About this course
It is great that you want to explore more about unconscious bias, because the more we make our biases conscious, the more we can limit their impact, since unconscious biases can lead to unintentional discrimination. Whether you are new to the concept of unconscious bias (sometimes called implicit bias) or have already considered the subject in detail, the more open we are, the more we can learn about how to counter their effect. Indeed, thinking about our biases is not a one-off experience, but needs to be part of an ongoing journey of awareness and change. In this course we will be considering what unconscious bias is, the impact it has, and, crucially, what steps we can take to help reduce acting on our biases. You can work through the material at your own pace, clicking on any blue links that are of interest if you would like to look at those in more detail. There are questions throughout the course that you can engage with if it helps you to embed your learning, but this is not an assessed course, so you do not have to answer the questions if you do not wish to. Some people are more impacted by bias than others. Please look after yourself well during this course. If you are distressed by any current or past experiences of discrimination that this material may bring to mind, please do get help. You can enrol yourself onto this course by clicking the ‘enroll’ button.Requirements
Some people may have already undertaken some Unconscious Bias training with the Methodist Church, such as that found here: Introduction to Unconscious Bias – for church councils, circuit meetings and other groups (methodist.org.uk) but there is no requirement to have already done this.If you are looking for an introduction to the topic, that may be a good starting place. This MCBX course is a deeper look at the subject.
Unconscious Bias training is now required for the following roles within the Methodist Church:
All ministers (including Superintendents and District Chairs)
Local Preachers
Connexional Committee members
Connexional Team members
Circuit and District Safeguarding Officers
Circuit stewards and church stewards
Lay Workers: a) Lay Pastoral Workers b) Children, Youth and Family Workers c) Pioneers
This module is one option for completing this training. However if you find it is not right for you, perhaps because it is a bit too in-depth or if MCBX is not really suitable for you, then you can find the other options listed here, under point 1: Mandatory EDI Training (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) (methodist.org.uk)
This course is not just for people in those roles, though. It is an opportunity for anyone to learn more about Unconscious Bias and how we can reduce its impact within our church communities, and so better come together as the Body of Christ.
