Cultural Diversity has emerged in the North West of England since 1945

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Cultural diversity is not a simple thing. First we should look at some definitions of culture. A dictionary definition could suggest that culture means the tastes in art and manners that are favoured by a social group. It might also mean all the knowledge and values shared by a society. In a sense culture means both of these things. Cultural diversity, then, could mean that there are diverse groups within society each with their own tastes in art and manners and each with particular kinds of knowledge and values that set them apart from other groups.

Cultural diversity comes about in several ways. Each religious group has a cultural character of its own. Different ethnic groups have their own cultures. Different social classes have their particular cultures. Cultural diversity happens when different groups of people come together but don’t totally join together.

During the Second World War a large number of Commonwealth citizens came to Britain to fight for what they saw as their empire or to staff the hospitals and factories and farms as part of the war effort. After the war many wished to remain here but these were highly visible immigrants because of their skin colour.

When the Second World War ended the Government (Labour) made some attempts to send back wartime workers to the colonies but there was no repatriation law and they took no action against the colonial immigrants or the substantial flows of immigrants from Ireland and the government even invited large numbers of homeless Poles to come and live and work in Britain. Many Polish communities developed here in the North West. Widnes had a Polish village and Poles were employed in large numbers in the chemical industry. Over the next few years there was a continuous political battle between people who were afraid of being overrun by immigrants and those who were more concerned for the needs of the immigrants. In 1948 the British Nationality Act, gave citizenship to people from ex-colonies and later that year the first immigrant ships arrived from the Caribbean. The first of the West Indian British came on the banana boats. There was such public concern that a Royal Commission was asked to report on Population. The commission argued that immigrants should be encouraged only if they were of "good human stock".

Racial discrimination must have been a growing issue because a private member's bill to outlaw racial discrimination was moved in 1950 although it failed to be passed.

Cultural Diversity has emerged in the North West of England since 1945 because Britain has always been a relatively open Country of immigration and emigration. The reason so many immigrants

including non – whites were invited over to Britain after the end of the Second World War was because they were seen as a valuable source of Labour and since then they have continued to come to Britain for ...