A third of Muslim adults in the UK say they do not feel “part of British culture”, new research on identity, race and religion finds.
British Muslims are more than twice as likely as Hindus and more than 40 per cent more likely than Sikhs to feel excluded from society, a report by the pollsters Opinium Research shows.
But, strikingly, the study also found that almost a quarter of people who defined themselves as “white British” also claimed to feel alienated from wider British “culture”.
The research, based in polling of 2,000 people plus a booster sample of just over 500 who define themselves as from an ethnic minority, shows that racism is widely perceived to be less common than it was 20 years ago but highlights fears that the migrant crisis is fuelling a resurgence.
Almost six out of 10 (58 per cent) of those from ethnic minorities says they had experienced some form of discrimination. [The Telegraph] Read more
Identity and equality in Multicultural Britain
…. Our insight certainly suggests that we think we have become more tolerant as a country, and this appears to be reflected in the hopes and beliefs of ethnic minorities in the UK. Just under half (48%) of White Britons think that the United Kingdom has become a less racist country in that time, with a similar proportion of ethnic minorities (46%) agreeing.
Yet there remains manly complicated issues around culture and identity still to be understood. For example, for almost three quarters (72%) of White Britons the country in which they live in is the single most important part of their identity. However, for many ethnic minorities there are other layers which affect their sense of identity, as half consider their religion or ethnicity as the most important part of their identity compared to only 10% of White Britons.
Similarly, what it means to be British and what makes them proud differs in many ways depending upon your background. White Britons often concentrate on some of the more traditional aspects of being British (such as the British humour and English language) while ethnic minorities were much more likely to focus on aspects of modern British society such as multiculturalism. [Opinium Research] Read more
Islam Surveyed 