RE Community Cohesion

Religious Studies - Community Cohesion

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

UK as a multi-ethnic society

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • UK has always been a multi-ethnic society i.e. Romans, Celts, Saxons, Normans are all ancestors
  • UK has always offered people freedom from persecution and political asylum e.g. Jews escaping Hitler
  • British Empire - citizens allowed to settle, slaves automatically freed on entry to UK
  • Commonwealth immigration 1950's- labour shortage workers fought in WW2 e.g. Gurkhas now able to become UK residents
  • EU - extension enabled a large influx of people from the Eastern Europe to visit, work and live in the UK
  • In UK 7.9% is ethnic minority
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Problems caused by discrimination and racism

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Prejudice - no jobs given to members of different religions or certain ethnic groups e.g Orthodox Jews
  • People are refused accommodation
  • Education - prejudice of teachers limits success for pupils and students can be downgraded or excluded from school
  • Discrimination by Police - 'Stop and Search policy can be excessive in some ethnic and religious communities because of their race or beliefs. Blacks more likely to be stopped than white
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Effects of discrimination and racism

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Feeling of alienation of people and groups within society
  • Racism and discrimination will lead to the creation of more radical groups like the BNP, this will lead to more hatred in society
  • Because of prejudice young people in minority groups particularly blacks feel they wont succeed, they will only get poorly paid jobs and will resort to crime
  • Young people e.g muslims are turning to extreme Isalmic groups because they feel they have no chance of success in a prejudiced environment e.g acts of terrorism 7/7
  • If multi-ethnic society is to function well it has to treat everyone fairly - equal opportunities for all to produce their best
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Benefits of a multi-ethnic society

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Less chance of war because people have knowledge and understanding of different ethnic groups and nationalities - mixed marriages
  • Leads to progressive ideas and new and different ways of doing things - cut of societies are less progressive e.g Amazonian Indians
  • Life is more exciting with different cultures, food, music and entertainment
  • Shows people how varied the world is - all part of one race - the human race, essential for economic interdependence
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

What does UK Government do to promote Community Cohesion including laws on equal rights

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Financial support for groups working in and researching CC
  • Education and Inspections Act - CC on curriculum
  • Race Relations Act - unlawful to discriminate on grounds of race and colour
  • Racial and Religious Hatred Act - offence to use threatening words against different races, incite groups defined by religious beliefs
  • Crime and Disorder Act - higher penalties for racially motivated crime or hostility
  • Equal Human Rights Commission
  • Main political parties oppose racism
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Church of England helping asylum seekers

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Providing places for learning English in order to get employment and worship in English to maintain faith
  • Setting up organizations which provide the basic necessities of life e.g TLCRF
  • Setting up legal advice clinics - help with immigration/settling in UK Campaigns e.g Church Action on Poverty- justice for refugees Still Human Still Here - fighting poverty/lack of subsistence for asylum seekers
  • Church speaks on behalf of immigrants to give them a voice to put forward their problems and concerns
  • Asking Christians to elevate status of immigrant workers - hard working dedicated people
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Why does the Church help asylum seekers?

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Old Testament teaches - God is a God of justice Christians seeking justice for asylum seekers Christians seeking justice for oppressed
  • Through this work they show love for God & neighbours
  • Golden rule - service to others
  • Christians follow example of Jesus - 'not to be served but to serve others' Mark 10:14
  • Teachings of Jesus - Parables - Good Samaritan,Sheep and Goats
  • Jesus was a refugee - family fled to Egypt to escape Herod
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Why should Christians help promote racial harmony?

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • Christian church members - 2.1billion all over the world
  • Parables - Good Samaritan
  • Simon of Cyrene (helped Jesus carry cross) - black African
  • St Peter(Acts10) believed God had showed that he treats all races the same and accepts the worship of anyone
  • St Paul(Galicians3:26-29) everyone is equal - no divisions of race amongst Christians also that God created all nations from Adam - therefore all equal
  • Christian church has condemned racism - promoted racial harmony
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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

Christians who have been racist - examples of Racism

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RE Community Cohesion - Racial Harmony

  • KKK - USA 1920 - 1970 - secret society in South dedicated to white supremacy v blacks Jews Catholics motto - Bringing a message of Hope and Deliverance to White Christian America
  • South Africa 1970 - 1980 Dutch Reform Church apartheid (separate development) - supported white supremacy v black
  • UK 1950 churches hostility to black immigrants - unwelcome so set up own churches
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

What do Exclusive Christians believe about other religions? Why?

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • Christianity is only religion that leads to god
  • All other religions are wrong
  • Christians have rights to convert others
  • Jesus said: "I am the way the truth and the life - no one reaches God but through me" - John 14 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" - Matthew 28 - everyone must be converted to Christianity
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

What do Inclusive Christians believe about other religions? Why?

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • Other religions have some truth
  • Only Christianity reveals whole truth about God
  • Only Christians assured of salvation but others may have possibility of eternal life eg Judaism
  • St Paul in Athens saw people on spiritual search even though they were not Christians
  • Teachings of Catholic Church - Catechism/Papal Encyclicals
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

What do Pluralist Christians believe? (Liberal Protestant Christians) Why?

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • All religions are equally valid and lead to God
  • Christians should respect other religions - living good holy lives e.g Muslims,Hindus etc
  • Do not believe bible is the word of God
  • Believe God is a force like gravity - discovered in different ways
  • "In my Fathers house are many rooms" John 14.2 - room in heaven for all religions
  • Good Samaritan
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

Benefits of living in a multi-faith society

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • Learn about other religions - see things in common
  • Practice religion more seriously and make others think about their religion
  • Understanding of different religions helps to question and think more seriously about own beliefs
  • understanding comes about through realisation that everyone is entitled to their own opinion about religion
  • Religious tolerance will help to stop conflicts - Catholics/Protestants in Northern Ireland, Hindus/Sikhs/Muslims in India
  • Multi-faith society allows people to come across new religious ideas
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

Issues raised for religion by a multi-faith society

eg conversion, bringing up children, interfaith marriage

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • Multi-faith society - means religious freedom!
  • Desire to convert all other faiths - different faiths, non believers OK to evangelise not to always convert
  • Conversion a type of prejudice and discrimination
  • Impossible to study all religions and say that any one is wrong
  • Children (when of age) free to choose religion - conflict over different choices, life after death, social and peer pressure, tempted away by education in secular schools.
  • Interfaith marriages - no ceremony, childrens religion, feeling of betrayal for family, after death - burial
  • If not addressed issues can lead to conflict and hatred
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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

Religion & promoting community cohesion in UK

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RE Community Cohesion - Religious Harmony

  • Religions working out what are the similarities e.g prophets Abraham and Moses in Islam, Christianity and Judaism
  • Helping interfaith marriages - special services, websites, published guidelines
  • Church leaders agree Good RE in schools
  • Encourage different religions for children in mixed faith families
  • Setting up national groups - IFN for UK
  • Setting up local groups in towns & cities
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