1. RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES
TO PREJUDICE

2. KEY TERMS TYPES OF PREJUDICE CAUSES OF PREJUDICE
RACISM
When you treat somebody differently because of their race
SEXISM
When you treat somebody differently because of their gender
AGEISM
When you treat somebody differently because of their age
Some people are also treated differently because they have a disability
CAUSES OF PREJUDICE

3. People have the right to say, believe and dress how they choose
KEY TERMS
SHOULD WE ALWAYS
TOLERATE OTHERS?
Justice
Everyone has equal value (for religious people this means that everyone is equally important to God). Because of this everyone should be treated equally and fairly by the law.
Harmony
Living in peace with other people. Showing kindness and compassion to others to build a sense of community.
Tolerance
Accepting that people are different and learning to value and get along with them. Allowing people to have different views and opinions.
Value of the Individual
Recognising that everyone has equal value to God.
YES NO
People have the right to say, believe and dress how they choose
Although people have rights, we also have the responsibility not to behave in ways that we know will hurt or upset others
Some people’s views and actions ar dangerous, society has the right to be kept safe
EFFECTS OF PREJUDICE
Anthony Walker was killed in a racist attack. Anthony was walking with his white girlfriend when two youths saw them and did not like their mixed race relationship. The youths attacked Anthony with an ice axe and he later died from his injuries.
Hitler believed that the Jews were inferior to the rest of Europeans and killed over 6 million of them in concentration camps.
Women have been refused jobs or paid less than men for doing the same job (this is now illegal).

4. POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION
What is it?
When you treat people more favourably because of who they are.
POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION
Why would people discriminate positively?
To try and make things even in society, if they have been unfair in the past and change is not happening quickly enough.
In the 1960’s, America introduced an intiative called ‘Affirmative Action’, part of it’s aim was to increase the number of black students going to college. Colleges were told that they had to increase their intake of black students, some actually set targets and quotas for how many black students that had to enroll.
Affirmative Action was introduced because, even though it was no longer legal to treat black and white people differently, attitudes were slow to change and the government of the day thought that this would speed up the process of an equal society.
During her time in government, Labour MP, Harriet Harman, wanted to make it legal for people to employ women and ethnic minority groups on the grounds that they wanted more women or ethnic minority groups within their organisation
IS IT A GOOD IDEA?
YES NO
It helps to give people opportunities that they might not otherwise have had
It can help make society a fairer place
It is still discrimination and discrimination of any kind is wrong
It is not fair on people who are from majority groups, they could be more qualified for a place at university but could lose out because there needs to be a target number of minority groups enrolled
It could cause resentment, people might find it difficult to get on with someone who they think is there simply because of their colour or gender
People from minority groups might not want preferential treatment, they may want to succeed on their own merits, rather than because they are from a minority group
In the Bible it says, ‘Let us make man in our own image’.
This suggests that everyone is equal because everyone is made by God.
Therefore Christians would be largely against positive discrimination because it is treating one group of people differently to others which they would not see as being fair. They may be willing to accept it in extreme situations if what was happening was already unfair, eg in 1960’s America some colleges were reluctant to allow black students to study there, affirmative action was introduced to make colleges accept black students.
WHAT WOULD
CHRISTIANS SAY?

5. THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it says…
BELIEF
This suggests…
CONTEXT
Therefore…
‘Let us make man in our own image’
Everyone was made by God
Prejudice is wrong because everyone is the same
‘The Story of the Good Samaritan’
That Jesus wanted people to help each other, even if they were from different groups.
Prejudice is wrong because Jesus said that everyone is your neighbour
THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
A Jewish man is beaten up and left for dead. Many people pass him but do not stop to help. In the end it is a Samaritan man who stops to help him even though the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies.

6. ONLY MEN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE PRIESTS? WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
BACKGROUND
Traditionally men have been allowed to be priests and vicars and women have not.
Recently some groups of Christians, such as the Church of England have allowed women to become vicars, but some, for example, Roman Catholics still will not allow it.
At the time Jesus lived, women were seen as second class citizens to men and it was not considered important that they be educated. Jesus always treated women with respect and encouraged them to listen to his teachings.
YES NO
Jesus chose 12 male disciples to spread his teachings after he had died.
Jesus had to choose male disciples as, even though the Bible shows us he had great respect for women, he was aware that the majority of people did not, and so knew that nobody would listen to them at the time.
It is traditional that only men are priests
Just because something is traditional, it doesn’t mean that it is right, eg it used to be traditional to keep slaves yet nobody would try to argue now that this was fair.
The writings of St Paul specify that women should be ‘Silent in church’ – how could they be priests if they are supposed to be silent?
St Paul was known for his dislike of women and tried to pass his ideas onto the rest of society.
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
In the Bible it says, ‘Let us make man in our own image’.
This suggests that everyone was made by God and therefore everyone is equal.
This had led many Christians to think that it is acceptable for women to be priests as they are equal to men and so should be able to do the same jobs. Some Christians do not allow women to be priests, not because they don’t think that they are as capable as men, but because they think that God intended for them to play a different role in the Church.

7. RESPONSES TO PREJUDICE
WHO
What has been done?
Strengths
Weaknesses
The Law
Laws have been passed making it illegal to treat people differently. These include the:
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Race Relations Act 1976
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
It sends a clear message that discrimination is wrong
There is a consequence for people discriminate against others
Changes in the law do not automatically change people’s attitudes
It can be difficult to prove discrimination, eg an employer may not want to hire a woman and just pretend that a man was more suitable for the job
Individuals - Gee Walker
After her son Anthony was killed in a racist attack, Gee Walker set up a charity in his name to educate young people about the dangers of racism
Education can change people’s attitudes and help them to understand why discrimination is wrong
Some people are ignorant and refuse to listen to reasoned explanations of why it is wrong to be prejudiced
Communities- Corrymeela Community
The Corrymeela Community was founded by Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland during a time when violence was tearing the country apart. It promotes peace by building relationships between Catholics and Protestants. It provides a place where people from both sides of the conflict can meet and talk to each other
It helps people to understand each other and realise that everyone is the same, regardless of whether they are a Catholic or a Protestant
It is difficult to change attitudes when there is such a long history of conflict
People have to be willing to try to accept others, this is not always the case

8. MARTIN LUTHER KING WHAT DID HE DO? NON-VIOLENCE
Martin Luther King believed strongly in non-violent protest and would not allow any of his demonstrations to be violent. As a Christian, he believed in following the example of Jesus who never used violence towards anyone. He was also inspired by the work of Gandhi who had managed to achieve equality in India through non-violent protest.
Martin Luther King was sadly assassinated in He had seen many reforms in his lifetime and his work was continued by his supporters after his death. When Barrack Obama was elected as the President of the USA, many people attributed his success, in part, to the work of Martin Luther King.
BACKGROUND
Martin Luther King lived in America during a time when it was legal to treat black people differently to white people. He campaigned for changes to the law that would mean that people of all races had to be treated equally.
WHAT DID HE DO?
Organised ‘sit-ins’ in places such as restaurants that had previously not allowed black people to be served
Went on protest marches to raise awareness of what he was campaigning for
After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, Martin Luther King organised the bus boycot which was so successful (because the bus company lost so much money) that the company got rid of the rule that black people had to give up their seat for white people
Gave speeches to educate and inspire people about his vision that one day everyone would be treated equally, the most famous of these was his ‘I have a dream’ speech.