Religion, belief and culture all mixed up in the second course book, Controversial Practices. Multiculturalism gets a bad press nowadays but, love it or loathe it, there is no escaping its impact. For forty years or more government policy has been informed by multicultural thinking. At the same time most areas have grown progressively more culturally diverse.
Cause for celebration or concern? As ever, the OU material is balanced and makes no judgment. The first two chapters both involved headwear. Sikhs and the Turban Protests of the 1970s; Muslim women and their headscarves today. Religious identity and dress codes offer a window on thought and belief both at the individual and the social level. And they always say so much more than appears the case at first glance.
Why do we care so passionately about what seem to be such very small matters?
No comments:
Post a Comment