A study carried published by the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research of Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand in 2013 reveals that a significantly higher proportion agreed that, “It is a good thing for any society to be made up of different races, religions and cultures”, compared with similar surveys conducted in in Australia and 15 European Union countries.
In the survey of over 2,000 households in New Zealand, conducted 89 per cent agreed with the statement “It is a good thing for any society to be made up of different races, religions and cultures”.
The findings of this study suggest that in some ways, New Zealand can be considered a psychologically multicultural society, but in others, it cannot.
- New Zealanders appreciate cultural diversity and believe that it is good for society, but reject equitable resource distribution aimed to reduce social inequalities
- New Zealanders do not typically experience race-based rejection, but Asian and Pacific peoples are the most likely to experience this type of rejection
- Ethnic groups typically have warm intergroup feelings, but they have warmer feelings towards members of their own ethnic group. If one ethnic group likes another ethnic group, the feelings tend to be reciprocated
- Perceptions of economic competition tended to be low, but Asian New Zealanders were generally seen as the most threatening
- All ethnic groups displayed strong levels of patriotism.
When she was interviewed by Mervin Singham at the Ethnica Conference in Christchurch last year Professor Colleen Ward, referring to the survey said.
“In terms of the principle I think we’re starting on firm ground in New Zealand. I think that diversity is appreciated here.”
“But it’s no good to say in principle ‘I appreciate diversity, it’s great to have it’ on one hand, and then on the other hand, ‘As long as it doesn’t mean I have to do anything to respond to it.”
“If you say ‘Diversity is great but I don’t want a synagogue, mosque or temple in my neighbourhood’, what does that mean?”
‘”All groups have to be able to accommodate difference in a reasonable fashion.”
“If I value it, I have to accommodate to a certain extent.”
This interview has been referred to in a recently posted blog on American Thinker which discusses the question “Can Muslims be multiculturalist?” i
The writer, a conservative American academic, Robert Klein Engler states “At its core, Islam does not allow for freedom of religion, yet this freedom would be considered one of the core principles of the multiculturalism we hear professed.”
Engler challenged the opinion expressed by Ward that “…multiculturalism hasn’t failed in France, Germany and the UK. They’ve never had it. It’s never been tested.”
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Image: southaucklandblogger
