Prejudice means pre-judging someone based on their identity rather than their actions; discrimination is prejudice put into practice. World religions universally condemn unjust discrimination — though their application of that principle to specific groups such as women, LGBT+ people, or different faiths has been, and remains, contested within every tradition.
What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Prejudice is an attitude — a preconceived negative opinion about a person or group based on characteristics such as race, gender, religion, disability or sexuality, rather than on their individual actions or character. Prejudice is internal: it lives in a person's mind.
Discrimination is prejudice expressed through action — treating someone differently and unfairly because of those characteristics. Discrimination can be:
- Direct: refusing to employ someone because of their race
- Indirect: applying a rule that seems neutral but disadvantages a particular group
- Institutional: when discriminatory practices are embedded in an organisation's policies
Both prejudice and discrimination are condemned by all major world religions and by international human rights law. Understanding the distinction is important for GCSE RE because exam questions often ask you to explain why religions oppose both the attitude and the action.
What does Christianity teach about equality and prejudice?
Christianity's foundational teaching on equality is that all people are created equal in the image of God (imago Dei — Genesis 1:27). This provides the basis for rejecting racial, gender and social prejudice.
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37): Jesus told a parable in which a Samaritan (a group despised by Jews) showed mercy to an injured man while religious leaders walked past. The parable explicitly challenges ethnic and religious prejudice and redefines "neighbour" to mean anyone in need.
Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This verse is frequently cited in support of racial and gender equality.
Martin Luther King Jr (Baptist minister, 1929–1968) drew explicitly on Christian teaching to argue against racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, describing segregation as a sin against the imago Dei.
However, Christians have also historically justified discrimination — including racism, slavery and the subordination of women — using scripture. The same Bible that contains Galatians 3:28 also contains passages that were used to defend slavery and to restrict women's roles. This internal tension means that evaluating Christian teaching on discrimination requires engaging with the tradition's complexity, not just its best principles.
What does Islam teach about prejudice and discrimination?
Islam's teaching on equality is direct and specific. The Prophet Muhammad's Final Sermon (delivered at Mecca in 632 CE) declared: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action."
The Qur'an describes God as creating humanity in diverse peoples and tribes specifically so that people would "know one another" — not so that some would be superior (Qur'an 49:13).
Islam teaches that all Muslims are brothers and sisters (ummah), that the only distinction between people before God is in their piety (taqwa), and that racial or tribal prejudice is a pre-Islamic (jahiliyyah) attitude that Muslims should abandon.
However, as with Christianity, there is tension between these universal principles and historical and contemporary practice: women's legal status in some interpretations of Sharia law differs from men's; treatment of religious minorities has varied enormously across Islamic history and geography.
What do other religions teach about equality?
| Religion | Key teaching | Relevant concept |
|---|---|---|
| Judaism | Every human being contains an entire world (Talmud: "whoever saves a single soul is as if they saved an entire world"); created b'tzelem Elohim (in the image of God) | Equality before God; obligation to pursue justice (tzedakah) |
| Buddhism | All beings possess Buddha-nature and can attain enlightenment; prejudice arises from ignorance (avidya) and attachment to identity | Ahimsa (non-harm); compassion (karuna) for all beings |
| Hinduism | Atman (soul) is the same in all beings regardless of caste, gender or origin | Ahimsa; reform traditions reject caste discrimination; Gandhi's anti-discrimination work |
| Sikhism | "The Lord's Light shines in every heart" (Guru Granth Sahib); the langar (community kitchen) serves everyone equally regardless of caste, class or religion | Equality fundamental to Sikh teaching; Guru Nanak specifically challenged caste |
What types of discrimination do religions specifically address?
Racism: all major religions teach that people of all races are equal. Religious leaders have been prominent in anti-racism movements — from King to Archbishop Tutu in South Africa, to Muslim civil rights activists in Britain. However, religious institutions have also been vehicles for racial discrimination (apartheid South Africa relied partly on Calvinist theological justifications; American churches were often racially segregated).
Gender: this is the most contested area. Most religions have moved toward greater gender equality in practice over the 20th and 21st centuries, but significant differences in teaching and practice remain. Liberal branches of Judaism, Protestant Christianity and Sikhism ordain women as religious leaders; the Catholic Church and Orthodox Judaism do not. Sikh teaching historically affirms gender equality; some interpretations of Islam assign women and men different (though not equal) legal rights.
Disability: religious traditions generally emphasise the dignity and full humanity of people with disabilities. Christianity teaches that all people bear the imago Dei; Buddhism that all beings possess Buddha-nature; Islam that all people are created by Allah. However, historical treatment of disabled people within religious communities has been mixed, and some traditional texts contain language about disability that modern believers interpret with care.
Frequently asked questions
Why do religions oppose prejudice if their own histories include discrimination?
This is an important and honest question. Religious traditions are complex — they contain both liberating and oppressive elements, and their application in history has often reflected the power structures of the societies in which they operated. The key distinction for GCSE RE is between the core teachings (which are broadly egalitarian) and their historical application (which has often fallen short). Religious reformers within every tradition have pointed to the gap between ideal and practice and argued for change. This internal critique is itself a religious act — the prophetic tradition in Christianity, Judaism and Islam of calling the community back to its own professed values.
What is the difference between prejudice and legitimate religious belief?
This is a contested area. All religious traditions make some distinctions — between believers and non-believers, between different moral choices, between those who follow religious law and those who do not. The question is whether those distinctions constitute unjust discrimination or legitimate religious practice. In British law, religious organisations are exempt from some equalities legislation (for example, requiring them to employ people of their own faith in certain roles). The line between protected religious belief and unlawful discrimination is an active area of legal and ethical debate.
How should I answer a GCSE RE question on prejudice and discrimination?
Structure your answer by: (1) defining prejudice and discrimination; (2) giving a specific teaching from one religion with a source (e.g. "Christians believe all people are made in God's image — Genesis 1:27, so racial discrimination violates human dignity"); (3) giving a second religious view or contrasting internal view; (4) acknowledging that religious practice has not always matched the ideal; (5) comparing with a non-religious view (e.g. secular humanism's commitment to equal human rights); (6) reaching a balanced conclusion. High marks come from acknowledging complexity — that religions have both promoted and failed to live up to equality.
Does Sikhism have the strongest teaching on equality?
Sikhism is distinctive in how centrally and explicitly equality features in its founding teaching. Guru Nanak (1469–1539) rejected caste distinctions at a time when they were central to Indian social structure, opened the langar to people of all backgrounds, and taught that the divine light resides in every person regardless of caste, gender or religion. The langar (free community kitchen at every Gurdwara) is a living expression of this teaching — anyone may eat together, seated equally on the floor. Several GCSE exam boards use Sikhism as an example of a tradition with particularly strong explicit egalitarianism in its founding texts and practice.
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