The values that underpin British society, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance, and how these shared values support life in a diverse community.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to explain the principles and values that underpin life in modern Britain and to show how these shared values help a diverse society live together peacefully. You should be able to define each value, give an example of it in action, and explain why a society needs agreed values. This is a Life in modern Britain topic assessed in Paper 2, where shorter questions test definitions and longer "Discuss" or "Evaluate" questions test whether you can argue about the importance of shared values. The skill examiners look for is linking each value to the practical job it does in a society of many faiths and backgrounds.

The shared values that underpin society

A modern society contains people of many faiths, ethnicities, ages and beliefs. Shared values give them common ground so they can live together and settle disagreements without conflict.

These values are not the same as laws. They are widely shared beliefs about how people should be treated and how power should be exercised, and they often underpin the law rather than being identical to it. The reason AQA emphasises shared values in the Life in modern Britain unit is that diversity alone does not guarantee a peaceful society: what allows many different groups to coexist is a common civic framework that everyone accepts, regardless of their particular background.

Democracy

In a democracy citizens can vote, join political parties, campaign and stand for office. This gives people a peaceful way to influence decisions and to change a government they disagree with. As a shared value, democracy matters in a diverse society because it gives every group a legitimate, non-violent route to power and a stake in the system; people are more likely to accept decisions they dislike if they had a fair chance to influence them and can try again at the next election.

The rule of law

The rule of law protects citizens from the arbitrary use of power. Nobody is above the law, and people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In a diverse society its value lies in fairness and predictability: because the same rules apply to everyone regardless of wealth, faith or ethnicity, members of every group can trust that they will be treated equally and that disputes will be settled justly rather than by force or favour. When the rule of law is seen to apply unequally, trust between communities and in the state breaks down.

Individual liberty

Individual liberty means people are free to make their own choices, hold their own beliefs and live as they wish, as long as they stay within the law and do not harm others. Freedom of speech, freedom of belief and freedom of movement are part of this value. Individual liberty is what allows people of different faiths and lifestyles to follow them openly, which is essential in a diverse society; it is balanced by the principle that one person's freedom must not unjustly harm another's, which is why most freedoms are qualified rather than absolute.

Mutual respect and tolerance

Mutual respect and tolerance mean accepting that other people have different faiths, cultures and opinions, and treating them with dignity even when you disagree. This value is essential in a diverse society because it allows different communities to live side by side. Tolerance does not mean approving of or agreeing with every view; it means respecting others' right to hold views and to live differently within the law. Mutual respect is the everyday behaviour that turns the principle of liberty into a workable shared life, and it is the value most directly tied to community cohesion.