Editing Discrimination (section)

===Religious beliefs===
{{Main|Religious discrimination|Religious exclusivism}}

{{Status of religious freedom}}
[[File:Lotshampa refugees in Beldangi Camp.jpg|thumb|In the 1990s, Bhutan [[Bhutanese refugees|expelled its Hindu population or forced it to leave the country]] in order to preserve [[Bhutan]]'s Buddhist culture and identity.]]
Religious discrimination is valuing or treating people or groups differently because of what they do or do not believe in or because of their feelings towards a given [[religion]]. For instance, the Jewish population of Germany, and indeed a large portion of Europe, was subjected to discrimination under [[Adolf Hitler]] and his Nazi party between 1933 and 1945. They were forced to live in ghettos, wear an identifying star of David on their clothes, and sent to concentration and death camps in rural Germany and Poland, where they were to be tortured and killed, all because of their Jewish religion. Many laws (most prominently the Nuremberg Laws of 1935) separated those of Jewish faith as supposedly inferior to the Christian population.

Restrictions on the types of occupations that [[Jews|Jewish]] people could hold were imposed by Christian authorities. Local rulers and church officials closed many professions to religious Jews, pushing them into marginal roles that were considered socially inferior, such as tax and rent collecting and [[moneylending]], occupations that were only tolerated as a "[[necessary evil]]".<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20050721005923/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0718_050718_ashkenazim.html Did Discrimination Enhance Intelligence of Jews?]". National Geographic News. July 18, 2005 </ref> The number of Jews who were permitted to reside in different places was limited; they were concentrated in [[ghetto]]s and banned from owning land. In Saudi Arabia, non-[[Muslim]]s are not allowed to publicly practice their religions and they cannot enter [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]].<ref name="mackeymecca">[[Sandra Mackey]]'s account of her attempt to enter Mecca in {{cite book|title=The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom|last=Mackey|first=Sandra|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=1987|isbn=978-0-393-32417-4|pages=63–64}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, private non-Muslim religious gatherings might be raided by the [[religious police]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108492.htm|title=Saudi Arabia|last=Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information|first=Bureau of Public Affairs|date=2008-09-19|website=2001-2009.state.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}}</ref> In Maldives, non-Muslims living and visiting the country are prohibited from openly expressing their religious beliefs, holding public congregations to conduct religious activities, or involving Maldivians in such activities. Those expressing religious beliefs other than Islam may face imprisonment of up to five years or house arrest, fines ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 rufiyaa ($320 to $1,300), and deportation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maldives |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/maldives/ |website=United States Department of State |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref>

In a 1979 consultation on the issue, the United States commission on civil rights defined religious discrimination in relation to the [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] which are guaranteed by the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]]. Whereas religious civil liberties, such as the right to hold or not to hold a religious belief, are essential for [[Freedom of Religion]] (in the United States as secured by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]), religious discrimination occurs when someone is denied "equal protection under the law, equality of status under the law, equal treatment in the administration of justice, and equality of opportunity and access to employment, education, housing, public services and facilities, and public accommodation because of their exercise of their right to religious freedom".<ref>U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1979: ''Religious discrimination. A neglected issue. A consultation sponsored by the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Washington. D.C., April 9–10, 1979''</ref>