COMMUNITY COHESION 1 :
Key Words
Community Cohesion – A common vision and shared sense of belonging for all
groups in society;
Discrimination – Treating people less favourably because of their
ethnicity/gender/colour/class;
Ethnic Minority – A member of an ethnic group (race) which is much smaller
than the majority group;
Interfaith Marriage – Marriage where the husband and wife are from different
religions;
Multi-ethnic society – many different races and cultures living together in one
society;
Multi-faith society – many different religions living together in one society;
Prejudice – believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing
them;
Racial Harmony – Different ethnic groups living together peacefully;
Racism – the belief that some races are superior to others;
Religious freedom – the right to practise your religion and change your religion;
Religious pluralism – accepting all religions as having an equal right to co-exist.
Sexism – discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or
female);
COMMUNITY COHESION 3:
Why attitudes to the roles of men and women have changed
in the UK
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War – During WW1 and WW2 women had to take on jobs previously
done by men and they could do them just as well.
Other Countries – As other countries gave women equal rights it was
difficult for the UK to claim it was not necessary.
Successful Women – The success of women as councillors and their
contributions to healthcare showed that they were equal to men.
The Suffragettes – The suffragette movement showed men that
women were not prepared to be treated as second class citizens
Industrial developments – Social and industrial developments in the
1950’s/60’s led to a need for more women workers
UNDR – The Declaration of Human Rights and the Feminist
Movement put forward a strong case for equal rights
Labour – The Labour governments of 1964-70 and 1974-79 were
dedicated to the equal rights campaign, and passed the Equal Pay
Act and the Sex Discrimination Act.
COMMUNITY COHESION 2:
How attitudes to the roles of men and women have changed
in the UK.
Women in the UK have always had the right to own property and earn their own
living, but they did not have the same rights when married. In the second half of
the 19th Century it became accepted that married women should stay home and
look after the children.
However women began to fight for equal rights:
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This began with the Married Women’s Property Act which
allowed married women to own property separately from their husbands.
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The Local Government Act meant that women were allowed to stand
as councillors.
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In 1928 women were given equal voting rights.
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The Equal Pay Act of 1970 gave women equal rights in employment
and the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 means that it is illegal to
discriminate on the grounds of gender.
These acts have given women equal rights to men legally.
COMMUNITY COHESION 4 :
Christian attitudes to equal rights fro women in religion.
The traditional attitude (held mainly by Evangelical Protestants):
Men should be head of the family and women should not speak in church or be
ministers / priests.
They believe this because: In the Bible St Paul said women are not allowed to
speak in church, and have to obey their husbands, Adam was created first and
Jesus had only male disciples.
The modern attitude (includes many Protestant Churches):
Men and women should have equal roles in life including religion. Churches (eg.
C of E, Methodist,) have women ministers/ priests.
They believe this because: St Paul said ‘There is neither … male nor female for
you are all one in Christ’; Jesus treated women as his equals; he chose men as
apostles because of the culture of the time, Adam and Eve were both created in
the image of God, there were women priests in the early Church.
The Catholic attitude
Men and women are equal in the eyes of God but only men can become priests.
They believe this because: Jesus only chose men as disciples; Jesus was a
man and the priest represents Jesus in the Mass, the Catechism teaches that
men and women are equal.
COMMUNITY COHESION 5:
Islam and equal rights for women in religion
The traditional attitude:
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God has given men and women different roles in life;
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Men provide for the family and ensure that children go to Madrasah, women
have children, bring them up and create a halal home, both bring children up
good Muslims;
They believe this because:
The Qur’an and the Shari’ah teach these roles; it is traditional for only men to attend the
mosque and be Imams. Women only inherit half of what men do, showing men should
provide for women. God made men stronger, showing they should support women.
The modern attitude:
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Men and women should have equal roles; women can have a career and should
worship in the mosque, BUT, family commitments come first for a woman and
men and women should worship separately at the mosque.
They believe this because:
The Qur’an says men and women are equal in religion and education. Modern society
needs women to have careers. Muhammad encouraged men and women to the mosque.
Modern Muslims have been affected by non religious arguments for women’s rights.
COMMUNITY COHESION 6:
The UK as a multi ethnic society
Britain has many ethnic minorities, partly due to the Commonwealth
and the British Empire, and so is a multi-ethnic society.
 The problems of discrimination and racism are that racially and
religiously prejudiced employers will not give jobs to certain
ethnic or religious groups; prejudiced landlords are likely to
refuse accommodation; teachers and police officers may
discriminate against certain groups of people.
 The effects of discrimination and racism can be devastating as
people feel alienated, turn to crime, turn to extremist religions,
lead to a rise of groups who stir up hatred like the BNP
 The benefits of living in a multi ethnic society are that there will
be less chance of war because people know and understand
each other, more progress in society as there are new ideas, life
is more interesting (culture/food etc), people see that
differences are a vital part of the human race.
COMMUNITY COHESION 7:
Government action to promote community cohesion in the UK
COMMUNITY COHESION 8 – Why Christians should help to
promote racial harmony
Christianity teaches that all forms of racism are wrong and that
Christians should work to bring about racial harmony.
Christianity teaches this because:
 Jesus treated people of different races equally, e.g. talking to
the Samaritan woman at a well, healing a Centurion’s servant;
 In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus showed that races
who hated each other (as did the Jews and Samaritans) should
love each other as neighbours;
 God created all races in his image;
 Peter had a vision from God telling him that God has no
favourites among the races (Acts 10);
 All Christian Churches have made statements condemning
racism e.g. ‘Any attack on a racial or religious group is against
the teachings of Christianity.’ (Churches Together)
 All Churches have ministers/ priests of all races and colours.
The Government promote community cohesion by:
 Financially supporting groups and researchers who work for
community cohesion
 Appointing cabinet ministers from ethnic minorities
 Passing the Race Relations Act, Crime and Disorder Act, Racial and
Religious Hatred Act
 Establishing the Equality and Human Rights Commission
Community cohesion is important because:
 Without it there would not be a shared vision for society
 A lack of community cohesion can lead to riots, e.g. Oldham
 Violence becomes a way of life in countries without community
cohesion, e.g. Iraq.
Cohesion is about avoiding breakdowns in society, encouraging
different people to work together, ensuring respect for diversity and
a commitment to common bonds as citizens of the same society.
COMMUNITY COHESION 9 – Islam and racial harmony
Islam teaches that any form of racism is wrong and that Muslims
should work to bring about racial harmony. All Muslims form one
community known as the Ummah, and Muslims work to promote
racial harmony in the UK
Muslims believe this because:
 The Qur’an teaches that all races are equal;
 The Qur’an teaches that all humanity was created by God from
one pair of humans and so people should give each other equal
respect;
 In his last ever sermon Muhammad said that no race or colour
is superior to any other;
 Muhammad chose a black African as his first prayer caller;
 Muhammad told Muslims that they are one community who
should treat each other as brothers, (the Ummah).
 Islam has members in most ethnic groups and most countries.
COMMUNITY COHESION 10 – The UK as a multi faith society
Britain is a multi faith society because several religions are
practised here, and everyone is free to practise their religion.
The benefits of living in a multi faith society are:
 People can learn about other religions from their friends and
neighbours
 People from different religions may practise their religion more
seriously and this may make people take their religion seriously.
 People are likely to be more tolerant and understanding about
religion
 Tolerance and understanding may help to stop religious
conflicts such as that between Protestant and Catholic
Christians
 It may make people think more about religion as they come
across new ideas.
COMMUNITY COHESION 11 – Issues raised for religion by a
multi faith society
COMMUNITY COHESION 12 – Ways in which religions work to
promote community cohesion in the UK
Different religions in the UK are beginning to promote community
cohesion in the following ways:
1. CONVERSION
Many religious people see it as their right to convert others because they believe
their religion is the only true religion, they want everyone to go to heaven, and
their holy books teach them they should convert others.
This can cause problems because trying to convert people is discriminating,
you cannot say a religion is wrong if you haven’t studied it, and it can lead to
arguments and violence.
2. BRINGING UP CHILDREN
A multi faith society requires everyone, including children to have religious
freedom. This causes problems for religious believers because parents want
to ensure their children follow their religion so that they have a good life after
death, and secular society tempts children away from religion.
3. INTERFAITH MARRIAGES
Young people of different faiths meet, fall in love and want to marry. This can
raise problems because there can be no religious wedding ceremony, the
parents may disagree about which religion to bring up the children as, the
parents of the couple may feel they have betrayed their roots, and after death the
couple may have to be buried separately.
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Different religions are beginning to work with each other to discover
similarities in their religions so they can live together without trying to
convert one another. The Pope has made statements about the
importance of dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
Some religious groups are developing ways of helping interfaith
marriages. E.g. Protestants and Liberal Jews have special wedding
services; there is a website about interfaith marriage that offers advice
to couples.
Religions are responding to issues with the upbringing of children.
Protestants and Liberal Jews encourage mixed faith parents to bring
the children up in both faiths, children are taught about all faiths in
schools.
Groups such as the Inter Faith Network, and local groups promote
good relations between religions.
COMMUNITY COHESION 13:
How an issue from religion and community cohesion has been
presented in one form of the media
Vicar of Dibley Episode 1 – The Arrival
In this episode the new vicar arrives to Dibley (Geraldine Granger). The
Parish are not happy that she is female but decide to give her a chance.
How was it fair
 The vicar was successful.
 The religious villagers decided to give her a chance ( they were
open minded).
 It made Christianity look fun.
How was it unfair
 The leader of the parish council (David Horton) was sexist, and
totally against female priests.
 The villagers are portrayed as weird and eccentric.
 It makes religion look like a joke.
COMMUNITY COHESION