Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Kumar, and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called "Faith and culture in modern Britain," and it's taken from our unit Communities: How do we respect people of different faiths? I would really recommend that you do this lesson with a trusted adult.

There might be some parts of the lesson that you find challenging or upsetting.

If at any point during the lesson you do feel worried about anything, please pause the video and speak to your trusted adult.

The outcome for today's lesson is: I can describe the diversity of faiths and cultures in modern Britain and explain their contributions to society.

Before we begin any learning, let's remind ourselves of some important ground rules.

Laura reminds us to listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

And if and when we do disagree, we need to challenge the statement and not the person.

Andeep reminds us to respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that might identify anyone, and that includes ourselves.

Jacob reminds us, no judgment.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic, but we should be able to do it without fear of being judged.

And Izzy reminds us that it's okay for us to choose our own level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in a discussion.

We should never make anyone feel put on the spot or make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Throughout today's lesson, you'll notice that there are some words in bold black font; these are keywords.

Let's take a quick look at today's keywords and what they mean.

Diverse.

Diverse is including people or things from a range of different backgrounds or types.

Respect.

Respect is being considerate of others and the world around you.

It means treating people fairly and how you would like to be treated.

And the last keyword is tolerance.

Tolerance is the ability to remain open-minded towards people who have different opinions, backgrounds, or ways of life, even when you disagree.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

Let's start with part one, How are faith and culture linked? In modern Britain, there are a whole host of different faith groups living alongside one another.

Zoe says, "As a result of this multi-faith society, we also find a diverse range of cultures within our communities too." So what's the difference between faith and culture? Charlie explains, "Faith is a person's religion or set of beliefs, whereas culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behaviors of a particular group of people.

For instance, the way meals are eaten, the items of clothing worn, or the language spoken." So are faith and culture linked? Iqbal tells us, "Although faith and culture are two different things, they are closely linked, and we often find that a person's culture can be influenced by faith." True or false? Faith and culture are the same thing.

You can pause to have a think and then press play when you're ready to move on.

The answer is false.

Can you remember why? Although faith and culture are closely linked, they are not the same thing.

Faith is a religion or set of beliefs, whereas culture refers to ideas, customs, and social behaviors.

Faith can influence culture by shaping societal norms. Aarya explains, "Societal norms are commonly held beliefs about how people should behave.

For example, a particular faith group may believe that it's important to be generous towards others, so giving money to charities becomes a part of that culture." Faith can influence a culture through its practices.

Practices are rituals or traditions that might be important to a particular group of people.

James explains, "For instance, a culture may perform certain rituals during important life events such as births, coming of age ceremonies, weddings and funerals.

Faith may also influence dietary restrictions or how people dress.

These practices often bring communities together and help maintain cultural identity across generations.

Understanding these helps us appreciate how diverse Britain is." Faith can also influence the art and architecture of cultural groups.

Zoe reminds us, "Many of the world's most famous landmarks and works of art have been influenced by faith or religion.

Examples may include places of worship such as cathedrals and temples, paintings and sculptures." Time for another check for understanding.

Can you complete the list with the missing items? Faith can influence a culture through societal norms, art and architecture.

You can pause to have a think and then press play when you're ready to move on.

The missing answer was practices.

Faith can influence a culture through societal norms, practices, art and architecture.

That brings us to the first task for today's lesson, Task A.

With a partner, discuss the following questions.

Question number one, what is the difference between faith and culture? Question number two, are faith and culture linked? And question number three, how might a culture be influenced by faith? You can pause the video to carry out this task, and when you're ready to see some possible answers, just press play.

How did you get on? I hope you were able to have some interesting discussions.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Your discussions might have included the following.

Number one, what is the difference between faith and culture? Faith is a person's religion or set of beliefs, whereas culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behaviors of a particular group of people.

Question number two, are faith and culture linked? Faith and culture are closely linked, and we often find that a person's culture can be influenced by faith.

Question number three, how might a culture be influenced by faith? Faith can influence culture by shaping societal norms. For example, the way that a group of people behave or act, such as showing generosity.

Faith can influence the practices, such as rituals or traditions that are carried out by a culture during important life events like births, weddings, or funerals.

Faith can also influence the art and architecture of cultural groups, which can be seen in places of worship, paintings, and sculptures.

Well done if your answers were along these lines.

That brings us to the second part of today's lesson, Why are respect and tolerance so important? The British values are a set of principles that help us understand what it means to live in modern Britain.

They were introduced in 2011 to promote understanding and respect in schools and communities across the country.

The four British values are: democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance.

These values help us to create a society where everyone can live together peacefully regardless of their differences.

One of the most important British values for diverse communities is mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Izzy asks, "What does mutual mean?" Jun explains, "Mutual means shared between two or more people.

So mutual respect means that respect goes both ways.

We respect others, and they respect us in return." Complete the sentence: mutual respect and tolerance means that respect goes blank ways.

You can pause to have a think.

Press play when you're ready to see the answer.

The missing word was both.

Mutual respect and tolerance means that respect goes both ways.

What is respect? Well, respect is being considerate or thoughtful of others and the world around you.

It also means treating people fairly and how you yourself would like to be treated.

For example, we can show respect by giving everyone the same opportunities at school or work, no matter what their faith or belief.

What is tolerance? Tolerance is the ability to accept and respect different views, practices, and beliefs.

We can show tolerance towards other faiths and cultures by challenging our own assumptions, by asking respectful questions to learn more, and by supporting people when they are being treated unfairly because of their faith or their belief.

Which of the following best describes tolerance? A, agreeing with everyone's view and beliefs; B, avoiding or ignoring people who have different opinions to you; or C, accepting and respecting different views, practices, and beliefs.

You can pause to have a think.

Press play when you're ready to see the answers.

The answer is C.

Accepting and respecting different views, practices, and beliefs best describes tolerance.

Well done if you got that correct.

Why is this value so important in modern Britain? Britain is home to people from many different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures.

The value of mutual respect and tolerance helps to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and with dignity, people feel safe to express their beliefs and identity, communities can live together peacefully, and that we can all learn from each other's experiences and perspectives.

So what does mutual respect and tolerance look like in our schools? Well, it means listening to classmates' different viewpoints without interrupting.

It means not making assumptions about someone based on their appearance or background.

It means including everyone in activities regardless of their faith or culture.

And it also means safely standing up for someone who is being treated unfairly and telling a trusted adult what has happened.

David reminds us, "Mutual respect and tolerance doesn't mean we all have to agree about everything.

It means we treat each other with dignity and kindness, even when we have different beliefs or opinions." Over the centuries, many different groups of people from all around the world have settled in Britain.

Charlie explains, "Just some of the migrants that have contributed to our society include the Vikings, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Windrush generation, and many more.

To this day, people may still migrate to Britain for various reasons, such as job opportunities or to leave behind dangerous situations in their home country." Modern Britain includes people of different faiths and cultures.

Iqbal says, "Our country is home to a diverse range of faiths and cultures living alongside each other.

Not only can this contribute positively to our society, but it can also create opportunities for people to learn new things, enriching our communities as a result." Clove says, "A faith group in our area has contributed positively to the local community through their voluntary work with young people." Liam adds, "Once a year, our community hosts a carnival where many faiths and cultures are represented.

It's a vibrant day of celebration and unity." Faiths or cultures from around the world may have customs or traditions that are not the same as our own.

This may include different languages, different clothes, different foods.

Sometimes we might feel anxious about things that are new or unfamiliar to us.

Aarya reminds us, "If someone else's faith or culture is different to our own, it does not make it wrong.

The British value of mutual respect and tolerance reminds us that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity, regardless of people having different religions or belief." True or false? Modern Britain has been home to a diverse range of faiths and cultures living alongside each other for centuries.

You can pause to have a think.

Just press play when you're ready to see the answer.

The answer is true.

That brings us to the second and final task for today's lesson, Task B.

Complete the missing words in the paragraph below.

Now, the missing words are shown at the bottom of the page, but watch out, there may be some that you don't need.

The words are: wrong, written, right, value, respect, community, regardless, tolerance, and rule of law.

Let's have a look at the paragraph together.

Over the centuries, many different groups of people from all around the world have settled in blank, and subsequently, there are people in our country of different faiths and cultures.

If someone else's faith or culture is different to our own, it does not make it blank.

The British blank of mutual blank and blank reminds us that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity, blank of our differences.

You can pause to do this task, and then when you're ready to see the answers, just press play.

How did you get on? Let's take a look at the answers together.

Your completed paragraph should look like this.

Over the centuries, many different groups of people from all around the world have settled in Britain, and subsequently, there are people in our country of different faiths and cultures.

If someone else's faith or culture is different to our own, it does not make it wrong.

The British value of mutual respect and tolerance reminds us that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity, regardless of our differences.

So the missing words that you needed were: Britain, wrong, value, respect, tolerance, and regardless.

The words community, right, and rule of law were not needed in the paragraph.

Rule of law is a British value.

However, it's not the one that we were referring to in this question.

Well done if your answers were all or mostly correct.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Before we finish, let's take a quick look at today's lesson summary.

Modern Britain is a multi-faith society with a diverse range of cultures.

Faith and culture are two different things, but they are closely linked.

Faith can influence the societal norms, practices, and art and architecture of a culture.

Over the centuries, many different groups of people from all around the world have settled here, making modern Britain into diverse communities of faiths and cultures.

We should show mutual respect and tolerance for people of different faiths and belief.

Well done on all your hard work this lesson.

I hope that you've learned lots more about faith and culture in modern Britain.

If you need further support following today's lesson, you can look at the following website, Childline.

This is a website and phone line which is able to offer confidential advice and support.