CPE

Reports

The Woolf Institute's reports are designed to address pressing needs in the field of interfaith relations. Valuing Diversity for instance addresses the need to improve interfaith education in secondary schools. They also inform policy by giving recommendations based on academic research, such as the issue of the training of religious leaders in the UK.

Keeping Faith in Development Report

1 December 2009

The humanitarian aid charities Christian Aid, World Jewish Relief and Islamic Relief came together for the first time, at a conference hosted by the Woolf Institute.

Case studies were brought by the three charities to illustrate work they had done in countries with those of other religions. Successes were highlighted, such as collaboration between World Jewish Relief and the organisation Human Aid Focus, which not only helped Muslim victims of the earthquake in Kashmir but also helped relations between Muslims and Jews.

However difficulties also emerged; should the source of financial help from a different faith group be advertised, especially if this runs the risk of it being rejected? Should faith groups help their ‘own’ before others? How can conservative factions of religious communities be won over to the vision of this collaborative work?

Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid, spoke for everyone when he said that: “Global poverty is not a Christian issue, but a human one, and ending it is not simply a Christian obligation, but a universal one.”

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Policy Paper on the Training of Religious Leaders in the UK

1 June 2008

A Policy Paper on seminary education and the training of Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders in the UK.

The Policy Paper is based on research conducted by Michael Mumisa and Edward Kessler. At the heart of the Paper’s findings lies a clear message that each of the Abrahamic Faith groups is failing to prepare future leaders in the field of interfaith education. The Paper makes a series of recommendations on the training of religious leaders in the UK, including minimum levels of knowledge.

Edward Kessler said that “this issue requires urgent attention and the need for reform must be impressed upon each of the three religious communities. All ministers of religion – imams, priests, rabbis and other religious leaders – need to receive a training that is relevant for today’s multi-cultural and multi-faith Britain.”

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Children of Zion: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land

1 January 2008

This document will help Christians and Jews - and many others - to deepen their own and each other's understandings. We hope that it will encourage and assist us all to talk together and to enjoy what we share as well as to appreciate where and why we differ.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr Daniel Langton for bringing this work to fruition. He has brought to bear his considerable knowledge and research abilities to produce in clear language something of real value. There is no shortage of material on every aspect of this subject, but this is one of the few which combines so effectively clarity with brevity and breadth with depth.

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Valuing Diversity: A Guide for Secondary School Teachers

1 January 2008

The National Curriculum Guidelines for the teaching of Citizenship at Key Stages 3 (11-14) and 4 (14-16) include a requirement to study the social/cultural/religious context in the UK and beyond.

This guide for teachers supports the goals of the national curriculum, linking interfaith experience with citizenship and religious and moral education. The aim is to encourage a better understanding of moral, social and cultural issues in the UK and to help pupils think about the impact of plural identities and conflict resolution. Practical, classroom-based exercises are laid out in a user-friendly style.

Valuing Diversity has been developed in conjunction with specialists in school material publications, and drawing upon advice from key secondary education specialists. A focus on Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations and the broader ethnic and religious diversity is an excellent vehicle for teachers to fulfill this expectation.

This is a revised edition of the first popular and successful Valuing Diversity published in 2001. The guide was revised and updated in 2008 by Amineh Hoti and Edward Kessler to include Muslim perspectives on dialogue and understanding.

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Woolf Institute