Religion and Prejudice and Discrimination
Key Words
Prejudice
This is a thought. It means pre-judgement. It is a negative
attitude toward a group of people without knowing much or
anything about them individually, e.g. women are bad
drivers / Irish people are not very clever.
Discrimination
This is an action. It is acting upon your prejudice and treating
a group of people differently because of your pre-judgement
about them, e.g. you would refuse to get in a taxi driven by a
woman because you think women are bad drivers / you
would not employ an Irish person who came to an interview
for a job as you think they are of low intelligence.
Positive
discrimination
This is to treat someone more favourably due to their race,
religion, sex, nationality, etc.
Racism
This is to discriminate against somebody with regard to their
race. Racism is a form of discrimination.
Sexism
This is to discriminate against somebody with regard to their
sex. Sexism is a form of discrimination.
Stereotype
Prejudices come from stereotypes. A stereotype is to believe
that a group of people who share a similar characteristic
(race/sex/religion/age) are all the same.
Patriotism
This is a belief that people from your country and race are
better than others. It can be used to a less severe degree to
simply mean that someone is proud of their country.
Equality
This means that all humans have the same rights as each
other. We have the same value and worth. We are all equal
and deserve respect.
Tolerance
This is to be open-minded and accept other people, their
beliefs and lifestyles as acceptable although different to your
own.
Justice
This is a situation where everything is fair and equal. Right
action is done and wrong actions are punished or stopped.
Harmony
This is to live peacefully and in agreement with other people.
Value of the
individual
This is to say that all people are important and of worth.
Community
This is a group of people who live together. The group has a
responsibility for the welfare of each other.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
Types of Prejudice and Discrimination
1. Religious Discrimination – This is to negatively treat someone differently due to the fact they are of
a certain religion. In the UK, it is against the law.
Examples of Religious Discrimination

The Nazi treatment (murder and torture) of the Jewish community during the Holocaust (WWII),
where the Germans blamed the Jews for the poor economic state of the country.

Muslims have been discriminated against by experiencing over zealous security searches at airports
following the 9/11 aeroplane attacks in New York (2001) by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda (who
purport to be Muslims).
2. Racism – This is to negatively treat somebody differently due to of the fact they are a certain race.
Discrimination of this type is often done based on a person’s skin colour. Racism is illegal in the UK (e.g.
not to give someone a job because of their race; to use racist language and abuse someone with; and to
encourage racism is illegal).
Examples of Racism Encountered Daily

A person is called names in relation to their skin colour.

A person is not employed for a job because of their race.

A person is not included in a social activity because of their race.

A customer is not dealt with properly because of their race.

A person is made to feel constantly ostracised from a group, and they believe this is due to their
race.
An Example of Racism in History – USA (1950s and 1960s)
 In the USA during the 1950s and 60s, ‘black people’ were not treated the same as ‘white people’ by
the whole of society including the government. They were not treated as equal citizens with equal
rights. They were regarded as ‘inferior humans’. Here are some examples of how ‘black people’ were
treated unfairly:
 A ‘black person’ and a ‘white person’ could do exactly the same job, have the same
qualifications, work the same number of hours but be paid at different rates, simply
because of skin colour.

‘Black people’ were not allowed to sit at the back of the public transport buses. These seats
were regarded as the area for ‘white people’ to sit in. Furthermore, a ‘black person’ had to
stand up if the bus was full and there was no seat for a ‘white person’ to sit on.

Shops were allowed to refuse to serve ‘black people’. Some stores even displayed signs
saying ‘we serve white customers only’.

‘Black children’ and ‘white children’ were educated separately. This segregation
(separation) meant that the schools the ‘white children’ went to could be funded well,
whilst the schools for the ‘black children’ had very poor facilities.

‘Black people’ had no right to vote when elections were taking place to decide on a
president for the country. The government and society did not regard the opinions of ‘black
people’ as important.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
3. Sexism – This is to treat someone negatively based on their gender. Throughout history, women
have been the main victims of sexism. Sexism still exists in modern society despite it being against the
law in the UK.
Examples of Sexism

Many claim that men are still seen as the dominant sex. This is reflected in the fact that men often
occupy jobs which carry greater responsibility and financial reward.

In the Catholic Church, women are not allowed to be priests.
Are Men and Women Equal? – A Religious View
Christianity
Yes

In God’s eyes all people are equal. Gender is irrelevant – ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek… male
or female for you are one in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28). All people are the same to God.

If you are sexist then you are disrespecting God as you are discriminating against his creation
and image, as this is how he made all people – ‘God created man in his image… he made them
male and female’ (Genesis 1:27).

St Paul suggests that men are superior to women in a marriage. They are to be the boss in that
relationship. Men and women are therefore not equal – ‘Wives… submit to your husbands… for
he is the head of the wife’ (Ephesians 5:22–23).

Jesus obviously considered men to be better than women for spreading the message of
Christianity as he only chose male disciples.
No
Islam
Yes
 Allah wants all people to be treated equally. Gender should not be an issue as all humans are
his important creation. Each and every one of us is as important as the other – ‘…Allah loves his
creation… and the fair-minded’ (Sura 60:8).
 In one of Mohammad’s hadiths (teachings) he said that women have certain rights over men
and men have certain rights over women. In saying this he was showing that men and women
complement each other. The two sexes are equal partners to complement and complete each
other.
No
 In reality, in some Muslim societies (e.g. Afghanistan) women serve the family needs, especially
their husbands’ needs. Their role is to look after the children and home. Females are not permitted
to attend school and be educated like the males. Women are not treated equally or given a choice
in this. They are suppressed and this is the tradition of the society.
 In Mohammad’s hadiths, when talking about the relationship between men and women, he
often refers to females as ‘helpers’. This suggests his view was that the male had a more dominant
role.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
Should Women Be Allowed to Be Priests Within the Catholic Church?
Yes

Times have changed. Modern society recognises that men and women are
equal. The Catholic Church should embrace modern society and its changes
instead of following its outdated traditions. The Church of England has
allowed women to be vicars. The Catholic Church should follow its lead.

Such silliness in not allowing women to be priests breeds resentments in
people. They will start to view the Catholic Church with little respect and it
turns people from religion.

Sometimes it is impossible for a man to understand and empathise with how
a woman feels (e.g. counselling a rape victim). Women can be much better
listeners and have more understanding in some situations than a man. A
large part of the job of a priest is counselling and support. A woman would
bring much needed skills to the profession of the ‘priesthood’.

Jesus’ message was for all people to receive. Therefore, the carriers and deliverers of his message is
a job all people can do. Gender is not an issue as ‘there is no male or female… for you are all one in
Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28).

God created all people equally – ‘God created man in his image… male and female’ (Genesis 1:27).
Therefore, all people should treat others equally following God’s example and intention.
No

Jesus only chose male disciples. He treated women with respect and they were part of his close-knit
group, but he gave them no power and authority like he did his male disciples. He obviously viewed
that they did not have the capabilities to lead. This example should be followed.

During each month, women menstruate. To many people this makes them spiritually unclean. Thus,
they are not fit to bless the bread and wine and distribute it during Mass.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
4. Ageism – This is to treat someone negatively based on their age. Age discrimination in the UK is
against the law.
Examples of Ageism

Some people believe they have not been employed by a business due to them being viewed as too
old and thus incapable of carrying out the duties of an occupation efficiently.

Young people can be viewed by older members of a community as being irresponsible vandals and
thus will treat them rudely and with little respect and worth.
5. Disability Discrimination – This is to treat someone negatively based on a physical or mental
impairment that they have. In the UK, it is against the law.
An Example of Disability Discrimination

Some shops and workplaces have not provided sufficient facilities to accommodate people with
disabilities such as access to toilets and doorways wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through.
6. Discrimination based on class/lifestyle and looks – This is to treat someone differently due to the
class of society they are from, the kind of lifestyle they lead or how they look.

People can be considered to be inferior and looked down upon by others if they do not seem to be
of a certain wealth, lifestyle or appearance.

The term ‘class’ is often used to refer to a group in society generally based on a person’s wealth and
job.

Lifestyle/looks – A person can be identified by the way they look (features such as weight and
clothes they wear) and their interests and possessions (lifestyle).
Example
 Some clubs, bars and restaurants have a ‘dress code’. They may not allow a person in if they are not
dressed in a certain way so as to not ‘lower the tone of the establishment’.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
The Causes of Prejudice

Ignorance – Due to a lack of understanding of the culture and lifestyle practices of a race, people
can be intolerant of that group, e.g. Rastafarians have been viewed as ‘druggies’ as a part of their
culture is to smoke marijuana. People do not understand that this was originally done in their
society, to help achieve a spiritual high to be in touch with their God.

Stereotyping – A person may base their opinion of an entire group of people based on one bad
experience of one person from a certain race or religion.

Scapegoating – A person may blame a group of people for problems that exist in society. Some
racist people have blamed ethnic minorities for unemployment, saying these groups have taken
jobs that they should have.

Parents/upbringing – A person’s parents may have had racist attitudes and these have influenced
their children to think in the same way.

Media – The media often stereotypes people and thus reinforces within its audience these opinions.
For example, Australians are often portrayed as being arrogant people.

Victims of prejudice and discrimination – A person may have experienced ill-treatment from a
group of people. Thus, they will have a negative attitude toward all people from this group.

Patriotism and xenophobia – A person may feel that their race is better than others so will have a
disrespectful attitude towards other races to try to keep their prime position above other
nationalities. They fear that if they don’t, ‘foreigners’ could supersede their top spot (xenophobia).

Fear – A person or race of people may fear that their own identity may be lost if another race
becomes part of their society. Society may become so multicultural that national identity is lost.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
Why Do Religious People Disagree With Prejudice and Discrimination
(Racism and Sexism)?
 Religious people hold beliefs of tolerance, justice, harmony, equality and the importance of all
people as they are part of God’s creation. Due to holding such beliefs, religious people are against
prejudice and discrimination.

Evidence for these beliefs (from holy books) is as follows:
Christianity

All humans come from God. We all come from this divine source. We are all equal: ‘And he made
one from every nation of men to live on the earth’ (Acts 17:26).

All humans are equal in God’s eyes, regardless of race and nationality. We should follow God’s view
– ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free-man, male or female; for you are all one in Jesus
Christ’ (Galatians 3:28).

In Jesus’ teaching of the Good Samaritan, he shows us that a person should be treated according to
their need, not their race or nationality (a Samaritan helps a Jew, despite the two nations being in
conflict). To be a good Christian, Jesus’ teachings should be followed and acted out in life.

Jesus helped all people regardless of their class, race or sex (e.g. Jesus healed a man who was a
Roman Soldier’s servant; many Jewish people would have ignored this man as he was a Roman and
considered to be an enemy of the Jews and was of the lowest class as he was a servant). We should
follow his example and help all people.
Islam

All people in the world are part of Allah’s community. We are one community as humans, not
separate ones in terms of race or gender – ‘cling firmly together by means of Allah’s rope and do
not be divided’ (Sura 3:103).

Muslims are told in the Koran that they should treat all people equally as this is what Allah considers
right and moral behaviour – ‘Allah loves the fair-minded…’ (Sura 60:8).
The Effects of Prejudice and Discrimination
1. The Individual – It can cause a person to have no self-worth, self-respect and dignity, leading them
to live a life of unhappiness.
2. The Community – It divides communities, people live in fear of one another. Thus, society does not
work together and people live in disharmony only looking out for themselves and not others.
3. The World Community – It has been responsible for the deaths of millions of people such as those
from the Jewish community during the Holocaust (WWII). It is estimated that six million people
were murdered during this time, by the Nazis, simply because of their race and religious beliefs.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
How Can Society Combat Discrimination?

Education – We can educate pupils in schools from an early age to accept that all people are equal.
This will help prevent the development of feelings of fear and ignorance towards people who are
different to them.

Promote mixing (multicultural/race/religion/sex/age/class) – Mixing with others from all groups in
society will lead to a better understanding of each other. Rather than viewing people by their race,
religion, gender, age, class or culture they will be just viewed as people, e.g. a business or school
could ensure that they employ or enrol people/students from all different groups in society.

Punishment – Schools and workplaces could have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on discriminatory
behaviour. People and students could be severely punished if they do discriminate, e.g. a school
would permanently exclude a pupil for discrimination and a business would ‘fire’ them.
Religious and Social Responses to Prejudice and Discrimination
Individuals

In 2005, in the UK, a schoolboy named Anthony Walker was murdered by two men in a racist attack.
He was killed because of the colour of his skin – black.

His mother, a Christian, openly expressed her forgiveness of her son’s murderers through the
media. She did not want to dishonour her son’s memory by hating them and as a result possibly
cause disunity in the Merseyside community between black and white groups.

Her response was truly one of living out the Christian values of love and peace. A charity, in the
name of Anthony, was set up by his family, with the aim of combating racism.
Groups

Northern Ireland has seen decades of violence and murder between Catholic Christians and
Protestant Christians. Due to differences in these two groups’ beliefs, the two communities have
been in conflict.

‘The Corrymeela Group’ was eventually founded in Northern Ireland by both Catholics and
Protestants. It was set up for all different religious groups to meet and talk to promote tolerance,
understanding of each other’s beliefs and thus peace and unity within the Northern Ireland
communities.
Society and the Law

The UK law has a number of regulations to fight all types of discrimination and hence promote
justice, equality and unity amongst the population. These include the Equality Act (2006 – against
ageism and religious discrimination), the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), the Race Relations Act
(1976) and the Sex Discrimination Act (1975).

If people (individuals/workplaces/businesses) do not adhere to the rules set out in these acts (laws),
they can be taken to court and punished.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
Religious Believers (Leaders) Who Have Fought Against Prejudice and Discrimination
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu. In 1893, he went to live in South Africa. As an Indian man living there, he
experienced racial prejudice and discrimination. This was due to the ‘apartheid laws’ of the government
which discriminated against non-white people, treating them unequally. Mahatma Gandhi started a
campaign in South Africa for the equal rights of Indians living there. He was successful in leading a
peaceful protest which resulted in an unfair tax, paid by non-whites, being stopped. In 1915, he
returned to India where he continued his campaign to achieve equal rights for all people. He led
protests against racism from the British ruling authorities in India (India was once part of the British
Empire) and campaigned for equal rights for the poor, who under the Hindu caste system (similar to a
class system) were treated unequally. Mahatma Gandhi was successful in achieving ‘better’ equal rights
for all people in India. All of his protests and campaigns were peaceful, as not only did he believe in
equality, he believed in non-violence.
Martin Luther King
In the USA during the 1950s and 60s, ‘black people’ were not treated the same as ‘white people’ by the
whole of society including the government. They were not treated as equal citizens with equal rights.
They were regarded as ‘inferior humans’. Martin Luther King did not believe that the way ‘black people’
in the USA were treated was fair. He was a black Christian minister and started an organisation called
‘The Civil Rights Movement’. This was to fight for equal rights for all ‘black people’ in America. Martin
Luther King believed in peaceful protest which he used to try to convince the government to change the
laws to give ‘black people’ the same rights as the ‘white people’ in the USA. Here are two examples of
his ‘Civil Rights Movement’ protests which worked and forced the laws to be changed.
Example 1 – In 1960, there was a march of 250,000 people into the capital of the USA, Washington,
demanding that ‘black people’ were given the right to vote in political elections. This is where Martin
Luther King made his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech.
Example 2 – Martin Luther King organised a ‘bus boycott’; this is where ‘black people’ were encouraged
to not use the public transport buses until they were given equal rights on them. The bus companies lost
lots of money as the main users were ‘black people’. In 1960, under pressure, the government changed
the segregation laws of the buses; giving ‘black people’ equal usage rights on public transport.
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu is the Archbishop of the Church in South Africa. During the 1970s, he started a campaign
to achieve equal rights for black people who were discriminated against by the racist ‘apartheid laws’ of
the white ruling government. For example, black people were forced to live in rundown areas where
education and job prospects were poor. They could be arrested if they were found outside of these
‘homeland districts’ (living areas). During the 1980s, Desmond Tutu campaigned for countries around
the world to not trade commodities with South Africa, until the government changed its laws.
Economically this was devastating for South Africa, and was obviously designed to put pressure on the
government to change its racist attitudes, which over time they did, giving equal rights to all races.
Today, in South Africa, the division and separation between white and black communities is far less.
Black people are now in positions of power and influence (politicians) and leading members of the
community, along with white people.
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
End of Topic Test
Religion and Prejudice
1.
Describe, with use of an example, what the following two terms mean.
i.
ii.
Prejudice
Discrimination
2.
What do the following terms mean?
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Positive discrimination
Racism
Sexism
Equality
Tolerance
Justice
Harmony
Value of the individual
Community
3.
Describe, with use of a detailed example, the following types of discrimination.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Religious discrimination
Racism
Sexism
Ageism
Discrimination based on disability
Discrimination based on class/lifestyle/looks
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
4.
Describe, with an example for each, three causes of prejudice and discrimination.
(6)
5.
Describe why a religious person would disagree with prejudice and discrimination.
(6)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
6. State one piece of evidence from the holy book for why each of the following groups of religious
people would disagree with prejudice and discrimination.
i.
Christians
(2)
ii.
Muslims
(2)
7.
Describe the three effects on society of prejudice and discrimination.
(6)
8.
Describe the three ways society can combat prejudice and discrimination.
(6)
9.
Describe how one individual has responded to prejudice and discrimination positively.
(4)
10. Describe how a group has responded to prejudice and discrimination positively.
(4)
11. Describe how the law has worked to fight prejudice and discrimination.
(3)
12. Describe the work of one religious leader who has fought against prejudice and discrimination.
(6)
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010
Exam practice question
Religion and Prejudice
Look at the definition below.
Prejudice means to judge someone unfairly before
the true facts about them are known.
01 Give two causes of racism. (2 marks)
02 Explain why some religious believers might support positive discrimination. (3 marks)
03 “Religious believers should help victims of prejudice.”
What do you think? Explain your opinion. (3 marks)
04 Describe the work of one religious believer who has fought against prejudice. (4 marks)
05 “Religious prejudice is the worst type of prejudice.”
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have thought about more than
one point of view. Refer to religious arguments in your answer. (6 marks)
Revision Summaries for Unit 2: Religion and Life Issues
© ZigZag Education, 2010