Religion & Life

Topic Key words:  ( One of which you will need to define in the  ‘A’ question)

Community Cohesion= A sense of togetherness among all groups in society

Discrimination = Treating people less favourably because of race, class, sex etc

Ethnic Minority= Member of an ethnic group smaller than the majority

Multi Ethnic Society= Where many races live together

Multi Faith Society= Where many different religious groups live together

Prejudice= The belief that some people are inferior without knowing them

Racial Harmony= Different races living together happily

Interfaith Marriage= Where husband & wife are from different religions

Religious Freedom= People have the freedom to practice their religion

Religious Pluralism= Accepting all faiths have equal right to exist

Racism= The belief that some races are inferior to others

Sexism= Discrimination based on gender   

                                Changing attitudes to Gender

Massive recent change. It was only in 1918 that women were given the vote. Not until 1970 were women given a right to receive equal pay.

Women’s roles have changed considerably and are now much more varied.  A century ago only 15% of married women worked outside the home. The two world wars did much to stimulate change, when women found themselves performing previously ‘male’ roles due to the shortage of men around. This was accelerated during the 1960’s, by widespread feminist campaigns and changes such as the introduction of the contraceptive pill which gave women previously unimagined freedom.

However, although men and women legally are equal, many would claim there is still discrimination based on gender and that prejudice remains eg. few women in positions of power and still on average earn less than men.