Religious Studies
GCSE
Community
Cohesion
1
In this unit you will learn:
 How and why attitudes to the roles of men and women
have changed in the UK.
 About different Christian attitudes to the roles of men
and women and the reasons for them.
 About the different Muslim attitudes to the roles of men
and women and the reasons for them.
 About the nature of the UK as a multi-ethnic society
including the problems of discrimination and racism.
 About Government action to promote community
cohesion in the UK, including legislation on equal rights
for ethnic minorities and religions.
 About why Christians should help to promote racial
harmony.
 About why Muslims should help to promote racial
harmony.
 About the UK as a multi-faith society, including the
benefits of living in a multi-faith society.
 About issues raised for religion by a multi-faith society –
conversion, bringing up children, interfaith marriages.
 About ways in which religions work to promote
community cohesion in the UK.
 About how an issue arising from religion and
community cohesion has been presented in one form of
the media. Including whether the treatments was fair to
religious beliefs and religious people.
2
The key terms you must know are:
Key words
Community cohesion
Sexism
Multi-ethnic society
Ethnic minority
Prejudice
Discrimination
Racism
Racial harmony
Multi-faith society
Interfaith marriages
Religious freedom
Religious pluralism
Meanings
A common vision and shared sense of
belonging for all groups in society
Discriminating against people because of their
gender (being male or female)
Many different races and cultures living together
in one society
A member of an ethnic group (race) which is
much smaller than the majority
Believing some people are inferior or superior
without even knowing them
Putting prejudice into practice and treating
people less favourably because of their
ethnicity/gender/colour/class/age/sexuality
The belief that some ethnic groups are superior
to others
Different ethnic groups living together happily
Many different religions living together in one
society
Marriage where the husband and wife are from
different religions
The right to practise your religion and change
your religion
Accepting all religions as having an equal right
to coexist
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The growth of equal rights for women in the United
Kingdom
The main growths are:
 Women gained the right to vote in 1918;
 In the 1960s, the contraceptive pill became available for women;
 They also gained the right to equal pay by the 1970 Equal Pay Act;
 They gained the right not to be discriminated against in employment – the
1975 Sex Discrimination Act;
 The Equal Opportunities Commission was set up in 1975;
 The 1996 Employment Rights Act made it unfair to dismiss a woman for
being pregnant or taking maternity leave.
Why attitudes are changing:




Women have fought hard to get equal rights with men in the workplace;
The development of the contraceptive pill provided them with more
freedom;
The changing nature of family life and increased cost of bringing up
children have led to more women working;
Many women combine a career with family life.
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Today there is a difference of opinion among Christians about the roles men and
women should play in the life of the Church and in a Christian family. There are
three main different viewpoints:
 Traditional Christians believe that men should take the lead in religion and
women should not speak in Church - It is a disgraceful thing for a woman
to speak in church. (Letter of St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 14: 35).
 Liberal Christians believe men and women should have equal roles and
so women can be priests and church leaders. So God created human
beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and
female. (Genesis 1:27).
 Catholic Christians believe men and women should have equal roles, but
do not allow women to be ordained priests.
Those who say men and women should play an equal role in the Christian
Church argue that Jesus treated women as equals. This would have been
particularly unusual in first-century Israel where society was dominated by men.
This is called a patriarchal society.
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Why there are different attitudes to the role of women in
Christianity.
Some protestants teach that men and women have separate and different roles.
This attitude is based on:
 The teachings of St Paul about women in Timothy about women not being
allowed to teach or speak in church - Women should learn in silence and
all humility. I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men;
they must keep quiet;
 The teaching of Genesis 2 about Adam being created first - Then the Lord
God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he
took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a
woman out of the rib;
 The disciples of Jesus being men.
Other Protestant Churches now accept that men and women are equal, and they
have women ministers and priests. This attitude is based on:
 The teaching of Genesis 1 that male and female were created at the same
time and equally - So God created human beings, making them to be like
himself. He created them male and female. (Genesis 1:27);
 The teaching of St Paul that in Christ there is neither male nor female;
 The evidence from the gospels that Jesus treated women as his equals;
 The possible evidence that there were women priests in the early Church
The Catholic attitude is that men and women should have equal roles and equal
rights, but that only men can become priests. They believe this because:
 Men and women have equal status in the eyes of God;
 Jesus only chose men to be his apostles;
 Jesus was a man and the priest represents Jesus in the Mass.
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When women priests were first ordained into the Church of England in 1994, it
caused controversy. Some Christians left the Church of England to become
Roman Catholics and even today there are parishes who do not want a woman
vicar. Do you think traditional attitudes to the roles of men and women will
eventually disappear? What do you think is the most important factor in bringing
about that change?
1. “Men and women can never be equal, biology has
fixed that!”
Do you agree? Give two reasons for your opinion. (4
marks)
2. Do you agree that Christians believe women have
equal rights to men?
Give two reasons for your point of view. (4 marks)
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Why there are different attitudes to the roles of
women with in Islam
Some Muslims believe that men and women should have different roles in life
and religion. They have this attitude because:
 The Qur’an teaches that men should support women because God has
given men a stronger physique - Women shall, with justice, have rights
similar to those exercised against them, although men have a status
above women. (Qur’an 2:229);



The Qur’an teaches that women have been created to bear children and
men to provide for them;
The Qur’an teaches that women should only inherit half of what a man
inherits showing that men need more money than women to be the family
providers - Men have authority over women because God has made the
one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain
them. (Qur’an 4:34);
It is traditional for only men to attend the mosque and be imams.
However, some Muslims believe that men and women should have completely
equal roles in religion and education. They have this attitude because:
 The Qur’an teaches that men and women are equal in religion and
education - Those who surrender themselves to God and accept the true
Faith; who are devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable, and chaste;
who fast and are ever mindful of God – on these, both men and women,
God will bestow forgiveness and a rich reward. (Qur’an 33:35)

There is evidence from the life of the Prophet Muhammad encouraged
both men and women to worship in the mosque - All people are equal …
as the teeth of a comb. No Arab can claim merit over a non-Arab, nor a
white over a black person, nor a male over a female. (Hadith);

There were women religious leaders during the early stages of Islam,
whose advice was asked by the early caliphs.
8
TASK
Look at the two figures below. Work out what the single largest population group
in the UK is at present. What percentage of the population belongs to an ethnic
minority group? What is the largest ethnic minority group in the UK?
The population of the United Kingdom by ethnic
group, April 2001.
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The majority of the UK population in 2001 were White (92 per cent). The
remaining 4.6 million (or 7.9 per cent) people belonged to other ethnic groups.
Indians were the largest of these groups, followed by Pakistanis, those of Mixed
ethnic backgrounds, Black Caribbeans, Black Africans and Bangladeshis. The
remaining minority ethnic groups each accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of the
UK population and together accounted for a further 1.4 per cent.
The non-White population: by ethnic group, April 2001, UK
Around half of the non-White population were Asians of Indian, Pakistani,
Bangladeshi or other Asian origin. A further quarter were Black, that is Black
Caribbean, Black African or Other Black. Fifteen per cent of the non-White
population were from the Mixed ethnic group. About a third of this group were
from White and Black Caribbean backgrounds.
There were almost 691,000 White Irish people in Great Britain accounting for 1
per cent of the GB population.
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Multi-ethnic Britain
Some of the tabloid newspapers use sensational headlines and stories to scare
people about the number of ‘foreigners’ coming into Britain. People already living
in the UK become frightened that their life will change for the worse. In reality it is
very hard to say what a pure British person is like or even if one exists. History
shows that the United Kingdom has continually absorbed people of different
nationalities, just like every other country.
A good mix of history
There was an influx of Italians in 54BC when Julius Caesar and the Romans
arrived, and then came the Anglo-Saxons from Germany, followed by the Vikings
from Scandinavia and the French from Normandy and so it goes on. Many
settled, married into families already here and merged into our ancestry.
Since 1066 many other groups both large and small arrived in Britain. Some, like
the Huguenots from France and the Jews from Eastern Europe, were fleeing
religious prejudice and persecution. Other people arrived to fill job vacancies
when the UK did not have a large workforce.
In the nineteenth century Queen Victoria’s expansion of the British Empire
brought the UK into contact with people from outside Europe. When the Empire
became the British Commonwealth, immigrant workers were invited to come from
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa and the Caribbean to undertake the jobs no
one else wanted.
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the pattern continued. People fleeing
persecution have sought asylum in Britain and gratefully worked for lower wages
in jobs like catering and fruit picking. They have been joined by others moving to
the UK for a better standard of living such as people from former Communist
states in Eastern Europe, from China and Africa. People who emigrate in search
of better living standards are called economic migrants.
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Racism
Discrimination has been around for a long time and different people have found
themselves the victims of it over the years. For example, during the eighteenth
century slave traders thought of black people as animals that could be made to
work for them. This prevented the traders having a conscience about the way
they treated their fellow human beings. Their attitude affected the treatment of
anyone who did not look or sound like them. Nowadays, most people agree that
racism is evil. It creates hatred and can lead to violence such as riots. Violence
never solves the problems, it just makes the situation worse.
Racial harmony
Too often it is the negative side of a multi-ethnic society that makes the news.
The advantages of a multi-ethnic society are overlooked.
o The UK has a wide variety of music, culture, food and clothes from the
different cultures.
o New ideas arrive in the UK with new people.
o It can make for a more peaceful world as people of different races and
nationalities learn to live and work alongside each other.
o It is good for religions to see members of different ethnic groups following
their religion.
TASK
“A multi-ethnic society is the best way forward”
Do you agree? Give two reasons to support your view. (4 marks)
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The 1976 Race Relations Act
This act made it illegal to discriminate against people on grounds of race, colour,
nationality, ethnic or national origin, in terms of housing, training, jobs, education
or the provision of services. It is illegal to use threatening, abusive or insulting
words in public or to publish anything that could stir up racial hatred.
The Commission for Racial Equality was also set up to stop race discrimination.
Their job was:
 To fight against all racial discrimination
 To show people the importance of giving everyone a fair chance in life
 To monitor ways in which the law was working.
The murder of Stephen Lawrence
What made the tragedy worse was
the lack of effort on the part of the
Metropolitan Police to find and
convict the killers. After a long
campaign by Stephen’s parents and
others for justice, the Macpherson
Enquiry was set up to investigate
police handling of the case. The
report was shocking. It showed the
police had a policy that discriminated
against people from ethnic
minorities and Lord Macpherson
ended up accusing the police force
of ‘institutional racism’. The Stephen
Lawrence case proved that the 1976
Act was not working as well as was
hoped.
In April 1993, an 18-year-old student
was stabbed to death in an
unprovoked racial attack. Stephen
Lawrence was black and his killers
were five white youths.
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2001 Race Relations Amendment Act
In 2001, the government extended the 1976 Act to cover the work of the police
and other public authorities. It enabled a person who felt t hey had been
discriminated against to challenge the police in court. It also made police officers
accountable for their treatment of people. Public bodies now had a duty to
promote equality and were given targets for recruiting members from ethnic
minorities. A new criminal offence of racially aggravated violence and
harassment came in.
2007 Equality and Human Rights
Commission
In 2007, this new government replaced the CRE and several other groups that
had been working to improve the rights of various minority groups who may also
be victims of discrimination, such as disabled people.
TASK
The (c) question:
Explain what actions the government has taken towards community cohesion. (8)
*Remember (c) questions are marked for their quality of written
communication as well.
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Why Christians should help to promote racial
harmony
The main reasons are:
 Jesus treated people of different ethnic groups equally;

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus showed that ethnic groups
who hated each other (as did the Jews and Samaritans) should love each
other as neighbours - “Love your neighbour as you love yourself”;

St. Peter had a vision from God, telling him that God has no favourites
among the ethnic groups - Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize that it is
true that God treats everyone on the same basis. Those who worship him
and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they
belong to’. (Acts 10:34-5)

St Paul taught that all ethnic groups are equal - So there is no difference
between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between
men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. (Letter of St.
Paul, Galatians 3:28)

God created all ethnic groups in his image - From one human being he
created all races on earth and made them live throughout the whole earth.
(Acts 17:26)

All the Christian Churches have made statements recently condemning
any form of racism or racial discrimination;

All Christian churches have members, ministers and priests of all ethnic
groups and colours.
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Islamic teaching promoting racial
harmony
1. the Qur’an teaches that all races are equal in the eyes of God;
2. the Qur’an teaches that God created the whole of humanity from one pair
of humans, therefore all races are related and none can be regarded as
superior;
3. There are many sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith) which
promote racial harmony:
A. All people are equal … as the teeth of a comb. (Hadith)
B. All God’s creatures are His family. (Hadith)
4. In his final sermon, Muhammad said that every Muslim is a brother to
every other Muslim, and so there should be no racism among Muslims –
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over black, nor a black has
any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”
5. Muhammad’s first prayer caller was a black Muslim, whereas Muhammad
was Middle Eastern, so showing Muhammad promoting racial harmony.
These teachings are put into practice in Islam today. All Muslims belong to the
ummah, the community of Islam, no matter what race, colour or nationality they
are. They unite in prayer, shoulder to shoulder, with other Muslims to face Mecca
and pray in Arabic. On Hajj everyone is equal as they travel together, obeying the
fifth pillar of Islam. This equality is symbolised by the ihram, the clothes worn on
Hajj. Everyone wears white to represent their equality.
TASK
The (c) question:
Explain why Muslims should work to create racial harmony. (8 marks)
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Religious freedom
During the twentieth century, Britain has increasingly become a multi-faith
society and, unlike some parts of the world, religious groups do on the whole
exist peacefully side by side in the UK. Although Britain is recognised as a
Christian country, there is complete religious freedom for people to belong
to whatever faith they like, or none at all.
Christianity is the main religion in Great Britain. There were 41 million Christians
in 2001, making up almost three quarters of the population (72 per cent). This
group included the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales,
Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations.
People with no religion formed the second largest group, comprising 15 per cent
of the population.
About one in 20 (5 per cent) of the population belonged to a non-Christian
religious denomination.
Muslims were the largest religious group after Christians. There were 1.6 million
Muslims living in Britain in 2001. This group comprised 3 per cent of the total
population and over half (52 per cent) of the non-Christian religious population.
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The benefits of living in a multi-faith society
The main benefits are:
1. it increases tolerance and understanding;
2. it gives people an insight into different religions;
3. it makes believers think seriously about their own beliefs;
4. it makes people think about truth in religion;
5. it makes people think about the need for religious freedom and pluralism.
Interfaith relationships
At a personal level, the growing multi-ethnic and multi-faith society has led to
people forming relationships where there is more than one religion. Relationships
like this can create harmony in society, but they can also bring problems for the
couple and their families.
If a couple meet and fall in love, does their religion matter?
No, because: falling in love makes people happy and goes on to create happy
families.
However, not all members of religions would agree. Their religions and attitudes
of their parents may conflict with each other. For example the different views
about sex before marriage may cause problems.
Interfaith marriages
A marriage where the husband and wife are from different religions is called an
interfaith marriage. Coming from different religions can make it difficult for them
to decide what sort of ceremony to have. There is likely to be family pressure
from each side for a religious ceremony, therefore they may end up with a civil
ceremony which neither wanted.
Bringing up children
Difficulties of religion, and possibly culture, are likely to arise when the couple
discuss bringing up their children. The child of a Muslim father is accepted as
Muslim, but a Christian may believe it is their religious duty to bring the child up
as a Christian. It is likely that both sets of grandparents will hope the child is
brought up to follow their religion.
Conversion
In a multi-faith society containing both Christianity and Islam, there is the problem
that followers of both are taught theirs is the correct religion.
Christianity
Jesus taught his followers: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to
the Father except by me’ John 14:6.
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For some Christians, this means that only people who follow Jesus’ teachings
can go to heaven, so they feel it is their religious duty to try to convert people to
Christianity. Liberal Christians are more likely to accept that Christianity is one
way to God because Jesus did not attempt to convert Jews in his society.
Islam
Muslims believe that everyone is born a Muslim, but some parents choose to
bring their children up in another religion. The Qur’an teaches that people who
accept Islam will go to heaven, and those who do not will go to hell. Therefore,
some Muslims believe it is their duty to invite members of other faiths to learn
about Islam and become Muslims. The Qur’an is clear that no one is to be forced
to convert and conversion is a matter for God and the person themselves. Some
liberal Muslims believe that Islam is one of many paths to God.
Why trying to convert people may cause problems in
a multi-faith society.
The main reasons are:
 it implies that the converter’s religion is better, but all religions need to
have equal rights in a multi-faith society;
 it could provoke religious intolerance, which would be against the ideal of
a multi-faith society;
 if one religion has the right to convert to convert, all religions have the
right, and, if they all tried to, there would be conflict;
 if children are converted, it could divide families.
Tasks
(b) ‘You shouldn’t try to convert people in a multi-faith society’
Do you agree? Give two reasons for your point of view. (4 marks)
(d) ‘It will always cause problems if you have lots of different religions in the
country’
In you answer you should refer to at least one religion.
(i)
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3)
(ii)
Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3)
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Promoting good inter faith relations
The Inter Faith Network for the UK was founded in 1987 to promote good relations between people of
different faiths in this country. Its member organisations include representative bodies from the
Baha'i; Buddhist; Christian; Hindu; Jain; Jewish; Muslim; Sikh; and Zoroastrian communities; national
and local inter faith bodies; and academic institutions and educational bodies concerned with inter
faith issues.
Understanding with integrity
The Network works with its member bodies to help make the UK a place marked by mutual
understanding and respect between religions where all can practise their faith with integrity.
The Network's way of working is firmly based on the principle that dialogue and cooperation
can only prosper if they are rooted in respectful relationships which do not blur or undermine
the distinctiveness of different religious traditions.
Many major cities around the UK have an inter faith network, working towards
religious pluralism. One such group is set up in Birmingham, known as the
Birmingham Council of Faiths - BCF.
TASK
Using the website www.bhamfaiths.org.uk, find out when BCF was set up and
why? Find out any events, conferences, exhibitions or courses that they have
recently organised.
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Examining the media
Although the film East is East (1999) is quite a few years old now, it is a good
one to study. The plot is concerned with religion and focuses on a Muslim father
and his family in the north of England. The father is trying to fulfil his religious
duty to bring up his children as good Muslims. Many religious issues are
discussed, such as arranged marriages, halal food, circumcision, attitudes
towards homosexuality and the difficulties of ensuring young people do not mix
with members of the opposite sex unsupervised.
Community cohesion is central to the film because the teenagers have a Muslim
father and a Catholic mother, added to which they are growing up in a western
society. The young people in the story struggle to balance the demands of their
father with the lifestyle of other teenagers around them. There are plenty of
clashes of culture and religions in the film as the eldest son battles for the
freedom to choose his own girlfriend, who is not a Muslim.
The topics are handled with a great deal of humour but, at the same time, it is
clear there is a lot of hurt and sadness.
You must decide whether you feel the producers treated the religious issues
fairly. For instance, were some scenes simply played for a laugh at the expense
of one particular religion?
For the exam:
State that you chose East is East and explain what the religious issues were and
how you thought they were handled. Then write down what issues of community
cohesion were involved and give your verdict on how they were handled. Give an
example in each case if you can but don’t end up telling the story. Just assume
the examiner knows the example you have chosen, which is quite likely.
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You must decide whether the treatment of the theme and the people in the
material was fair.
 Were any of the people who held religious beliefs deliberately made to
look silly or totally unbelievable? Was the religion treated fairly? Certainly,
a person can be religious and a bad character, but it is likely that it is the
person and not the religion that is at fault. Ask yourself, is it balanced?
 Having studied issues of community cohesion you will be looking to see if
there is anything in what you are studying that is likely to cause racial or
religious hatred.
TASK
The (c) question:
Explain how an issue of religion or community cohesion was tackled by one form
of the media. (8)
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Section 4 – RELIGION AND COMMUNITY COHESION
You must answer ONE question from this section.
EITHER
7 (a) What is meant by prejudice?
(2)
(b) ‘Women don’t get equal treatment to men in Christianity.’
Do you agree? Give two reasons for your point of view.
(4)
(c) Explain how multi-faith societies can bring benefits.
(8)
(d) ‘The media never treat ethnic minorities fairly.’
In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
(i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion.
(3)
(ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you.
(3)
(Total for Question 7 = 20 marks)
OR
8 (a) What does religious pluralism mean?
(b) ‘Religious people shouldn’t try converting people.’
Do you agree? Give two reasons for your point of view.
(2)
(4)
(c) Explain how and why one religion other than Christianity should promote
racial harmony.
(8)
(d) ‘Men and women are different, there’s no point in treating
them equally.’
In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
(i) Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion.
(3)
(ii) Give reasons why some people may disagree with you.
(3)
(Total for Question 8 = 20 marks)
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