Faiths in Action Toolkit

What is Faiths in Action?

Since 2009, we have been running training courses for local women to develop the skills to facilitate at inter-faith events. We have focussed on training women because it is recognised that interfaith is an area where they tend to have less influence and confidence.

The training takes place over 4 days, and participants then go on to run an event (or events) where people from different faith backgrounds meet to build relationships and understanding with each other through taking part in shared conversation or activity.  Events have included women meeting together to:

• share food and to listen to Hindu, Muslim and Christian speakers sharing the relevance of faith to their own lives
• play football together
• share a meal and discussed experiences of unemployment and ideas for starting small enterprises

What does the Faith in Action Toolkit include?

The Toolkit includes:

• A list of some of the key issues to consider when arranging an inter-faith event
• A ‘how to’ for running icebreakers, which can be an effective way to start inter-faith events
• An outline of the journey a group takes towards trusting each other
• An interfaith event planning outline
• A breakdown of the key qualities of a good (inter-faith) facilitator
• An exploration of the difference between teaching and facilitating
• Mehrabian’s Rule- a reminder of the relative impact of body language, tone of voice and words in any communication
• A breakdown of some of the most common roles played by people in a group

Please click here to access the Toolkit: 

Why is the Toolkit necessary?

Many areas in the UK have vibrant faith sectors. However, it is easy for faith communities to lead parallel lives. Unfortunately, when external events increase tension, eg between Muslims and non-Muslims at the time of the London bombings, there is no bridging capital between the communities to compensate for the fears created from outside. We therefore need more opportunities for bridging and linking to take place on a day by day basis, at all levels, as an investment against the shaking of confidence which can happen as fallout from world events.

As part of the consultation for the report “Face to Face and Side by Side: a framework for partnership in our multi-faith society”,published by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2008,a three month public consultation was held which resulted in 185 responses from a broad range of organisations and individuals. 

In the consultation people were asked to share the issues which limited their ability to bridge and link. The consultation responses revealed some consistent messages including:

• nervousness about offending others
• gender issues – some faiths and cultures have formal conventions about the way men and women relate to one another in public
• anxieties about a single faith group dominating
• poor local access to skilled facilitation and capacity building

Our experience of working with inter-faith groups in Newham echoes many of these findings.  We have found that while inter-faith projects are designed to bridge and link, faith leaders often do not have the skills they need to do this eg they have often not been trained in  participatory ways of leading discussion or in  facilitation skills for talking about difference.  We were approached, for example, by a local inter-faith project whose leaders were concerned about the quality of interaction and learning at their events. Hosts would lecture guests on the virtues of their own faith and unwittingly cause offence.

The methods/ ideas contained in the Toolkit outline an approach which, in contrast, is about supporting groups to share their faith experience in ways which do not exclude those outside their own faith community.

Who can use the Toolkit?

Anyone working with groups across difference may find these documents useful.

How was the Toolkit developed?

The Toolkit was developed through 2 years of work to train and support local people to facilitate inter-faith events.  It borrows from other areas of our work and includes resources developed by partner/ similar organisations (which are referenced as such).

Our Community Conversations project shares many similar elements to the Faiths in Action programme.  To learn more about this project, follow the link, or call Ros on 0208 552 2050.

Links to other useful websites and resources:

www.interfaith.org.uk

www.stethelburgas.org/reconciliation-resources/resources

www.communities.gov.uk

Ongoing development…

This Toolkit is part of an ongoing exploration of effective approaches to holding inter-faith sessions.  If you have feedback on their usefulness or ideas for their development, please let us know:

training@conflictandchange.org.uk

Faiths in Action Toolkit

Please click on the files below to download: