Religion and Community Cohesion revision

Based on Christianity and Islam

Key words: write down the meanings then click to check your answersequality the state of everyone having equal rights regardless of

gender/race/class

sexism discriminating against people because of their gender (being male or

female)

multi-ethnic society Many different races and cultures living together in one society

prejudice believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them

discrimination putting prejudice into practice and treating people less favourably

because of their race/gender/colour/class

racism the belief that some races are superior to others

racial harmony different races/colours living together happily

multi-faith society many different religions living together in one society

religious freedom the right to practise your religion and change your religion

religious pluralism accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist

PrejudiceBelieving someone is inferior or superior without even knowing them

Community cohesiona common vision and shared sense of belonging for all groups in society

Inter faith marriagesmarriage where the husband and wife are from different religions

Ethnic minoritya member of an ethnic group (race) which is much smaller than the majority group

How and why there has been a change in

attitude towards women in the UK

Sexual discrimination against women was normal practice throughout history

In 1918 this started to change and women over 31 got the right to vote

The 1st and 2nd World Wars meant that women were needed to work and proved that women were able to do well in the work place

Even today women aren’t completely equal as women are paid an average of 18% less than men

In 1970 the Equal Pay Act gave women the same rights to pay given to men, before they were paid less for doing the same job!

Christian attitudes to the role of men and women

All Christians believe in equality but some believe that men and women have different roles in life based on what was written in the Bible

You need to know the 3 different attitudes and the reasons for them which follows

Attitude 1: Roman Catholics – believe men and women are equal in every way BUT not in church – they do allow women to become priests

Reasons:• Jesus was friends with women and treated them with respect but did not allow them to

become disciples. He often did controversial things and so could have made women religious leaders if he wanted to.

• Jesus was a man and priests represent Jesus in the Mass (holy communion)• St Paul said “Women should remain silent in church”

Attitude 2: Protestants – Believe that men and women are totally equal in all waysReasons:

• St Paul said “there is no difference between male and female … we are all one in Christ”

• Jesus treated people equally and probably only didn’t allow women to be disciples because at that time no one would have taken them seriously

• Genesis says that God created both sexes at the same time and equally• There are now women priests in the Church of England

Attitude 3: Some Christians think that men and women have different and separate roles e.g. men should rule over women

Reasons:• In the Bible St Paul said that “Women should remain silent in church”• God made Adam first and women from him• Jesus’ disciples were men

Muslim attitudes to men and women

As in Christianity, not all people think the same thing. Muslims have 2 different view on the role of men and women.

You must learn these and the reasons for them!

Attitude 1: Some Muslims think that men and women should have different lives in life and religion

Reasons:1. The Qur’an teaches that men should support women because they have

the stronger physique (build)2. The Qur’an teaches that women were created to have children and men

to provide for them3. The Qur’an teaches that women should only inherit half of what a man

gets showing that men need more money to provide for their family4. Traditionally men only need to go to mosque and be imams

Attitude 2: Some Muslims believe that men and women should be totally equal in both life and religion

Reasons:1. The Qur’an teaches that men and women are equal “all are equal as the

teeth of a comb”2. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) encouraged both men and women to

worship at the mosque3. There were women leaders during the early stages of Islam who gave

advice to the prophets successors

Test yourself1. List 3 things which has made women

more equal2. What are the Christian attitudes towards

women?3. Give 2 reasons for each of these

attitudes4. What do Muslims think about the role of

men and women?5. Give 2 reasons for each of these

opinions

Government action for community cohesion

1976 Race Relations ActTo make sure the law was kept, an organization called the Commission for Racial

Equality (CRE) was set up in 1976.

The CRE’s job was to concentrate on three key areas: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.

2001 Race Relations Amendment Act

2007 Equality and Human Rights Commission This law made it illegal for anyone to:1. Discriminate against a person because of their colour, their nationality or their

ethnic or national group. The main areas covered were housing, jobs, training and education

2. Use threatening or abusive language in public that could stir up racial hatred 3. Publish anything likely to create racial hatred.

Attitudes to racism

All Christians and Muslims believe that racism is wrong and is against their

religion.

There are many teachings for this opinion

Christian teachings on racismChristians work for racial harmony because:

• The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches Christians that everyone is their neighbour

• St Paul said “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile (non-Jews) .. We are all one in Christ”

• Jesus helped people of all races

• The Bible says that God made everyone and so everyone is equal

• The Church has issued statements saying that all Christians should work against racism

Muslim teachings on racism

ALL MUSLIMS BELIEVE THAT RACISM IS WRONGMuslims work for racial harmony because:

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 and so all races are related, therefore on is not superior to another

3. The Prophet Muhammad promoted racial harmony4. In his final sermon (speech) Muhammad said that all

Muslims are brother and sisters, so there should be no racism among Muslims

5. Muhammad converted people of different races

Benefits of multiculturalism

Sharing ideas Exchange of culture

Exchange of music, food, clothes

Choice of other faiths

Increases tolerance and understanding

Inter Faith Network – a religious organisation working for community cohesion

It’s aim is to promote good relationships between people of different faiths to avoid conflict (arguments)

It works by getting people from different faiths to talk about their faith which leads to them respected each other’s views

It works in major cities around the UK, it works for religious pluralism (accepting that all religions have equal right to coexist)

The organisation also works with schools and universities, where ever there may be inter faith interaction to try to educate people on the

benefits of tolerance.

Issues of a multi faith societyConversion – changing religion1. If someone in the family converts to another faith or to

a different Christian group, there may be arguments over which is the best/the correct one

2. There may be problems as both religions are taught that they are the correct one for example Jesus taught his followers “No one goes to the Father except by me”. Where does this leave other religions?

Why trying to convert people is a problem in a multi faith society

1. It implies that the converter’s religion is better, but all should have equal rights in a multi faith society

2. It could lead to religious intolerance3. There could be conflict as if one religion

has the right to convert others, so do the rest

4. If children are converted it could divide families

Another problem is interfaith relationships and marriages

A positive is that interfaith relationships can create harmony in society and the couple would not think their difference in faith mattered, but their families may not agree.

1. There may be a problem over the clash of values e.g. the different views on sex before marriage could be a problem

2. If the couple decide to get married there could be a problem over what sort of ceremony to have. Family may pressure either side to have a religious ceremony and the couple may opt for a civil ceremony to keep the peace, which neither of them wanted

3. The couple may argue about what sort of upbringing their children may have (think about the problems between the Muslim husband and non-Muslim wife in East is East). All religions think that they have a duty to raise any children in that faith, so problems can occur if one partner is one faith, and the other is of a different faith – a child can’t be both Christian and Muslim!

Examining the media – East is East

One issue of religious or community cohesion which was tackled is about arranged marriages. It showed the problems encountered by a Muslim family living in Britain and looked at the issue from different points of view.

The Muslim father wanted his sons to have a traditional arranged marriage. This was important to him as he felt that his family was not part of the Muslim community in Britain and his sons were not taking the Muslim faith seriously. He felt he was a failure as a Muslim father.

The sons did not want an arranged marriage as being brought up in Britain they wanted to choose their own partner ( and one even had a girlfriend which was secret from the dad) and felt no connection to Pakistan, where the father was from. This caused problems to the point of violence and the family potentially being torn apart.

It was also tackled by looking at the wife’s point of view. She was a white non-Muslim and questioned her parenting skills by insisting that her sons do as the father wanted. It became a problem as she allowed the dad to make the children do some Muslims activities e.g. go the mosque, but only because she thought that most things were harmless.

The film looked at the situation from a serious point of view (there was domestic violence when the mother tried to stand up to the father) but it did use comedy too. You felt sorry for the sons when the pictures of the brides to be were seen – they were made up to be very ugly.

Good luck with the exam