Migration and religious pluralism Flashcards
How does the Census show that migration affected Christianity?
- Aprox 70% of population growth between 2001-201 was due to migration
- For the first time in England and Wales census, < half of the population (46.2%) described themselves as ‘Christian’
- 13.1% decrease, ‘Christian’ remained the most common response to the religion question
What did the Census show in religion due to Migration?
‘no religion’ was second most common response, increasing by 12% to 37.2% from 25.2% in 2011.
Increases in ‘Muslims’ (3.9m, 6.5% in 2021, up form 4.9% in 2011)
London most diverse- >1/4 (25.3%) of unusual residents reporting a religion other than Christian- North East least diverse- 4.3% selecting others
How does the law protect Religion?
- Universal Declaration of HR enshrines right to religious freedom into international law
- ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion’
- Confirmed in European Convention of HR and Fundamental Freedoms (Article 9) 2019- relevant in Rwanda scheme
What problem is there with applying the national UK census to specific areas?
-Different parts of the UK have different demographics- e.g London is more diverse than anywhere else, hard to apply national stats when that may not reflect lived experiences of many British people
What are the problems that freedom of religion pose?
- Exclusivist- Christianity is the true religion, means they may be hostile to other religions
-Decrease of Christians drives fundamentalists to be more extreme- seen as devil attack
Ethical concerns- many think religious practices are morally wrong (especially Islam)- Hijab, halal meat
What is Exclusivism?
- Belief that your religion is the one ‘true’ religion
- Christianity- Jesus is God + died for our sins is only means for salvation- ‘I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes through the father except through me’ John 14:16
- Evangelism- those not baptised will go to hell
What does John 14:16 show us about exclusivism?
Life- victory over death, defeated the evil introduced by Adam and Eve, eternal life due to sacrifice- teachings in knowing God and getting to heaven.
Jesus sacrifice is the basis of salvation and it is therefore necessary to believe him
Why was/is migration an influential factor on Christianity in the 20th/21st century?
- means that Christianity has to respond to the truth of other religions, e.g are they ‘correct’ on afterlife views
- Other religions call into question the nature of Britain as a religious country, e.g bank holidays for Christmas + Easter
Why does exclusivism not make sense with an omnibenevolent God?
-Believing that Jesus is the only means of salvation excludes those that lived before Jesus’ death/ those without access to gospel.
-Would not be fair for an omnibenevolent God to damn those people to hell with no control over this/ receiving his Grace
What is Inclusivism?
The view that those who have not received the Gospel can still be saved
- Response to issues such as those who lived before Jesus/ isolated societies, e.g uncontacted tribes
Rahner- argued while Christianity was the one ‘true’ religion, it would not be omnibenevolent for people to be damned for factors outside of their control
What does Rahner argue about anonymous Christians?
- Follows of other religions can be ‘lawful’- through combination of natural law and God’s grace
- Those who live morally good lives, respond to the Christian God’s revelation in the world and receive his Grace in their religion, with no awareness of this
- Those in contact with Christianity have no excuse for continuing to believe other religions- must convert to be saved
What does Hick argue in relation to this?
Paternalistic- (acting in a patronising way, as if you are someone’s parent/ looking down on someone)
