Committee for Interreligious Dialogue
The Scottish Bishops' Committee for Interreligious Dialogue exists to make Catholics and others aware of the importance of interreligious dialogue within the life of the Church.
Enjoy browsing this site to discover more about the work of the Committee and how you might get involved.
"There is no alternative: we will either build the future together or there will not be a future. Religions, in particular, cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples and cultures. The time has come when religions should more actively exert themselves, with courage and audacity, and without pretense, to help the human family deepen the capacity for reconciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete paths of peace." - Pope Francis, speaking in Abu Dhabi, in February 2019
Interfaith News & Events from the Scottish Bishops' Committee
BUILDING A HOME TOGETHER – A COLLOQUIUM ON FAITH IN PUBLIC LIFE
The closing date for participation in our Colloquium on Faith in Public Life has now passed. For late enquiries please contact Sr Isabel Smyth.
Friday 23rd – Saturday 24th August 2019, at the Xaverian Missionaries Conforti, Calder Avenue, Coatbridge, ML5 4JS
Click here for more details.
Scottish Interfaith Week this year will take place during the week of 10th – 17th November 2019.
Taking the theme "Eat, Share, Love" the week is an opportunity to learn about each other’s faith or culture by sharing food and stories. Enjoy a meal together, share recipes and skills, cook together or for each other. Eat, sing, dance, talk, create, innovate, experience and most importantly, enjoy. Getting involved is easy. You can organise anything from a small gathering in your home or community centre to a large event in your local place of worship, school or library.
SIFW brings people together whilst promoting dialogue, understanding and co-operation between Scotland’s diverse religious communities and cultures. For more information visit the website.
Get involved in Challenge Poverty Week - A meeting for Faith Groups
by The Poverty Alliance
Thursday 5th September
2-3:30pm
The Poverty Alliance
94 Hope Street
Glasgow
G2 6QB
To mark the 20th anniversary of Interfaith Scotland Scotland's faith communities are working together in a unique project to address the climate crisis. A tree planting initiative - The World Interfaith Harmony Grove - gives the opportunity for groups and individuals to plant a grove of trees in the Scottish Highlands.
Read more about the project here and click here to add a tree to the grove.
There is also an article introducing Esther Sills, CCJ's new Programme Manager, and a statement from CCJ on the recent rise in reporting of Antisemitic incidents.
For anyone visiting London in August or November you'll also find details of various events that are taking place there.
October 10th 2019 will mark the 20th anniversary of Interfaith Scotland, which was established to promote and facilitate constructive engagement between different faith and belief communities across Scotland through dialogue, educational activities, civic engagement and the promotion of religious equality.
The annual meeting of the Scottish Religious Leaders' Forum will be held in Glasgow University in the afternoon of the 10th and will be followed by an evening celebration of the wonderful work of Interfaith Scotland.
Please put the date in your diary and look here later in the summer for more details.
A new report by the Faith & Belief Forum and the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, calls on faith and community organisations to work together to address religious hate crime in their local areas. Read more about this important report here or download the full report from the website of the Faith & Belief Forum.
The Holy Father has nominated as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, His Excellency Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., Titular Bishop of Luperciana. Bishop Ayuso had formerly been the Council Secretary and we wish him well in his new role.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC ) met in June 2019 and agreed to restore formal relations and strengthen communication. Read about this important declaration here.
Also from WCC, read here to learn about their recent interfaith student gathering.
