To use media clips and independent study to understand how and why religious people promote community cohesion. Community Cohesion A common vision and shared sense of belonging for ALL groups in society.

OUTCOMES… Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are… Grades C You will be able to describe four ways in which religions help promote community cohesion Grade B You will be able to explain how the things that religious groups do help promote community cohesion. Grade A-A* You will be able to evaluate whether you believe community cohesion will ever be achieved. Your GOALS for the end of this lesson are…

Why is community cohesion so important? Watch the following clip. Use this and examples from previous lessons to make a list of the reasons WHY community cohesion is so important!

Why community cohesion is so important... Without it... Different groups work against and not with each other which causes tension, violence, discrimination and even hate crimes. Different groups live ‘parallel lives’ and do not mix with each other - E.g. The riots in Oldham and Burnley. Violence becomes a way of life - E.g. in countries like Iraq which has no community cohesion.

Re-cap… What is the Government doing/done to promote community cohesion? Use the picture clues to help you remember...

Giving money to groups working for community cohesion.

Schools have to promote community cohesion by law.

Race Relations Act – illegal to discriminate against people based on race, colour etc

Test in Britishness – All immigrants wanting UK citizenship must take a test to promote understanding and preserve culture.

What are religions doing to promote community cohesion?... Using the information around the room complete your sheet in as much detail as possible.

1) Some religious people are working to find out what different religions have in common with each other and then build on it. E.g Christianity, Judaism and Islam all believe in the prophets Abraham and Moses.

2) Some religious groups are working to help interfaith marriages. Protestant churches and liberal Jewish synagogues have developed wedding services for mixed faith couples. Those in mixed marriages have developed the website www.interfaithmarriage.org.uk to offer help and advice to other couples.

3) Some liberal religious groups encourage mixed couples to raise their children in both faiths. The children can then choose when they are older.

See www.interfaith.org.uk. 4) Different religious groups are joining together to explore ways of helping community cohesion. The Inter Faith Network was set up in 1987 to promote good relations between people of different faiths. See www.interfaith.org.uk.

How do these things help promote community cohesion?... Using your common sense explain how each of those examples might help promote community cohesion.

Can community cohesion ever be fully achieved? Watch the following clip... http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_4480000/newsid_4485000/4485054.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1 Unfortunately racially motivated crimes are still carried out in society and over the last few years numbers of these have increased. Many people believe ‘achieving community cohesion is impossible’. Do you agree?

Why do religious people promote community cohesion? Use the clues and your memory (that's right try to remember previous lessons) to give 3 reason why Christians and Muslims promote community cohesion... Muslims… Christians…

Plenary… Fill in the blanks from these important quotes... There is no __________ for an Arab over an non-Arab, neither for a white man over a black man...’ Love thy _____________. ‘O humanity, I am the messenger of God to _____________. Everyone is as equal as the teeth of a ________. God created man in his own ___________, male and female he created them. God does not show __________.