Lewis Taylor & Dawid Cedro

Religion and prejudice

Prejudice – Pre-judging someone ,usually unfavourably, before getting to know them

Discrimination – Putting prejudice ideas into action/ acting on prejudice

Positive discrimination – when benefits are given to people in minority

Tolerance – To accept that people have different opinions and beliefs from your own

Justice – That everyone has the same rights and deserves the same treatment, equality

Community – A collection of people who live and work together and help each other

Harmony – The community accepts each member including their differences

Stereotype – an oversimplified image or idea of a person

Key terms

HinduismBrahman is found in everything therefore all

prejudice thoughts and actions are wrongAhimsa (non violence), hurting others leads

to bad karmaThe Bhagavad Gita suggests that to reach

liberation you should work for the welfare of all fellow humans

“Do not do to another what you do not like to be done to yourself; that is the gist of the law – all other laws are variable” Mahabharata, 5:39

Religious quotes/teachings

ChristianityChristians believe that all forms of

discrimination are wrong“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free

man, male or female. We are all equal in Christ (New Testament)

Jesus told us to love our neighbour (Sermon on the Mount)

In the Good Samaritan story the man is helped because of his need, not because of who he was or wasn't

Religious quotes/teachings

Bad experience – If you have a bad experience with someone or a group of people then you may have a stereotype that all people in that group are the same

Parents – If your parents tell you a bad thing about a group of people then without even knowing them, you might be prejudice towards them

Media – Media such as the news are sometimes biased which you may believe

Ignorance – this is when you go and judge someone without even knowing them

Scapegoating – this is when you blame others as an excuse for a problem. For example Hitler blamed the Jews for the economic problems in Germany

Causes of prejudice

For Against

• People who are often the victim of discrimination now get an advantage

• It gives them more hope and opportunities

• Over the last 10 years the police and fire services have advertised for people in minority groups to apply for jobs

• We should treat everyone equally

• If we give ethnic minorities the advantage then that means that everyone else is then left out

• Someone in an ethnic minority may get the job over a highly skilled person which is unfair

Should we positively discriminate?

“Discrimination is worse than prejudiceFor Against

• Prejudice is just your own belief and as long as you keep it to yourself then it has no impact on others

• Discrimination hurts people and can lead to them feeling upset, lonely and segregated

• They both involve having negative thoughts therefore they are just as bad

• Prejudice is worse as if you discriminate someone then someone has an opportunity to change your view and help you however with prejudice you are keeping it to yourself so you will always take that view

The 1976 Race Relations Act (RRA) made it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their race, nationality, ethnic background in four main areas – jobs, education, housing and provision of services

Stonewall is an organisation working for equality and justice for lesbians and gay men. It works on a political and social level in the UK. It is involved in many campaigns such as ‘Education for All’

Responses to discrimination

Stood up and protested against the discrimination towards blacks in the 20th century

In 1955 he organised a bus boycott to try and end segregation on the buses

In 1957, King continued to preach non-violent marches, boycotts and sit-ins

Since his death in 1968, life in America has improved for the black community, segregation is illegal and black people have equal civil rights

Martin Luther King