Religion and Community Cohesion
Keywords
Community Cohesion
Prejudice
Discrimination
Sexism
Racism
Ethnic Minority
Multi-ethnic society
Multi-faith society
Interfaith marriages
Racial harmony
Religious freedom
Religious pluralism
A common vision and shared sense of belonging for
all groups in society
Believing some people are inferior or superior
without even knowing them
Treating people less favourably because of their
ethnicity/gender/colour/sexuality/age/class
Discriminating against people on the grounds of
their gender
The belief that some races are superior to others
A member of an ethnic group (race) which is much
smaller than the majority group
Many different races and cultures living together
in one society
Many different religions living together in one
place
Marriage where the husband and wife are from
different religions
Different races/colours living together happily
The right to practice your religion and change your
religion
Accepting all religions as having an equal right to
exist
The growth of equal rights for women
Develop
Women
ments for
During the 20th century The
women
proved
UN gained many rights that gave them legal
equal
themselves
equality with men:
Declaration
rights
in the
of
Human
1918 – Right to vote at 30 (men were allowed at abroad,
21)
workplace
Rights
egwith
Newmen
1928 – Women’s voting age
reduced
to
21
–
equal
during the
states
Zealand
1970 – Equal Pay Act meant
women
women
are had to be paid the same as men for doingWars
equal to
the same job
men
Why
Some
1975
– Sex Discrimination Act made it illegal to discriminate against a person
government
have
on the
grounds
of their gender or marital status.
s have
been
attitudes
Successes
committed
1996
– Employments Rights Act made it illegal changed?
to sack someone for being
where
to equality
women
pregnant
or taking maternity leave
and so
were
It is
now accepted that men and women have equal rights and most people think
introduced
allowed to
legislation
both
should have the chanceMore
of awomen
career. This has impacted on roles within the
play an
Suffragist
were needed
to help
equal role
home
where men play a much larger part in the running of a household s/ettes
and
in workforce
provide it
childcare.
showed
and more
homes needed
second
income
men
women
were
prepared
to fight
for rights
Christian attitudes towards the role of men and women
WHO
WHAT
WHY
Many evangelical
Many protestants, e.g. C of E
Protestants
and Methodists
believe men and
believe that men and women
women have different have equal roles in life and
roles. Men should be
religion and they can be
the head of the
priests
family and women
should not speak in
church or be priests.
 St Paul said women
could not speak in
church
 Genesis said Adam
was created first
 All of Jesus’
followers were male
The Catholic Church
believes that men and
women should have equal
roles because men and
women have equal status in
the eyes of God. Women can
be religious teachers and
ministers but cannot be
priests.
 Genesis 1 said men and women  Genesis 1 say that men and
were created at the same time women were created at the
 St Paul said men and women
same time
are equal
 The church teaches that
 Jesus treated men and
men and women are equal
women equally and he did have  Jesus only choose men to be
women followers
his successors
 Jesus women followers were  Jesus was a man and the
the only people to stay with
priest represents Jesus at
him for his crucifixion and
the Mass.
women were the first ones to
see him when he rose from the
dead
The UK as a multi-ethnic society
Britain has always been a multi-ethnic society,
being a mixture of Celts, Romans, Angles,
Saxons, Danes, Normans etc. It has always had
a history of providing sanctuary to those
suffering persecution, such as French
Less chance of war
Protestants and Russian Jews. During the 19th
Century the UK built the British Empire around
the world. This became the Commonwealth
after the Second World War. After the war a
shortage of workers led to a big increase in
immigration from people of many different
races from around the Commonwealth.
Afro-Caribbeans, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese
and Bangladeshis settled in the UK, many of
More progress as
Life is more
interesting
with a much
greater variety
of food,
music,
fashions and
entertainment
Less chance of
war as people
of different
races and
nationalities
will get to
know and like
each other
Benefi
ts of a
Multi-ethnic
societies tend
to progress
quickly
because new
people bring in
new ideas and
new ways of
doing things
Racially
prejudiced
employers will
not give jobs to
certain ethnic
groups,
religiously
prejudiced will
not give jobs to
certain religious
groups.
Prejudiced
landlords are
likely to refuse
accommodatio
n to certain
ethnic groups
or religions
Help people to
see that everyone
is part of the
human race and
we have more
similarities than
differences, vital
in an increasingly
small world
If teachers are
prejudiced they might
discriminate against
ethnic or religious
groups in their teaching
so students don’t
achieve what they are
capable of
Proble
ms of
Prejudiced
police officers
might
discriminate
against ethnic
Effects of discrimination and racism:
 If certain groups are treated unfairly they can feel alienated by society. They might
start to work against that society
 Some politicians believe young black people feel they will be unable to get a good job
because of racism and so they turn to crime as it is the best way for them to ‘earn’
good money. If true racism might lead to an increase in crime
 Some politicians believe discrimination against Islam leads young Muslims to
supporting extremist Islamic groups because they have no chance of succeeding in
Britain. This can lead to committing acts of terrorism
 Racism and discrimination can lead to the rise in groups like the BNP who stir up
hatred, this can lead to violence and communal warfare
Promoting Community Cohesion
If a multi-ethnic society is to function well, all people
must be treated equally and helped to do their best. If
people are prejudiced against ethnic groups, this will
not happen and society will lose out if people are not
allowed to reach their full potential.
The UK promotes community cohesion in a number of
ways:
1. Encouragement – Making racial harmony
part of the school curriculum, financially
Community cohesion is important for all multi-ethnic and multi-faith communities:
 Without it different groups in society could have different ideas of what society
should look like, could lead to violence and civil unrest.
 Lack of community cohesion led to racially/religiously motivated street riots in
Britain in 2001
 The July 7th 2007 bombers were British Muslims who had lost their sense
of allegiance to Britain
 In countries without community cohesion violence becomes a way of life
 Lack of community cohesion leads to communities living separate lives,
self-segregating
Christianity and racial harmony
The Christian church has members from every race. Over 50% of the world is
Christian and 70% of Christians are non-white. Christians should try and
promote racial harmony because:
 Jesus treated people of different races equally, a Samaritan woman, a
Roman servant and a Black African carried his cross
 In the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus showed that races who hated
each other should love each other as neighbours
 St Peter had a vision from god, telling him that god has no favourites
among the races
 St Paul said that all races are equal in Christ and so there should be no
divisions of race among Christians. He also taught all humans are
descended fom Adam and therefore everyone is equal
 God created all races in his image
 All the Christians churches have made statements condemning racism
 All Christian churches have ministers/ priest of different colours
Britain as a multi-faith society
For hundreds of years Britain was a
predominantly Protestant Christian country and
discriminated against other religious groups,
especially Catholics. However Britain has had
believers from different faiths for years,
Protestants and Catholics from the 16th Century,
Jews from the 17th Century.
This led to laws allowing religious freedom and by
the middle of the 19th Century members of any
religion were free to worship and had equal
political rights:
 1688 Nonconformists given freedom of
Hounslow
:
110, 657
Christian
s
16,064
Hindus
Increases
tolerance
19,378
and understanding
Muslims
18,265
Sikhs
Brad
ford:
16%
Musli
m
1.1%
Sikh
0.9%
Hind
u
Benefi
ts of a
Allows believers to explore
their own beliefs
Birmin
gham:
14.4%
Muslim
2.9%
Sikh
2%
Hindu
0.3%
Buddhi
st
0.24%
Jewish
2001
Census:
Christians
- 72.6%
No
religion –
14%
No
answer –
8.2%
Muslims –
2.7%
Hindus
Allows insight
into–
0.95%
different religions
Sikhs –
0.57%
Jews –
0.46%
Buddhists
– 0.25%
Other –
0.27%
Religious freedom reduces
religious conflict
Conversion
My
way’s
right –
you
should
join
me!!!!
Bringing up children
Issues
raised
Mixed faith marriages
Conversion
This is an issue because teachings of religions can conflict with multi-faith societies:
1 – Many groups within religions, including Christianity and Islam can believe in
exclusivists. They see it as a duty to try and convert others to their religion:
 Their religion is the only true religion, all others are mistaken
 Everyone should go to heaven and only their religion can get you there
 Holy books state that they should try and convert non-believers
2 – Trying to convert others can be a problem because:

This can be seen as prejudice and discrimination, someone believing
their faith is superior

Most people trying to convert others do not have in depth knowledge
of other religions and so cannot say for definite their way is right

It can lead to arguments and even violence if people are told their
faith is wrong
Bringing up children
Multi-faith societies require all to have religious freedom, including children.
When they can think for themselves they should be able to choose which religion
to follow or to reject religion. They also need to be able to learn about other
faiths and respect the faiths of others. This can cause problems for believers:

Most religions encourage parents to bring their children up in that faith,
many of these parents do not want their child to have the ability to choose
another religion or to reject religion

Some parents will worry that their children will not go to heaven/paradise
if they turn away from their faith

Social and peer pressures mean parents exert pressure on children
to uphold family religious tradition

Children in state schools experience secular life and can be tempted away
from religious lifestyles
Interfaith Marriages
Young people of different faiths will meet and fall in love. This can cause issues for
religious parents and religious leaders.
 Often no religious wedding ceremony as both couples need to be of the same faith
to have a religious ceremony
 Which religion should a child be brought up in?
 What will happen after death? Will the couple be buried separately according to
their religions?
 Can cause feelings of betrayal for parents and relatives, someone has abandoned
their roots and family for love
How do religions work to promote community cohesion?
Encouraging
greater
education
regarding
other faiths to
help deal with
issue of
upbringing of
children
Religious
leaders are
working
together to
find and
promote the
similarities
between their
beliefs rather
than
differences
Prom
oting
com
munit
y
cohes
ion
Religious
leaders
working
together
to
support
interfaith
marriages
Putting
together
special
groups to
explore
ways of
increasing
community
cohesion
How one issue from religion and community cohesion has been
presented in one form of the media
You need to be able to discuss how one issue from Religion and Community Cohesion has
been covered in one form of the media:
 Equality for women in religion
 Problems of discrimination or racism
 Equal rights for ethnic minorities
 Equal rights for religious minorities
 Religion and racial harmony
 Issues within multi-faith societies
 Religions promoting community cohesion
You must be able to discuss:
 Why the issue is important
 How it is presented
 Whether the presentation was fair to religious beliefs
 Whether the presentation was fair to religious people
It is important that you choose only one issue within one form of media. If
you discuss more than one issue your answers may get muddled.
You are unlikely to be asked an evaluation question on this topic but you may come across
b or c questions:
b) Do you think the media present religious people fairly? (4)
Give two reasons for your point of view
c) Choose an issue from religion and community cohesion presented in one form of the
media and explain whether the presentation was fair to religious people. (8)
Media could mean:
 Film
 Soap opera
 A television drama
 A television documentary
 A radio programme
 A newspaper article in tabloids and broadsheets
Test Yourself!!!
(a) What is religious pluralism? (2)
(b) Do you think children should be free to choose their own religion? (4)
Give two reasons for your point of view.
(c) Explain why Christians should help to promote racial harmony
(8)
(d) ‘Men and women should have equal roles in life’
i.
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion
(3)
ii.
Give reasons why some people may disagree with you (3)
(Total 20 marks)
(a) What is prejudice?
(2)
(b) Do you think the government should spend money promoting community cohesion?
Give two reasons for your point of view.
(4)
(c) Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why there are different
attitudes to the role of women in religion
(8)
(d) ‘All societies should be multi-faith societies.’
i.
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion
(3)
ii.
Give reasons why some people may disagree with you (3)
(Total 20 marks)
Tip
It might be useful
to try and answer
questions in timed
condition and later
go back and
improve your
answers using your
notes and the mark
scheme