The Shakerite VOL 91 ISSUE I

world outside,” he said.
Polster proposed one solution
to religious intolerance: adding
more varied and diverse religious
material to school curricula. “The
only religious material I see in
school is our English teachers
saying, ‘Do you get this Bible reference?’
And I think that’s hard
for people who either are not religious
or follow a different religion,”
Polster said. She said that
the curriculum should match the
diversity in the community. “In
time, hopefully this can inspire
other schools around the state
and the country to adopt a more
inclusive curriculum,” she said.
While circumstances in Mexico
and India demonstrate severe
religious inequality, in America,
religious intolerance is appearing
Data from bestplaces.net, photo
by Hilary Shakelton.
on college campuses.
The University of Indiana conducted
a multi-institutional study
on the frequency of students facing
religious discrimination. The
sample size included students
of multiple religions and ranged
from undergraduate colleges to
graduate schools. They were each
asked if they experienced religious
intolerance in the past year.
One in four students reported experiencing
at least one instance
of religious intolerance in the
past year, with non-Christian relgions
such as followers of Islam,
Judism and Hinduism making up
the majority of that number.
As SHHS graduates enter college
and the workforce, they must
be aware of the differences between
the Shaker community and
those they are entering. Having
little experience with religious
intolerance means students may
not know how to deal with being
a witness to or victim of persecution.
“If students are met with general
hate speech, try to report to
counselors or authority, and understand
we are in a world that
doesn’t always understand your
beliefs,” Palmeri said.
Palmeri stressed the importance
of having a supportive community
to talk to. Said Palmeri,
“Try to find support in social circles
or your religious community,
and don’t be bothered by the opinion
of others.
Spring 2021 THE SHAKERITE 21