In political contexts, there has been a significant amount of discussion around the term ‘social cohesion’ recently. In light of the series of riots that took place during the summer, there has been a call for greater social cohesion – but what does that term really mean and what will social cohesion achieve?
What is social cohesion?
‘Social cohesion’ is a term that does not have one straight forward definition, it means different things to different people. However, generally, social cohesion refers to the togetherness of a society, whether people of differing beliefs and backgrounds can live together peacefully in a diverse democracy.
The Khan Review, that will be discussed later in this article, describes social cohesion as being categorised by “both the horizontal interactions (relationships between individuals, communities and groups) and vertical interactions (the relationships between members of society with the state and its institutions).” For the purposes of this article, this is the definition we are referring to when using the term ‘social cohesion’.
Why do we need social cohesion?
The riots that took place this summer, emphasised the great need for social reset. They highlighted the need to bring people together, to help them understand each other’s struggles and to create common ground that allows communities to live in harmony.
Social cohesion is also needed in order to allow people of faith to publicly hold to their convictions without fear of being ridiculed or silenced. As Christians, we may feel an increasing need to hide our beliefs or to shy away from conversations in which we hold a minority. As a society, we have forgotten how to live harmoniously amid difference. Social cohesion, on the other hand, would allow people of differing faiths and worldviews to disagree with each other, while remaining tolerant and respectful.
What is the Khan Review and what does it say about social cohesion?
In March 2024, the Conservative government published Dame Sara Khan OBE report and independent review that identified threats to social cohesion and democratic resilience. We can expect that the findings of this review will form the bedrock of any new government policies that are put into place to bring about greater social cohesion.
The report found that “freedom-restricting harassment” is a rising phenomenon in the UK. Online or in-person harassment is intimidating people into self-censorship, meaning that they will not share their views or beliefs out of fear of the response of others. The report found that victims of freedom-restricting harassment range across political, class, belief and cultural spectrums.
Khan states in the review that “the most common reasons [people fall victim to freedom-restricting harassment] appear to be because of the job they do or role they play in society, for holding a belief or opinion that should be protected in a democratic society and/or because they possess a protected characteristic.”
The statistics of people falling victim to freedom-restricting harassment are stark. According to the Khan Review:
- 76% of the public reported having restricted expressing their personal views in public, out of fear of receiving freedom-restricting harassment either to themselves or their loved ones.
- 72% agreed that freedom-restricting harassment undermines people’s ability to live and speak freely in our country.
- 70% agree that freedom-restricting harassment has had a negative effect on people living well together in our society.
The review found that while the UK has increasingly adopted liberal and tolerant attitudes over recent decades, there has simultaneously been a rise in polarisation that has led to intolerance towards certain viewpoints. It also found that the lack of action taken by political leaders to address polarisation has undermined social cohesion.
"Freedom-restricting harassment is arguably poisoning the bloodstream of our democracy. Defending pluralism and protecting the right of people to exercise their democratic rights is foundational to our nation, yet too little is being done to address this challenge. (pg.68, The Khan Review)"
The review highlighted three areas in which change needs to take place: policy, practice and place. It sets out a series of recommendations to the government of how to create a more socially cohesive society. Some of the recommendations include: establishing an independent, impartial Office for Social Cohesion and Democratic Resilience, publishing a 5-year strategy and action plan, and creating a cross-Whitehall Cohesion Response Unit.
The new Labour minister for faith recently stated that the government are assessing the Khan Review and will provide updates on their work around social cohesion in due course.
What role does the church have to play in social cohesion?
For Christians, social cohesion is important because a socially cohesive society is something that the bible calls us to strive for. Romans 12 gives us a framework for how we should live alongside others:
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” (v9)… “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” (v14-16).
Churches should pave the way for social cohesion amongst their wider communities. We know that we are to love our neighbour. As Jesus showed through the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, our neighbours include those that we have little in common with, those who we do not share a faith or culture with. This means that as individual Christians, and as local churches, we should be building bridges with those in our communities who do not share our ethnicity, our socio-economic background or our religion.
Loving our neighbour doesn’t mean that we must agree with each other, we can love our neighbour and challenge their thinking (and allow them to challenge us in our thinking too). It means that despite our differences, we can find common ground in our humanity and extend kindness to those we disagree with, looking out for their best interests.
Social cohesion is also important to Christians because without it, freedom of expression begins to erode. If we want to ensure that we can speak openly about our faith and the beliefs that stem from it, we should support measures to ensure all people and groups have freedom to express their views.
"There has been concern previously that attempts to tackle behaviour that causes harassment could amount to an attempt to restrict freedom of expression. However, this Review suggests the inability and unwillingness to tackle [freedom-restricting harassment] is precisely leading to a restriction of freedom of expression, as well as a wide range of other freedoms and rights. (pg.68, The Khan Review)"
As we think about social cohesion and what it looks like for Christians to strive for a society where different people can live in harmony, and where people of faith have the freedom to express their faith openly, why not follow along with all that the advocacy team at the Evangelical Alliance are doing? The best way to do so is by signing up to our monthly email, Everything Advocacy, where we share articles, resources and ways that you can get involved in speaking truth to power.
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