Over the last century, Britain has become an increasingly multi-cultural society, with the roots of her residents spanning the globe. From Jamaicans searching for work, to Bangladeshis fighting for Britain during World War II, the list of reasons why foreigners have moved to Britain is vast. As a modern society, the British are expected to embrace other races and religions alien to their own and respect each others beliefs. Obviously, in practice, this is a different story: when contrasting cultures are expected to co-exist this will eventually lead to conflict, whether it is friendly mockery, or interracial gang warfare. Fortunately, the latter is fairly uncommon and as a whole, Britain is a fairly tolerant society. In fact, some races, however adamant to retain their traditions and culture, live in a more stereotypically British manner than many “British” people! Why has a society with such a diverse cultural range made this transition? And what do we class as “British”?
Multi-racial societies are usually found in inner city areas and normally, the community is divided into the “white” people, then everybody else. This is not necessarily because either group are unaccommodating; it is more likely to stem from historical reasons. However, it is within the groups including other races that are not traditionally British that new societies are forming. Although these people are usually keen to continue their cultural customs and live in a similar way to they did (or their ancestors did) in their home country, the change in lifestyle often means this is very difficult, and a more “British” way of life is often adopted. For example, members of Islam are expected to pray at least four times daily, but if they are in a responsible or busy job, this cannot always be adhered to. Therefore, many find their religion becoming less important in their everyday routine and thus leading to a loss of ethnic identity. Also, in many places considered multi-racial, institutions that are considered British or European, such as pubs and cafés are set up by minorities, for minorities. Ironically, religions are sometimes followed within these establishments, such as only serving kosher food, or not serving bacon to Muslims.
