Report Available: Worldwide Survey on Interfaith Education
Learning about, from and with peoples of other faiths is increasingly being recognized as a vital aspect of education in faith communities and education systems, according to a new report from the World Council of Churches’ Education and Ecumenical Formation program and Hartford Seminary.
The report summarizes findings of a worldwide survey on interfaith education, done as part of the larger Interfaith Education Project (IEP). IEP aims to assist educators in faith communities and education systems develop interfaith education appropriate to their contexts.
Results from the survey point to a variety of interfaith educational initiatives taking place worldwide, and respondents presented interfaith activities in over forty-five countries.
The survey asked for information on the format, objectives, audience, successes and challenges of interfaith endeavors. It also invited respondents to offer advice or make special requests for what they would like to see in a new resource coming from the World Council of Churches.
During the Council’s 9th Assembly in Brazil last February where issues of interreligious relations were prominently featured, a workshop on the IEP served as a focus group to present preliminary results of the IEP survey and garner additional feedback on interfaith educational work. Response to the workshop confirmed survey findings that this is a topic that is quite important to individuals in WCC member churches.
The final report suggests two concrete ways forward for the project involving the creation of resources to facilitate contextually-based interfaith education and is available on both the WCC and Hartford Seminary websites.
The first option is creation of a primer on facilitating interfaith educational projects with sections to address issues such as overcoming violence, gender issues, experiential learning, multifaith worship experiences, etc. To achieve maximum effectiveness, a resource of this sort would need to be engaging to a diverse audience and easily translatable across language and culture. It should not be overly theological, but should engage questions of religious diversity honestly and critically. The successful reception of a curriculum of this type would need to be tailored to different age levels, be easily reproducible and made available at low-cost.
A second option is creation of a training program for interfaith leaders. This would need to address basic leadership development skills for group creation and facilitation, but would also include an emphasis on interreligious training. Training individuals to facilitate programs would enhance their efforts and increase their effectiveness in their own communities. Giving such leaders instruction in the fundamentals of interfaith education would allow them to adapt the skills and resources to their own contexts and have a greater impact on their local communities.
Project Coordinator Christy Lohr commented, “The survey findings confirm what was suspected – that member churches and educational institutions around the world are concerned about appropriate ways of engaging neighbors of other faiths. Now the WCC and Hartford Seminary can create a resource that compliments and enhances existing programs rather than recreating the interfaith education wheel.”
Both Hartford Seminary and the World Council of Churches have a long history in fostering quality interfaith relations. Hartford Seminary is a non-denominational graduate-level theological educational institution that is committed to the understanding of religion and spirituality as they are played lived out in today’s multifaith world. With a strong program in Christian-Muslim relations, it is also the only Christian seminary in the United States to offer an Islamic chaplaincy certification.
The WCC brings together more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 100 countries and territories throughout the world, representing 400 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches and denominations.
To read the full report or a shorter summary, log onto:
http://www.hartsem.edu/events/wccreport.html.
For more information, please contact Christy Lohr, clohr@hartsem.edu.
