Many areas of Britain are now very religiously diverse – particularly its major cities. People of most of the world’s great faith traditions live in the UK. In the 2001 census, 76.8% of people identified themselves with a particular religious tradition: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish as well as Baha’i, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian and other traditions. There are also many people with other beliefs – as well, of course, as people without a religious affiliation.

Discrimination on the grounds of ‘religion and belief’ will be one of the areas of responsibility of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The CEHR also has a responsibility for ‘good relations’, with both ‘religion and belief’ and race prescribed in statute as being priority areas for its work in this area. Good relations between people of different faiths is, of course, not a new area of work in this country. Its importance has long been recognised and the Inter Faith Network for the UK was founded in 1987. Its member organisations include representative bodies from the Baha'i; Buddhist; Christian; Hindu; Jain; Jewish; Muslim; Sikh; and Zoroastrian communities; national and local inter faith bodies; and academic institutions and educational bodies concerned with inter faith issues.

The Network works with its member bodies to help make the UK a place marked by mutual understanding and respect between religions where all can practise their faith with integrity and work together for the common good.

The Network works to promote understanding and respect by:

Providing a trusted neutral, non-denominational framework for people of different faiths to discuss issues of shared concern, reflecting on both the distinctive aspects and the common ground of their individual traditions.

Providing information to help enquirers who want to know more about particular aspects of building good inter faith relations.

Working with central and local Government and other public bodies on inter faith issues.

Publishing resources to help people working to promote good inter faith relations such as "Building Good Relations with People of Different Faiths and Beliefs"; The Local Inter Faith Guide and its young people’s inter faith action guide: Connect: Different Faiths, Shared Values.

Fostering local inter faith co-operation and offering advice on patterns of local inter faith initiatives suitable to the particular local area as well as helpful contacts.

Linking national, regional and local inter faith initiatives in the UK and sharing good practice between them through meetings and publications.

Supporting member bodies and working with other organisations to help strengthen their inter faith programmes and good practice.

Holding meetings and conferences where social and religious questions of concern to the different faith communities can be examined together, including meetings of the Network’s Faith Communities Forum

The Network’s website www.interfaith.org.uk provides more information about its work and contact information for its member bodies and for regional and local inter faith initiatives around the UK.

The Network also publishes a directory giving in depth information about over 250 national and local inter faith bodies around the UK:

Published 2007
ISBN 1 902906 31 4
Price £8.95
Available from the Inter Faith
Network at £11.00 (inc £2.05 p&p).
Enquiries to ifnet@interfaith.org.uk

Another valuable resource for those interested in faith communities in the UK is the University of Derby’s directory: Religions in the UK: Directory 2007-10
Over 300 pages, plus CD-ROM with organisational entries on addresses of over 20,000 Christian places of worship and contact details for 3,500+ other organisations and places of worship across the religions
Cover price £25.00 ISBN: 978 0 901437 30 1
Price including post and packing £30.00