Key Quotes - Social Issues

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Muslims and Sikhs are the religious groups most likely to feel British, according to new analysis of the 2011 Census by University of Manchester researchers. Some 62 per cent of Sikhs, 57 per cent of Muslims and 54 per cent of Hindus describe their national identity as British only, they say. The figure is only 15 per cent for Christians. However, 65 per cent of Christians and 54 per cent of Jews are the most likely to feel English, find the team based at the University’s Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE). In England, three-fifths of the population do not identify with a British national identity, and only see themselves as English, whereas ethnic minority groups are much more likely to describe themselves as British. And Bangladeshis are more likely than any other ethnic group to say they are British only, they add.
Social Issues	Inspire, September/October 2013



Sikhs have been advised to deregister their temples as wedding venues to avoid being sued for not carrying out same-sex marriages, it was reported in late July. The group, Sikhs In England, gave the advice, warning that government protections on the issue might be worthless. Sikh Temples could continue to perform religious weddings, but they would carry no legal weight.
Social Issues	Evangelicals Now, September 2013



Equalities Minister Maria Miller, said in late July: ‘This autumn, [the government is] starting our LGB&T Call for Evidence, a consultation on what the next steps need to be and where government needs to prioritise.’ One activist responded, calling for the subjugation of religious beliefs that disagree with homosexuality. A Pink News writer contributed an article which said: ‘The first step is to acknowledge that human rights come before beliefs; if you did that, no consultation would be needed.’
Social Issues	Evangelicals Now, September 2013



The vast majority of people under 35 consider Christian resistance to gay marriage as ‘wrong and wicked’ and comparable to racism, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Most Rev Justin Welby made the remarks at the opening of a new headquarters for the Evangelical Alliance in London. While insisting that the decision to oppose equal marriage for gay couples was the right one, the Archbishop said that the Church was ‘deeply and profoundly divided’ over the issue of homosexuality and that homophobia was damaging the Church’s witness, saying that people did not want to ‘hear about a faith that is homophobic’. The Archbishop said: ‘The Church has not been good at dealing with homophobia… in fact we have, at times, as God’s people, in various places, really implicitly or even explicitly supported it.’ The Evangelical Alliance, which was hosting the Archbishop, has been a strong opponent of the government’s Same Sex Marriage Act.
Social Issues	Christianity, October 2013



Accusations of witchcraft against children are the focus of a major call to action for Christians following the publication of a new report. The Stop Child Witch Accusations (SCWA) coalition of Christian groups published the Responding to beliefs that harm children report, which calls some ‘child witch’ accusations ‘a crime against humanity’. SCWA, whose steering committee includes representatives from Urban Saints and The Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service, is calling on churches and individuals to become aware of the scale of ‘child witch’ accusations and to get involved in the fight against them.
Social Issues	Christianity, October 2013



David Cameron denies claims in a new book that he regretted putting same-sex marriage into law in England and Wales. The Prime Minister said Britain was a “fairer” country because of the new law, but admitted he did not expect the “furore” it generated. It caused tensions in the Tory ranks, with Mr Cameron accused of being out of touch with his grassroots.
Social Issues	The Sentinel, September 30 2013



Rail users face another ‘massive’ increase of around 4.1% in fares in the new year after new increases signalled more ‘misery’ for passengers. Unions and campaigners staged a series of protests at stations across the country to highlight the increase, which will be well above average rises in earnings. Rail Maritime and Transport union leader Bob Crow said: “This latest inflation-busting hike in fares is a kick in the teeth for the British people who are condemned for another year to pay the highest prices in Europe to travel on clapped-out, overcrowded and unreliable trains while the private operators are laughing all the way to the bank. Anyone who thinks that this massive fares surcharge will be invested in our railways needs their head examined. The stone-cold case for public ownership of our railways is now overwhelming.”
Social Issues	The Sentinel, 14th August 2013



Almost one in five children who use social networking sites suffered a negative experience last year, research by children’s charity the NSPCC shows. This included bullying, unwanted sexual messages, cyber stalking and feeling pressure to look a certain way. The NSPCC also said a “large number” of users of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were under the minimum age of 13.
Social Issues	The Sentinel, 12th August 2013



David Cameron has threatened to impose tough new laws on internet giants if they fail to blacklist key search terms for horrific images by October as part [of] a crackdown on online porn. The Prime Minister set out a raft of reforms to protect children from ‘poisonous’ websites that are ‘corroding childhood’, including introducing family-friendly filters that automatically block pornography unless customers choose to opt-out. Possessing violent pornography containing simulated rape scenes will be made a crime in England and Wales and video streamed online in the UK will be subject to the same restrictions as those sold in shops. Mr Cameron said: “I feel profoundly as a politician, and as a father, that the time for action has come. This is about how we protect our children.”
Social Issues	The Sentinel, July 23, 2013



The danger of power shortages in the UK by the middle of the decade has increased, regulator Ofgem has warned. Electricity margins could tighten in 2015-16 to between two to five percent depending on demand, according to the latest report. Ofgem said the findings “illustrates the need for the timely implementation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s capacity market”.
Social Issues	The Sentinel – June 28, 2013



Depaul UK has launched a business initiative selling cardboard boxes to home-movers which aims to raise £3m within the next five years. CEO Martin Houghton-Brown said that the “real, visceral and often distressing” association between cardboard boxes and those sleeping rough inspired the scheme. Depaul claims that two packs of boxes can take a young person off the street for one night.
Social Issues	Fundraising - May 2013



Recent NHS figures reveal that hospital admissions for self-poisoning have significantly increased in the last decade. Compared to 79,000 admissions in 2001, figures show there were more than 114,000 cases in the UK in 2011. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, self-poisoning is the most common type of hospital treated self-harm.
Social Issues	Youthwork, July 2013



The Church of Scotland is to allow gay and lesbian people in civil partnerships to become ministers. The General Assembly of the country’s largest Protestant Church narrowly voted in favour of a compromise motion aimed at ending four years of division. The new deal now has to be written into a new Church law and authorised by next year’s General Assembly. It will reaffirm the traditional teaching of the Church as favouring heterosexual ministers, but allows congregations to ‘opt in’ to select gay ministers if they wish.
Social Issues	Christianity, July 2013



David Cameron has vowed to “put the heat on” internet companies over the online posting of pornographic images of children. The Prime Minister said internet firms were still not doing enough to take down such pictures even though they are illegal. He called on firms to work with police to help prosecute those people responsible for putting them on the web.
Social Issues	The Sentinel, June 17, 2013



The average length of the school run has increased by a quarter over 15 years, and fewer than half of primary-school aged children now walk to school. So children live further away from their school friends and spend less time outdoors. Adults too are becoming dissociated from their surroundings. More than two-thirds drive to work.
Social Issues	Third Way June 2013

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