Different Faiths Shared Values

Connect different faiths shared values As a young person in 21st century Britain Inside… 23 Big Myths you belong to an increasingly diverse 4 Shared values 8 Making it happen! society where people of many cultures 10 Planning for success 12 Good to talk and faiths live side by side. 18 Celebrate! 19 Let’s talk over lunch This action guide is about making 22 Resources connections and friendships. It’s about Published by the Inter Faith Network for the UK in association with TimeBank how it matters to build bridges of and the National Youth Agency. Inter Faith Network registered friendship and understanding between charity number 1068934 and a company limited by guarantee number 3443823 registered in people of the different and distinct England. ISBN Number: 1 902906 12 8 religions in this country today. © Inter Faith Network 2004 Designed by Texture Printed by Calverts What’s it Did you know? Over 75% of people who all about? answered the question about religion in the 2001 Census said they belonged to a • Making friends particular religious tradition. • Helping to end prejudice and stereotyping For example, 152,000 people • Getting together and identified themselves as helping others Buddhist, 267,000 as • Helping defuse tensions Jewish, 336,000 as Sikh, and resolve conflicts 559,000 as Hindu, • Helping your 1,591,000 as Muslim and community 42,079,000 as Christian. • Celebrating diversity 179,000 identified their • Adding something extra religion as “other” and to your own life wrote in a wide variety of different religions. So, you may be a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Sikh, a Jew or a Buddhist. You may be a Jain or a Baha’i or a Zoroastrian, or a member of a different faith or belief. Whatever your background, if you want to help make the UK a place where respect, co-operation and trust exist between people of different faiths and beliefs, read on. 1 3BIGMYTHS Martin Luther King Jr. Being Big myth 1: Well, They do and it makes Big myth 2: Religious strong in your views does not they may say they’re a big difference to people are just a make you a “fanatic”. Believing in the fundamental importance religious but no-one their lives: bunch of fanatics of the teachings of a faith does not make you a “fundamentalist” believes any of “My faith has given me the Turn on the TV and you can in the negative sense of a that stuff confidence and motivation to see story after story about religious extremist. succeed in all aspects of my conflict and problems around life. It has encouraged me to the world. treat others with respect and Most wars and understanding, as they too are A bomb has gone off. A part of God’s creation.” presenter is saying that religious conflicts have little to Mohammed, Muslim fanatics are the cause. Religion do with religion, but can receive a bad press. “My faith has provided me with religion can get used strength when I’ve needed it, Over the centuries, religious as a justification by helped me to tell right from people have stood up for what wrong, and given me a way of they believed: from founders of regimes and by sorting out what really matters faiths and prophets, to from what doesn’t.” Viren, Jain followers like Gandhi and terrorists. 2 I think religion is being Across the UK many people of Big myth 3: Religion all religions can and do live There are over 200 used“ as a source of conflict local inter faith divides people. All the alongside each other, get on and not as a means of worship well and work together on initiatives currently and every day guidance as it religions hate each practical projects – like helping running in the UK was when I was younger. This other really the homeless or the elderly or building better inter is becoming more of a improving the local faith relations at a environment. There are many Nothing puts people off like local level*. problem when it never used to examples of inter religious inter religious hatred and *source: Local Inter Faith Activity in the UK: A be… I think somehow we harmony even if they rarely Survey published by the Inter Faith squabbling. It’s true that there Network for the UK, 2003 need to find the means make the headlines. have been centuries of mistrust ! whereby Sikhs and Muslims, and out and out rivalry. People and Hindus and Muslims, can have sometimes killed or been integrate more and get a killed in the name of religion (even though religion may well It’s time for people Until different religions better understanding of each of different faiths to take“ a step back to other, not seeing a person and not have been the actual cause of the problem). speak up louder understand each other, just labelling them as a Sikh about all the good religious conflicts will go on. or Muslim, but seeing the But followers of the different things connected This is why it is increasingly person as they really are world faiths can live together with religion: about important for members of Kiran, Sikh ” peacefully. the ways that religions help different faiths to get on people and about together and to understand the benefits this the differences between All of the major faiths brings to individuals their beliefs and practices have teachings which and communities. and, more importantly, to encourage acknowledge the similarities co-operation with and work side by side to ! achieve their shared people of other faiths goals. Ashmi, Hindu ” 3 The Golden Rule Bahá’í faith Buddhism Christianity Each faith has teachings Lay not on any soul a Just as a mother Do to others as you about the importance of load which ye would would protect her would have them do dealing rightly with other not wish to be laid only child with her to you. people. This principle – to upon you, and desire life, even so let Luke 6:31 treat others as we would wish not for any one the things ye one cultivate a boundless to be be treated ourselves – would not desire for yourselves. love towards all beings. is sometimes called This is My best counsel unto Khuddaka Patha, from the the “Golden Rule”. you, did ye but observe it. Metta Sutta Baha‘u’llah, Gleanings, 128 SharedValues Islam Jainism Judaism Sikhism No one of you is a I forgive all beings, What is hateful No one is my enemy, believer until he may all beings to you, do not and no one is a desires for his forgive me, I have do to your stranger. I get along brother that which friendship towards fellow man. with everyone. he desires for himself. all, malice towards none Talmud: Shabbat 31a Sri Guru Granth Sahib p.1299 An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith,13 Pratikraman Sutra 35:49 4 Hinduism There is a story that a famous rabbi called Hillel was challenged to explain“ the Torah (the five books of Moses) while standing on one foot. Hillel This is the sum of duty: do naught to replied simply, ‘Whatever is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour: this others which if is the whole law; the rest is mere commentary.” For me, this value is at the done to thee heart of my religion. To love and care for others as you would expect to be would cause thee pain. treated by them. Jewish values, such as charity, welcoming strangers and Mahabharata 5.1517 not gossiping, have influenced me throughout my life as a Jew growing up in Britain, surrounded by others different to myself.”. Ruth, Jewish The great faith traditions are In a world scarred by the evils of war, racism, injustice and each distinct, but there are poverty, we offer this joint Act of Commitment as we look to important values that people our shared future. of different faiths share. We commit ourselves, Leaders and members of as people of many faiths, different faiths came to work together together in the Houses of for the common good, Parliament for a special uniting to build a better society, Millennium “Act of Reflection grounded in values and ideals we share: and Commitment” and affirmed this in these words: community, personal integrity, a sense of right and wrong, learning, wisdom and love of truth, Zoroastrianism Find out more about care and compassion, That nature only is the Act of Reflection justice and peace, good when it shall and Commitment at respect for one another, not do unto another www.interfaith.org.uk for the earth and its creatures. whatever is not We commit ourselves, good for its own self. in a spirit of friendship and co-operation, Dadistan-I-Dinik 94.5 to work together alongside all who share our values and ideals, ? to help bring about a better world now and for generations to come. 5 Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Case Study 3 Ekta The Story of Noah Blackburn Heats “I got involved with an anti-racism “In my church youth group we “I created Blackburn Heats white, black and Asian youth project in Kettering. The looked at the story of Noah and Volleyball Club last year with the teenagers having fun together. group was made up of 14 young realised that the story was help of two close friends Saeed people who volunteered for the shared in common with Jewish and Alfred. The club was formed Now we are trying to expand project.

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