Racism

“At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being.” Friedrich Hertz

For over a decade, immigration issues have made headlines in the UK. Anti-immigrant rhetoric has also contributed to increasing interest in political parties such as the British National Party. Predictably, the level interest has increased as the global financial crisis impacts more of Britain’s population - a trend  seen across much of Europe.

Since the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the heightened security has led to increased use of racial profiling and the discrimination that this brings. Although most of the hysteria that characterised the immediate aftermath has now died down, in much of the Western World people of Middle Eastern or Asian ethnicity are regularly treated with fear and distrust.

Civil wars have been all too common in Africa in recent years. While most of these conflicts have resources at their core and commonly have a number of different triggers, ethnic differences often play a role in escalating the hatred. In many cases, these racial tensions were heightened by the artificial boundaries imposed in Africa by European colonialists, as part of implementing ‘divide and rule’ policies.

In India, there has long been discrimination against what is considered the lowest class in Hinduism, the Dalits, or untouchables. While this is not technically racism as people of all classes are of the same race, the prejudice that had come with the caste system is quite similar to what is seen with racism.

One group of people that often go unnoticed when it comes to racism and discrimination are Gypsies. In Europe they have been persecuted to a similar extent as the Jews throughout history, including World War II, and even now they are largely mistreated or ignored.

Christians believe that all human beings were created in the image of God and that, in heaven, people from every nation will worship God together. As you read through this brief summary, pray for Christians to be distinctive by the love that they show to people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Also, pray that those who have experienced the pain of racial abuse, oppression or exploitation, would come to know the love that Jesus offers to all, regardless of race or social status, and be drawn to put their hope in Him.