Introduction
In 2001, the Home Office investigated religious discrimination in the UK. The report said:
- Ignorance and indifference towards religion were of widespread concern amongst research
participants from all faith groups. - Those who actively practised their religion often said that they were made to feel awkward and that they experienced pressure to conform.
- They claimed that other people based their views on pre-conceived ideas and stereotypes.
- Hostility and violence were very real concerns for organisations representing Muslims, Sikhs and
Hindus, although fear of violence did not seem to be a widespread issue in the local interviews.
Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, things have become much worse. Muslims have reported a huge increase in what is now being called 'Islamaphobia', and religion in general is often used as a scapegoat for more complex issues.
A number of prominent atheists, referred to by some as the 'New Atheist movement', have published books with inflamatory titles, like Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion', in which he claims that calling a child a Christian, Jew or Muslim is 'child abuse'. The tone of the debate suprises many in the UK, where there is a genuine sense of religious freedom. In America, the 'New Atheists' make some valid criticisms of the ways in which religious belief can affect the way that science is taught, for example. However, some people feel threatened by the angry and vitriolic nature of anti-religious comments, and worry that their religious freedom is under attack.
Christianity has also been criticised for claiming that it is the one true religion. Is it right for Christians to claim that anyone who does not share their faith will go to hell? Is this really what the Bible says? How should Christians treat people of other faiths and of none?
