Explain how Christians might put their beliefs about racism into action

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

All of the Christian teachings on racism have originally started from the teachings of the scripture. It is because of this that Christians are aware that they have a responsibility to bring peace and reconciliation. However not all Christians take up this responsibility, maybe this is due to the fact that most people today go with the majority and rarely speak out as an individual.

Some people however have stood up for themselves and spoken out in an attempt to gain justice without using violent methods to prove their points, they are known as Christian Pacifists. There are many well-known Christian Pacifists, such as Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and Trevor Huddleston. They believed that anything that causes physical harm and suffering was bad, and that there is always other ways of solving a problem.

In the Southern states of America in the 1950’s and 1960’s discrimination and prejudice against black people was very common. People in the black community feared that the situation was going to worsen and become like South Africa where black people’s earnings were only about half of those who where white.

Martin Luther King, the American Baptist Minister; is very famous for his work against racism. In Montgomery; Alabama, like most towns in the southern states buses were segregated. On 1st December 1955 Rosa Parks, a middle aged women who was tired after a heard days work refused to give up her bud seat to a white man. After the arrest of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and his friends helped to organise protests against bus segregation. It was decided that black people in Montgomery would refuse to use the buses. Thirteen months later the loss of revenue and a decision by ...

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For Martin Luther King, this was just the beginning of a succession of non-violent protests against the discrimination and prejudice of black people.

Desmond Tutu is an Anglican Archbishop in South Africa, and a Civil Rights Leader. He also responded to racism using pacifism.

One of Desmond Tutu’s most famous quotes was: “I am puzzled about which Bible people are reading when they suggest religion and politics don’t mix”. He knew that God was political; this was because when God rescued the slaved from Egypt he led them to freedom in the Promised Land.

Politics have lead in the past to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, and when this happened the prophet’s spoke out, so Christians today should test government policies against Christian teaching.

Like Desmond Tutu, Trevor Huddleston also stated that Christianity was totally opposed to the system in South Africa: “Christina s are not only commanded to love. We are commanded to hate what is evil, and nothing is more evil than apartheid”. Trevor Huddleston and Desmond Tutu had been friends ever since Desmond Tutu was a small child. Desmond Tutu was impressed by the way that Trevor Huddleston would life his hat up to his mother, as it was almost unheard of for a white man to show that much respect towards a black.

There are many Christian organisations that campaign for racial equality. For examples: Cafod, Catholic Association for Racial Justice. To show how these organisations work to rid the world or racial prejudice I will state the aims of the Catholic Association for Racial Justice:

CARJ works with Black and minority ethnic Catholics

To work for the empowerment and support of Black Catholics whose heritage countries are in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
We aim to follow the Congress of Black Catholics by working for the implementation of the points contained in the Congress Charter.
We develop initiatives and work with Young Black Catholics, collaborating closely with Catholic Youth Services.
To promote training courses for Black, minority ethnic and White Catholics working together.

CARJ works with Catholic Dioceses and Parishes

To continue to raise awareness of the issues of racism and racial justice.
To promote discussion, reflection and action.
In its fieldwork to identify, support, sustain and contribute to the development of the work of Diocesan and other local racial justice groups.
To promote networking by collaboration with individuals and groups with similar aims.
To promote the annual Racial Justice Sunday within the Church.
To raise the CARJ profile within the Church and in the wider society.

There are mainly two different ways by which Christians respond to racism. Violent and non-violent. Some groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Brotherhood promote hatred and violence; many Christians join such groups and put their beliefs into action. Many treacherous things have happened as a consequence of these groups, innocent men, women and children have died because of the actions of such groups.

However these groups seem to get away with it. This is because they claim that the Bible has told them to act the way that they are, which can reflect badly on the church as this could mean that the church itself is guilty of discrimination and prejudice against people of different ethnic minorities other than their own.