What this lesson teaches
I can explain how individuals and community groups respond to differences in race, religion and culture.
Syllabus K230, Issue 2, Guiding Question 3, Citizens and government responding to socio-cultural diversity. Responses of citizens as individuals and community groups
Make a guess
New neighbours complain that the family next door cooks with strong spices. What attitude do you think would most help them live together?
- Tolerance, meaning each side silently puts up with the other.
- Respect and empathy, trying to see the other family's view.
- Asking the other family to cook with fewer spices when guests visit.
Show the answer
Respect and empathy, trying to see the other family's view.
Seeing others' customs as worthy, and imagining how they feel, lets neighbours find a fair arrangement instead of a fight.
Respect, open-mindedness, empathy and tolerance build harmony. Each attitude changes how people treat others who differ from them.
Harmony means people of different races, religions and backgrounds live and work together peacefully, with trust and respect. It is more than the absence of fights. In a harmonious society, people feel safe to practise their own culture and still share common spaces with others.
Respect means treating other people's beliefs and customs as worthy, even when they are not your own. A respectful person does not mock a prayer, a festival or a way of dressing. This matters because people who feel looked down on pull away from others, and trust falls.
Open-mindedness means being willing to learn about unfamiliar ideas before judging them. An open-minded person asks questions instead of assuming. Many stereotypes start from not knowing, so learning replaces guesses with facts.
Empathy means imagining how a situation feels for someone else. It helps you see why a "harmless" joke can hurt a person who hears such jokes often. Once people understand the hurt, they are more likely to stop.
Tolerance means accepting that others may live differently, and making room for those differences. It often involves give-and-take, such as putting up with the smell of a neighbour's cooking or the sound of a festival. Without tolerance, small daily irritations can grow into conflict between groups.
Singapore's Declaration of Religious Harmony, issued in 2003, names these attitudes. It asks people to strengthen harmony through "mutual tolerance, confidence, respect and understanding". In an answer, name the attitude, describe the action it leads to, then explain how that action builds trust.
- Harmony
- People of different backgrounds living together peacefully, with trust and respect.
- Four attitudes
- Respect, open-mindedness, empathy and tolerance.
- Declaration of Religious Harmony (2003)
- Calls for "mutual tolerance, confidence, respect and understanding".
Real examples to use
Curry dispute, 2011
A newly arrived Chinese family and their Indian neighbours reached a mediated deal over the smell of curry. When the case was reported in 2011, more than 50,000 people joined a "Cook and Share a Pot of Curry" Facebook page, and many cooked curry on 21 August 2011. Use it for tolerance and give-and-take, and for how people showed they valued each other's food culture.
Declaration of Religious Harmony, 2003
Issued by Singapore's religious leaders with government support. It commits people to "mutual tolerance, confidence, respect and understanding" and to "respect each other's freedom of religion". Use it to name the attitudes Singapore asks of citizens.
Worked example: The curry dispute, 2011
In August 2011, a newspaper reported an earlier mediation case. A family who had recently moved from China had complained about the smell of curry cooked by their Indian neighbours. At the Community Mediation Centre, the Indian family agreed to cook curry when their neighbours were out. In return, the neighbours agreed to try the curry. Many Singaporeans felt this asked too much of the Indian family. More than 50,000 people joined a Facebook page, "Cook and Share a Pot of Curry", and many cooked curry on 21 August 2011.
- Tolerance: both families accepted a give-and-take deal through mediation instead of letting the quarrel grow.
- Open-mindedness: the newcomers agreed to taste the curry, learning about the dish instead of only judging its smell.
- Respect: the online event showed many people valued sharing food across cultures. Limit: an online event does not by itself rebuild trust between two neighbours. That needs continued contact.
Watch out for this
Tolerance just means putting up with other people in silence.
Putting up with others while looking down on them is not harmony. Harmony also needs respect and empathy, so people understand and value each other instead of only avoiding a fight.
Check your understanding
Your class is planning a party. One classmate fasts in the daytime during the fasting month. Which response best shows empathy?
- Tell the classmate to sit this one out and come to the next party.
- Hold the party at lunch, since most of the class is free to eat together then.
- Imagine how being left out would feel, then hold the party after dark so all can eat.
Show the answer
Imagine how being left out would feel, then hold the party after dark so all can eat.
Yes. Empathy means seeing the situation from the classmate's side, and moving the time turns that understanding into an action that includes them.