I wrote the following article on 29 May 2014:
The results of the recent British Social Attitudes Survey have been released. The data was extracted to see what the British public thought about a range of political, social and moral attitudes. This included their opinions on gender roles and the family.
However, the statistic that grabbed the attention of the public and the media was that about 30 per cent of the respondents admitted to being ‘very’ or ‘a little’ racist.
By comparison, the figure had been down to 25 per cent in 2001 and the subsequent rise shocked commentators who had assumed that progress was being made in the area of racial integration. Although the 2013 statistic was an improvement on the 1980s when 36 per cent described themselves as racist (and the small spike in the 2011 survey), it has been acknowledged that Britain has a long way to go in improving its attitudes towards other races within the islands.
There have been several suggested factors that could have influenced people’s attitudes. One was the fallout from the 9/11 terror attacks with the continuing threat of radical Islamic attacks, especially with the Government warnings that the radicalisation of young people fighting in the Syria could have future impact for this country.
Another possible cause could be fears about increased immigration where jobs could be lost (with the resulting consequences) and the lack of resources to cope with more people entering our nation. It has been highlighted by some social commentators that the people who wanted reduced immigration or wanted it to cease altogether tended to live in areas where there were very few people from other ethnic groups. Furthermore, as John Sentamu (the Archbishop of York) has pointed out, there has been very little differential in the arguments on immigration between those people fleeing persecution, those born in this country and those who are economic migrants.
People residing in cosmopolitan inner London were least likely to describe themselves as ‘very’ or ‘a little’ racist (16 per cent) compared to 35 per cent of respondents in the West Midlands.
The levels of prejudice increased with age (being higher amongst those over the age of 55 years) and with those who had no qualifications. There was also a trend among occupations, with more manual workers admitting racial bias than managers and ‘professionals.’
Penny Young, the Chief Executive of NatCen Social Research (which conducted the survey), commented: ‘levels of racial prejudice declined steadily throughout the nineties, but have been on the rise again during the first decade of this century. This bucks the trend of a more socially liberal and tolerant Britain.’
Ms Young continued: ‘Our local and national leaders need to understand and respond to increased levels of racial prejudice if we are to build strong communities.’
There is the injunction in the Bible to treat immigrants well (Exodus 22: 21, Deuteronomy 10: 19, Zechariah 7: 10). We have the promise of God to dwell with us if we care for the immigrants (Jeremiah 7: 6), whereas God does not speak to us if we do not fulfil this command (Ezekiel 22: 29).
It can easy to overlook the fact that two of Jesus’ ancestors, Rahab and Ruth, came from outside of the nation of Israel and ended up blessing that people.
It has to be acknowledged that people’s thoughts and fears are to be addressed, and issues need to find solutions. However, it is for Christians to reach out with the hand of love to those who arrive for whatever reasons, because God has brought them into our lives for a purpose.
The results of the recent British Social Attitudes Survey have been released. The data was extracted to see what the British public thought about a range of political, social and moral attitudes. This included their opinions on gender roles and the family.
However, the statistic that grabbed the attention of the public and the media was that about 30 per cent of the respondents admitted to being ‘very’ or ‘a little’ racist.
By comparison, the figure had been down to 25 per cent in 2001 and the subsequent rise shocked commentators who had assumed that progress was being made in the area of racial integration. Although the 2013 statistic was an improvement on the 1980s when 36 per cent described themselves as racist (and the small spike in the 2011 survey), it has been acknowledged that Britain has a long way to go in improving its attitudes towards other races within the islands.
There have been several suggested factors that could have influenced people’s attitudes. One was the fallout from the 9/11 terror attacks with the continuing threat of radical Islamic attacks, especially with the Government warnings that the radicalisation of young people fighting in the Syria could have future impact for this country.
Another possible cause could be fears about increased immigration where jobs could be lost (with the resulting consequences) and the lack of resources to cope with more people entering our nation. It has been highlighted by some social commentators that the people who wanted reduced immigration or wanted it to cease altogether tended to live in areas where there were very few people from other ethnic groups. Furthermore, as John Sentamu (the Archbishop of York) has pointed out, there has been very little differential in the arguments on immigration between those people fleeing persecution, those born in this country and those who are economic migrants.
People residing in cosmopolitan inner London were least likely to describe themselves as ‘very’ or ‘a little’ racist (16 per cent) compared to 35 per cent of respondents in the West Midlands.
The levels of prejudice increased with age (being higher amongst those over the age of 55 years) and with those who had no qualifications. There was also a trend among occupations, with more manual workers admitting racial bias than managers and ‘professionals.’
Penny Young, the Chief Executive of NatCen Social Research (which conducted the survey), commented: ‘levels of racial prejudice declined steadily throughout the nineties, but have been on the rise again during the first decade of this century. This bucks the trend of a more socially liberal and tolerant Britain.’
Ms Young continued: ‘Our local and national leaders need to understand and respond to increased levels of racial prejudice if we are to build strong communities.’
There is the injunction in the Bible to treat immigrants well (Exodus 22: 21, Deuteronomy 10: 19, Zechariah 7: 10). We have the promise of God to dwell with us if we care for the immigrants (Jeremiah 7: 6), whereas God does not speak to us if we do not fulfil this command (Ezekiel 22: 29).
It can easy to overlook the fact that two of Jesus’ ancestors, Rahab and Ruth, came from outside of the nation of Israel and ended up blessing that people.
It has to be acknowledged that people’s thoughts and fears are to be addressed, and issues need to find solutions. However, it is for Christians to reach out with the hand of love to those who arrive for whatever reasons, because God has brought them into our lives for a purpose.
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