Living with Difference - What it's about

In recent years the meanings of equality and social justice seem to have been redefined.

Once it meant the right to be treated the same despite one's cultural and ethnic differences but now it appears to mean the right to be special treatment because of those differences.

Some commentators, such as Trevor Phillips, believe that society inevitably fragments as different communities assert their particular identities and compete with each other for resources and recognition. Some go further and assert that this plays into racist attitudes as the promotion of difference has always been at the heart of the racist agenda.

It is argued that the old universalizing language of equality which we inherited from the Enlightenment has been replaced by the new and divisive language of identity. We are telling a whole new generation of people that their identity is the most important thing about them, that their difference should be affirmed and that they need protection from people offending them.

In this context we ask whether it is possible to develop a new kind of inclusive "Britishness", as recently called for by Gordon Brown, which bridges cultural differences by establishing an equality of citizenship. In particular, can religion help bridge the gap between communities or is it irreducibly divisive condemning us to live in cultural ghettos of mutual fear and suspicion?

Questions we want to tackle in this conference include:

The notion of citizenship: can it provide an identity that completely transcends other important identities in the way French republicanism aspires to, and is this desirable anyway?

We want to address the issue of migration and the threat it appears to pose to some. Is it really a threat to "Britishness" and could a rich hybrid culture indeed be an alternative outcome?

We want to examine the role, if any, of religion in providing "bridging social capital" as Robert Putnam has described it. The present Labour government has been keen on promoting faith initiatives in community development and education. Is this a wise policy or is religion intrinsically divisive?


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