muslims” -- this message was graffitiedonto the walls of Eastern Kentucky University, nextto an ominous date. “Send All Zionists to The GasChamber”-- this phrase was plastered on the wallsof colleges from University of Maryland to Universityof California.Across the globe, religious minorities are beingpersecuted. In comparison, Shaker Heights possessesconsiderable religious diversity and tolerance.Efforts to document religiosity suggest that 52percent of people in Shaker Heights are religious.In the rest of Cleveland, 51 percent of people are religious.In Ohio, 44 percent are religious. While therate of religious identification in Shaker Heights ison par with Cleveland’s and slightly greater thanOhio’s, the diversity of religious identity is greater.On any street in Shaker, you might find find followersof Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism,while across Ohio, 73 percent of adults identifyas Christian, according to the Pew Research Center.Only 1 percent of Ohio adults identify as Jewish orMuslim, and slightly more than 1 percent identifyas Hindu.Ezaiyah Jolly, a sophomore and a resident of theMercer area said, “My neighborhood is extremelyunique. Most of my neighbors are Jewish, but rightaround this area there are Muslims, Hindus andChristians I know.”Sophomore Lia Polster is Jewish and observesreligious services and practices weekly. “I definitelythink that Shaker, Beachwood and this area ofCleveland is a very religiously diverse and inclusivearea,” she said. She also said the Jewish communityhere is larger than in other places she’s visited.Alexander Palmeri, a youth minister at NewCommunity Bible Fellowship, a church in neighboringCleveland Heights, said that he sees diversitywithin religious communities as he travels throughShaker Heights. “For one, there is a big Jewish community,”he said. “I also see some Muslims, which isanother example of diversity.”Palmeri said that there is diversity within theChristian community. “Most of all, I notice a significantnumber of denominations in the Protestantcircle.There’s Baptist churches, Methodist Churches,Lutheran Churches, so I definitely agree thatShaker is religiously diverse,” he said.Polster said she is comfortable speaking abouther religion in Shaker. “I don’t feel like I’m judgedwhen I talk about my religion, and I think most peopledon’t have negative views of religions because ofour religious diversity,” she said.The privilege of religious diversity in Shaker isunique, as there are other parts of the world stillSpring 2021 THE SHAKERITE 19
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