Having been been involved in interfaith work for more than thirty years, I cannot imagine my life without the friends and contacts that I have made in all the religious traditions I have encountered.
I first came to appreciate and know about interfaith relations through a wonderful woman called Stella Reekie who began the first interfaith group in Scotland, called the Glasgow MSharing of Faiths.
When I first met Stella I had returned to Glasgow from Lancaster University where I had studied world religions. This had given me not only some understanding of the beliefs of ‘others’ but had also been an opportunity to meet people of different faiths who were obviously sincere, insightful and in a relationship with God.
I came to recognise that my Christian perspective on life was only one belief among many others and that I had much to learn from the wisdom and insights of ‘other’ faiths. Much as I appreciated my Catholic upbringing I realised that I had lived a life which had been limited to one particular outlook and set of relationships.
My first small steps in interfaith relations led me to work with the Glasgow Sharing of Faiths group and others to establish a Scottish interfaith body which later became the Scottish Inter Faith Council, and to be involved in the work of the Inter Faith Network for the UK.
I also worked with the Christian churches in Scotland to run workshops and seminars to educate Christians about the beliefs of other faiths, to encourage them to take seriously the multi-faith society in which we now live, and to meet people with different beliefs.
Teaching world religions to student teachers who would be responsible for religious education in schools gave me the opportunity to widen horizons and to help others enter into the world of different religions.
When I first became involved in interfaith work it was a concern and interest of very few people. Now interfaith relations have become more main stream and have even entered the political agenda.
Today it would be hard to find someone who did not support the view that people of faith should work together for the common good of society but this does not mean that people are actually prepared to take the step of working together.
There is still much to be done to encourage people of all faiths to come out from the security of their own community and to engage with those who are different from them. Each community has its own concerns and issues and it is easy to get caught up in these. But our society needs people of faith to work together and to understand one another.
So often the history of religious encounter has been one of conflict and, in a world which is riven with conflict, it is time for people of faith to share their resources and work together for peace.
So often prejudice and discrimination arises from ignorance or misunderstanding and these will only be dispelled when we meet one another and get to know one another as fellow citizens and human beings.
Much of interfaith work is small and hidden but each encounter is a small seed which can blossom and contribute to a peaceful and harmonious society.
Interfaith relations, however, will not only benefit society but will help individuals embark on an exciting and interesting adventure which will take them into lands yet unknown.
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