Glossary

This glossary has been written to encourage debate and discussion.

It has been written from a Scottish perspective. This means terms used within Scotland may not have equivalent meaning when transferred to another part of the world. It has also to be remembered that terms are evolving and developing all the time and what is offered here reflects the discussions as it stands when this was written in June 2004.

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Glossary of terms
Ecumenical	Establishing or promoting unity among churches and / or religions. A term often associated with the worldwide church of Christianity.
Equal	Having the same quantity, measure, or value as another.
Equal Opportunity	Equal opportunity is a descriptive term for an approach intended to give equal access to an environment or benefits or equal treatment for all. For example, access to education, employment, health care or social welfare to members of various social groups, some of which might otherwise suffer from discrimination.
Equality	The state of being equal - treating everyone the same.
Equity	Equity is the quality of being impartial or fair. An equitable approach does not mean treating everyone the same because it takes into account issues of difference so that different needs and requirements of individuals can be met in order to achieve equality.
Ethnic	Ethnic is much more commonly applied to minority or marginalised groups than to the ways of the perceived majority population, whose low level of attributed ethnicity seems to derive from the high value apparently associated, in developed Western societies, with the ability of individuals and societies to accommodate rapid change unhindered by traditional group ties and constraints.
Ethnicity	The term means, 'relating to or characteristic of a human group having certain key features in common'. It is derived from the Greek 'ethnos' meaning a (non-Greek) "race" or people. Though apparently neutral at one level of definition, 'ethnic' as a term does, in practice, in such phrases as ethnic food, music or clothes, within the UK imply a condition of being non-normative, foreign or quaint. It may also suggest a lack of sophistication or a tendency to the parochial, for example, ethnic literature. In extreme situations the idea of 'ethnicity' has been used to justify genocide such as in 'ethnic cleansing'.
Ethnocentrism	A belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group. This belief can be transferred into a value system, which can then determine actions, behaviour and practice. This term is often associated with race relations discussion.