by Pauline Kennedy Allan
I have been asked on more than one occasion “Why is interfaith important?” and “Why do you bother with it?” The answers to these questions are not straightforward. There are many reasons why I think interfaith is important.
One of the reasons I have for being involved in interfaith work is that I believe that if you can increase knowledge and understanding between groups of different backgrounds, cultures or faiths you can increase their respect for one another. Prejudice and fear usually grow out of ignorance and lack of understanding. The more you learn about any particular group the less likely you are to judge all members of that group in a set way, in other words the less likely you are to are to pre-judge them. Instead of a group with odd beliefs you can start to see them as a group of individuals who share a belief system that might seem a bit odd to you. In the process of getting to know that group of individuals they will begin to get to know you and along the way they will hopefully start to see you as an individual who happens to have a different faith to them, a faith that might seem a bit odd to them but no less important to you than their faith is to them.
Another reason for getting involved is curiosity. I want to learn more of the different faiths in this world. That doesn’t mean I am looking around for another faith, far from it, I simply want to learn more of other’s beliefs. I want to increase my understanding of the range of beliefs and practices that are available in this country. I want to be able to have a greater knowledge and understanding of my neighbours in the wider community and having a bit of knowledge about their faith and practice will help. Along the way I want others to be able to satisfy their curiosity about my faith. I want them to see that we are not so different as they might think. I want them to be able to see that individuals in my faith have the same sort of concerns about the world as they have even if we approach things from a different perspective.
A third reason for getting involved in interfaith is to represent my faith to others in a way that I know won’t be media seeking or focused on only one aspect. I want people of other faiths to see that the people that share my faith are not into any kind of cruelty, that we care for this world we live in, that we pray for peace, that we are horrified by acts of terrorism no matter who carries them out, that we are capable of showing them and their faith respect. I know that I can show others that I am an ordinary person with a family, a job and a social life. I just happen to have a faith that is a little different from their faith. I hope that in demonstrating these things to people of other faiths gradually they will lose any fear of my faith and increase in understanding and showing respect towards all those that follow it
These are some of my reasons for getting involved with interfaith work, some of the reasons I think it is important. What are your reasons for getting involved or not doing so? Look around you. Look at your community, if any of the things I have mentioned above resonate with you and you are not already involved, ask yourself “If I don’t get involved who will?”. If you don’t like the answer you get, then you know what to do – take a step towards getting involved yourself. If you do decide to get involved with interfaith please remember to show others the respect you would like them to show to you and have patience. Developing relationships of any kind takes time and effort but it’s worth it in the long run.
Pauline Kennedy Allanpauline.kennedyallan [at] ntlworld [dot] com(
pauline.kennedyallan [at] ntlworld [dot] com)
June 2004
