Religious People are the Best Hope for Racial Harmony

The notion that Religious People are the Best Hope for Racial Harmony is very debatable.

From a Religious perspective, many Christians would agree with this statement, as they
believe biblical teachings and the acts of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr are a great display
of the progression Religious People have made towards Racial Harmony. Firstly, Genesis 1:27 states
that ‘God created man in his own image, in the image of God create he him; male and female
created he them.’ From this parable, we can see that as all human beings are created in the image of
God, everyone is equal. Furthermore, Galatians 3:28 states that ‘for all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male
nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’ This parable shows us that all the followers of Jesus
are equal. Religious people can use these biblical teachings as a basis for their progression towards
civil rights. However, I believe this is a week argument. Not only are bible texts largely outdated, and
most people will not follow them, but these are also just teachings, and not legitimate commands or
orders that will enforce and strongly progress towards racial harmony. However, the Civil Rights
movement lead by Martin Luther King Jr shows the effectiveness of progression from a person with
religious background. Martin Luther King Jr and his followers held peaceful protests and boycotts,
and Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech had many biblical influences and references. Although we
cannot be sure of the amount Christianity had influenced Martin Luther King Jr to protest
discrimination and racism, it is certain that there was an influence. Using Martin Luther King Jr as an
example is a good argument, as Martin Luther King Jr was very effective in his protests; founding the
SCLC, gaining African Americans the right to vote, and making unprecedented progression towards
racial harmony in America. Martin Luther King Jr is a great example of the effectiveness of people
with religious backgrounds making progression towards racial harmony.

From a non-religious perspective, there is an argument stemming from legislation and

human rights. Firstly, legislation such as the 2010 Equality Act, which encompasses other laws such
at the Race Relations Act of 1976, and the Equality act of 2006 can be seen as a better hope for racial
harmony. From two censuses recorded in 2001 and 2011, there was a 5.6% increase in people of
other ethnicities, showing the effectiveness of legislation on racial harmony. This is a strong
argument, as legislation is the law, meaning that a population is required to follow it, and in theory is
much more effective than biblical teachings. Secondly, Human Rights can also be seen as a hope for
racial harmony. Human Rights encompass equality before the law, and prohibits discrimination
based on race. This clearly states that everyone in a population is equal, regardless of race. Since
human rights are widely recognised and agreed upon, it seems like human rights are an effective
non-religious method to promote racial harmony; however, this argument is weak as human rights
are not above the law, and countries like Afghanistan prioritise law over human rights. Human rights
are merely a suggestion from the UN, and do not have superiority over legislation, making it not as
effective.

In conclusion, I disagree; and I believe that a non-religious approach to increasing racial

harmony is more effective than a religious approach. Non-religious approaches have been proven to
be statistically more effective, and I believe that as legislation is the law and mandatory, it is the best
hope for racial harmony.