RS Community Cohesion

Men & women should have equal rights in life & society. However the Catholic Church teaches only men may be ordained priests. This is because:

-Only men can be priests bc all the apostles were men, and priests & bishops are the sucessors of the apostles.

-Only men can be priests bc in mass the priest represents Jesus and he was a man.

-Genesis 1:27 teaches men & women were created by God at the same time and both in the image of God, therefore men & women have equal status in the sight of God.

-The 'Justice in the World' report (1971), called for women to "participate in, and share responsiblilty for, the life of society and of the Church".

Men & Women have different & seperate roles and therefore cannot have equal rights within the Church. This is because:

-St Paul teaches that women should not teach/speak in Church in the New Testament, which is considered to be the word of God.

-Men are given more rights by God, as it was the woman who was led astray by Satan in Genesis.

-The 12 apostles were men.

-It is the tradition of the Church that only men have leadership roles.

The CoE have women ministers and priests and accept that women & men should have equal rights.

-The creation story in Genesis 1, which says men & women were created at the same time with equal status.

-St Paul teaches in Christ there is no male nor female.

-In the Gospels, jesus treated women as his equals and he preached in the Court Of Women in the Jerusalem temple (Matthew 21:23-22:14)

-The male disciples ran away when Jesus was on the cross, whilst the female disciples didn't. After the resurrection jesus first appeared to women.

HOW: -financial support for groups that work for community cohesion.

-Making Community Cohesion part of the National Education Curriculum.

-Race Relations Act, which made discrimination based on race/colour/nationality/ethnicity/national origin illegal.

-Crime and Disorder Act: allows higher penalties for crimes motivated by religion/ethnicity.

-Equality & Human Rights Comission, which champions equality.

WHY: -Lack of it leads to civil unrest & violence due to different visions from different groups in society.

-Makes it harder for Parliament to agreeon items and do what the majority wants.

- lack of community cohesion was a cause of 7/7 bombing.

-Leads to different communities living seperately, making civilised living impossible.

HOW

-Mission & Public Affairs Council for the CoE oversees research & comment on social & political issues for the Church.

-Some Churches offer legal advice clinics where lawyers with the appropriate language skills help.

-The London Chuches Refugee Fund is a Church group that helps refugees with their basic needs. 

-Offering Church services in multiple languages so immigrant workers can maintain their faith.

WHY

-The Bible teaches that God is a God of justice who requires his followers to seek justice for everyone. This is taught in the Old Testament: Book of Amos.

-The Church teaches no one should be oppressed, and Christians should seek justice for the oppressed.

-The Golden Rule of Christianity is treat others how you would like to be treated.

-Jesus came to serve others: he came 'not to be served but to serve', Mark 10:45, and Christians should follow Jesus's example.

The UK has been a multi-faith society since the Reformation in the sixteenth century. From 1858 all religions had the same rights as CoE in England.

The benefits of this are

-People can learn about other religions more easily and become more accepting.

-Different religions practice in different ways, ad this can help people think more about how they practice their religion.

-People are likely to understand about other people's religions and opinions more.

-Religious toleration & understanding will exist more in a multi faith society and this may help to prevent religous conflict, e.g. the conflict between Protestant and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Inclusivism:

 All religions are searching for God and have some truth, but only Christianity has the whole truth. All religions should be respected and some followers may get to heaven, however Christians have a duty to evangelise. 

BC

- It's in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

-It is taught in papal encyclicals (Catholism).

-They believe Jesus is the Son of God, who shows the true nature of God.

-The Bible teaches that Christianity reveals the full truth about God. Only Christians are assured of salvation, but some people who follow other religions can contact God and have the possibilities of eternal life.

Some Evangelical Protestants believe that, although members of other religions must be respected & have the freedom to practice their religion, everyone has the right to convert others. Christianity is the only true religion, therefore they must attempt to convert others.

BC

-Sayings of Jesus: "I am they way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the father except through me" (John 14:6) means only Christians go to heaven.

-The Command of Jesus for people to love their neighbour means that if people love their nieighbour they want them to go heaven and will therefore try and convert them.

-They believe the final words of Jesus to his followers: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) means everyone should be converted.

Some Liberal Protestants believe that all religions are equal & are just different ways of finding God. So they feel Christians should respect other religions and work with them to make Britain a better place.

BC

-They don't take the Bible as the word of God.

-They see people of other religions living good and holy lives in Britain today.

-They believe God is a force, like gravity that can be discovered in different ways

-Sayings of Jesus: "In my father's house there are many rooms" (John 14:2) means that there is room in heaven for a variety of religions.

Many religions see it as a duty to convert bc

-They believe that their religion is right & others are wrong.

-Everyone should go to heaven and the only way to do so is by following the right religion. 

-It is taught in their holy books.

Problems caused are:

-Can be construed as prejudice/discrimination, as it is treating people of other religions differently to people of your own religion.

-It is considered impossible to consider other religions unless you have studied every religion ever.

-It can lead to arguments and violence within a multi-faith society, if you tell people their religion is wrong.

Problems:

-Can't be a religious wedding ceremony as would have to choose between religions.

-Question of what religion to bring up children as some religions insist on bringing up child in their religion.

-Question of what will happen after death, as different religions have different procedures.

-Parents and relatives of  the couple feel they have betrayed their roots, family and religion.

Problems

-Religions encourage parents to bring up children as their religion, disagrees with principle of religious freedom & makes parents wary of teaching their children about other religions.

-Religions teach only those who follow their religion go to heaven, so religious parents worry whether their child will go to heaven.

-Social/peer pressures on parents force them to pressure children to remain in their faith, for family/culture.

-Children educated in state schools have secular education, which may tempt them away from religious life.

1. Different religions working together to discover similarities. 

Judaism, Christianity, Islam all believe in Abraham & Moses. Pope Ben XVI said that Muslims and Christians should work together to combat violence.

2. Religious groups helping interfaith marriages.

Special wedding services for mixed faith couples. CoE created guidelines for it. Religious leaders set up website with tips.

3. Upbringing of children.

Children in faith schools must learn about other religions as well as their own. Religions tell mixed-faith parents to bring children up both religions and let them choose.

4. Forming groups.

Local & national groups for Community Cohesion e.g. Inter Faith Network (national) and Glasgow Forum of faiths (local).