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Unlock This CourseIn The Multi-Ethnic Society, Racism and Racial Harmony you met the general ideas: prejudice, discrimination, racism and racial harmony. This lesson shows what Christians believe about them, and how they put those beliefs into practice.
Christians believe all human beings belong to one family. They point to Genesis 1:27, where people are made in God's image, and to Acts 17:26, which says God made every nation from one person. If everyone is made in God's image and belongs to one human family, then judging a person by the colour of their skin or the country they come from goes against God's plan.
Key terms:
In Luke 10, a man is attacked and left injured on the road. A priest and a Levite (a temple helper) walk past. A Samaritan stops, treats his wounds and pays for his care. Jesus tells this story to answer the question "Who is my neighbour?". The hero is from a group that many of Jesus' listeners looked down on. Christians learn that everyone is a neighbour, so help and respect must cross every dividing line.
Peter visits Cornelius, a Roman army officer and a Gentile. Peter says that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. Christians say that if God has no favourites, neither should they.
Jesus taught his followers to love their neighbour as themselves. Christians say that prejudice and discrimination are the opposite of love, because they treat some people as worth less than others.
Christians also recall Galatians 3:28, where Paul says all are one in Christ. This is the main text of Equality and the Role of Women in Christianity, so here it is only a reminder that, for Christians, ethnic differences do not divide the Church.
These teachings give Christians three reasons to work for racial harmony: all people are made in God's image, God has no favourites, and Jesus told his followers to love everyone.
Many Christians have tried to live by these teachings. Here are some examples.
Desmond Tutu was an Anglican archbishop in South Africa. He spoke out against apartheid as a Christian leader and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. After apartheid ended in 1994 he chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which gave people who had suffered a chance to tell their stories. He believed that forgiveness and reconciliation were the Christian way forward.
Many Churches in South Africa and around the world opposed apartheid. In 1969 the World Council of Churches, an organisation of many Christian Churches, began a Programme to Combat Racism. Christians argued that apartheid went against the Bible's teaching that all people are made in God's image.
Martin Luther King Jr, a Baptist minister, led Christians in the American civil rights movement. You will study him in more detail in Paper 2.
An honest answer should say that Christians have not always opposed racism. Some Christians used the Bible to defend slavery. Some Dutch Reformed Church leaders in South Africa supported apartheid and said it was God's will. Churches have since admitted these mistakes. In 1990, at the Rustenburg Conference in South Africa, a Dutch Reformed Church leader publicly confessed the Church's wrong. Many Christians today say the Bible's teaching of one human family was always clear, and that those Christians misused the Bible to protect their own power.
Paper 1, Section 4 (AO1, AO2)
(a) Identify three examples of racial harmony in a religious community. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings in this religion that oppose racism. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why followers of this religion try to promote racial harmony. [6 marks]
(d) "Christianity is the best way to bring about racial harmony." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. A church with members from many ethnic backgrounds (1). 2. Churches working together to oppose apartheid (1). 3. A Church issuing a statement that racism is a sin (1).
(b) Christians teach the story of the Good Samaritan (1), which shows that everyone, whatever their background, is a neighbour who should be helped (1). Acts 10:34-35 says that God does not show favouritism (1), so Christians should not treat people differently because of the nation they come from (1).
(c) Christians believe that all people are made in God's image (1), so every person has equal value to God (1). Acts 10:34-35 teaches that God does not show favouritism (1), so Christians should not either (1). Jesus taught his followers to love their neighbour (1), and the Good Samaritan shows that this includes people from groups that others look down on (1). For these reasons many Christians, such as Desmond Tutu, spoke out against apartheid.
(d) Plan. For: Christian teachings (made in God's image, Good Samaritan, Acts 10:34-35) clearly oppose racism; Tutu and the Churches opposed apartheid; multi-ethnic churches show harmony in practice; Churches have apologised and changed. Against: some Christians supported slavery and apartheid; laws, charities and other organisations also work for harmony; non-religious people, such as humanists, also believe in one human race, so religion is not needed. Judgement: Christianity gives strong reasons for harmony and has inspired real action, but its history shows its teaching has not always been followed, so it is one important way, not the only or best way. A possible conclusion: it works best when Christians live by their teaching and work with others, including the law.
In a 12-mark question, use the history honestly: Christian teachings and examples such as Tutu support the statement, but the fact that some Christians backed apartheid is a strong point against it. Then reach a judgement.