Prejudice, Discrimination and Racial Equality

Prejudice, Discrimination, and the Law

Prejudice is an unfair, preconceived attitude towards a person or group. Discrimination is when that prejudice is acted upon — treating people unequally or unjustly. The UK Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of nine “protected characteristics,” including race and religion. Despite legal protections, racial prejudice and discrimination remain significant social problems that religious communities have addressed both theologically and practically.

Christianity: All Made in God’s Image

Christian teaching grounds racial equality in the doctrine of imago Dei — every person is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27) — and in the teaching of Jesus. Galatians 3:27–29 declares that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Acts 10:34–35 records Peter’s declaration that “God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” These passages have historically been used to argue that racial discrimination is incompatible with Christian faith.

The Catholic Catechism paragraphs 1934–1938 explicitly address social equality, stating that every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of race is contrary to God’s design. The Catechism teaches that differences between persons belong to God’s plan and that solidarity requires recognising these differences while treating all people as equal in dignity.

Martin Luther King and Christian Activism

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) was a Baptist minister who led the American Civil Rights Movement and drew explicitly on Christian theology to oppose racial discrimination. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963), written while imprisoned for civil disobedience, King argued that unjust laws — laws that degrade human personality and contradict natural and divine law — need not be obeyed. He cited Augustine and Aquinas in support of the distinction between just and unjust laws.

King’s theology was rooted in agape — unconditional love for all people including one’s opponents — and in the Christian vision of the “beloved community” where all people are treated as equally beloved children of God. His work illustrates how Christian teaching on racial equality can motivate non-violent direct action.

Judaism: Every Person Is a World

Jewish teaching grounds racial equality in b’tselem Elohim — every person is made in the image of God — and in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5, which states that God created the first human as a single individual so that no one could say “my ancestor is greater than yours.” This passage explicitly argues against racial and ethnic hierarchy.

Jewish organisations have historically worked against racial discrimination. HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), founded in 1881, provides humanitarian aid and legal assistance to refugees and migrants regardless of religion or background, arguing that Jewish memory of persecution and displacement creates a moral obligation to protect the vulnerable. Jewish teaching on tikkun olam — repairing the world — motivates social justice work including anti-racism campaigns.

Islam: No Arab Is Superior to a Non-Arab

Islamic teaching strongly opposes racial discrimination. Qur’an 49:13 states that God created human beings from a single pair of a male and female and made them into different nations and tribes “so that you may know one another” — diversity is presented as God’s design, not a basis for hierarchy. Qur’an 5:8 commands believers to be “persistently standing firm in justice” and not to allow hatred of a people to cause them to act unjustly.

The Prophet Muhammad’s farewell sermon, as transmitted in Islamic tradition, is reported to have declared that no Arab is superior to a non-Arab, and no non-Arab is superior to an Arab; no white person is superior to a black person, and no black person to a white, except through piety and good deeds. The ummah is explicitly a global community transcending racial boundaries. British organisations such as the Christian Muslim Forum work to build understanding between Christian and Muslim communities and to tackle prejudice and discrimination together.

Sikhism: The Khalsa and Equality

Sikhism teaches the fundamental equality of all people before God. The Guru Granth Sahib at ang 349 contains teachings emphasising that God created all humanity from the same divine light and that there is no high or low in God’s creation. Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the Khalsa in 1699 was explicitly about dismantling social hierarchies: initiates from all castes drank from the same bowl, symbolising equality. The Khalsa’s stated purpose included protecting the oppressed and challenging tyranny.

In contemporary Britain, Sikh organisations have worked against racism. Khalsa Aid not only provides humanitarian relief but also advocates for human rights. The gurdwara’s langar (community kitchen), which is open to all regardless of background, is a practical daily expression of the principle that no one is superior to another in God’s eyes.

Buddhism: Right Action and the Rejection of Hierarchy

The Buddhist concept of Right Action — part of the Noble Eightfold Path — requires avoiding actions that harm others, including discrimination. Buddhist teaching holds that all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature and are capable of liberation, making no person inherently superior or inferior to another.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s mass conversion movement brought millions of Dalits to Buddhism in 1956 as a means of escaping caste-based discrimination. He argued that the Buddha had taught the equality of all people regardless of birth — a radical claim in the context of mid-twentieth century India. In Myanmar, however, the 969 Movement has spread anti-Muslim feeling, and some Buddhist monks have supported it. Other Buddhist monks there have worked publicly to promote tolerance towards Muslims — that is the example to learn for this theme. Scholars and many Buddhist leaders have condemned this as contrary to Buddhist teaching on compassion and non-harm.