Religion and Community Cohesion

Religion and Community Cohesion

1. Multi-faith Society

   • Advantages
     • Varied and rich cultural life
     • Better understanding/tolerance of different viewpoints
     • New ways of living (yoga, meditation)
   • Disadvantages
     • Challenged about own faith
     • Fear of being the minority (marginalised)
     • Leads to beliefs and values ignored
     • Issues: conversion (apostasy in punishable by death), raising children, interfaith marriages (validity according to church)

2. Religious Freedom

   • Authority Action
     • 2006 Equality Act
     • 1998 Human Rights Act
     • 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act
     • UK Inter Faith Network promoting links between faiths
     • SACRE organisation concerning RS education in schools
   • Christian Views
     • Evangelicals: exclusivist- only true Christians will enter Heaven "no one will come to the father except through me" (John 14)
     • Roman Catholics: inclusivist- Christianity has the full truth so other faiths should be respected but encouraged to convert "God is unknown yet near" (Catechism)
     • Quakers: pluralist- all religions lead to God "in my father's house there are many rooms" (John 14)

3. Multi-ethnic Society

   • Advantages
     • Enables understanding of different faiths
     • New people with fresh ideas
     • Wider variety of music, food, clothes and culture
   • Disadvantages
     • Racism towards immigrants in the public and work sector
     • Steven Lawrence murder inquiry showed institutionalised racism in the Police Force

4. Racism

   • Christian Opposition
     • "From one human being he created all the races on Earth" (Acts 17)
     • Parable of the Good Samaritan & Parable of the Sheep and Goats
     • Jesus spent time with Romans, Samarians and outcasts of society
     • Martin Luther King Jr and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
     • "God does not show favouritism, but accepts men from every nation" (Acts 10)
     • 'Assist Sheffield' with St. Thomas Church provides accommodation, grants, assistance to asylum seekers unsupported by the Government
     • Promoted by: same place worship, community social events, special international services, charities combatting racism
   • Authority Opposition
     • Race Relations Act 1976
     • Commission for Racial Equality
     • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
     • Amnesty International
     • Helping those seeking asylum

5. Women

   • Changing Views
     • Rights to vote: 1918 Representation of the People Act, 1928 Electoral Reform Act
     • Equality in the workplace: 1970 Equal Pay Act, 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, 1975 Employment Protection Act
     • Equal opportunities and choice: Contraceptive pill (1960s)
     • 1900s: 15% married women worked
     • 2000s: Men earn 17% more, women do majority of household chores and less are in executive roles
   • Christian Views
     • Both sexes were created equally-Imago Dei
     • Evangelical Protestants: "I [St Paul] do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent" (1 Timothy 2)
     • Church of England: Jesus treated women as equals- Mary Magdalene first witnessed Jesus after his ressurection
     • "There is neither... male nor female for you are all one person in Christ" (Genesis 3)
     • Roman Catholics: All Jesus' disciples (chosen to spread his word) were men
     • Quakers: Priesthood of all believers without ordained clergy