Frequently Asked Questions

1-Who are you linked to?

The Reading Interfaith Group works in partnership with many organisations who share the same goals to promote a particular event. We are however entirely independent, relying on membership subscriptions and individual donations to fund our work. This allows us to work on the basis of friendship rather than a financial obligation.

2-Do you have to be religious to get involved in the Reading Interfaith Group?

Certainly not! Although many of our members and supporters belong to a faith group it is recognised that all are starting points are different. Many people are not brought up to be religious. Others have genuine doubts about religion which they chose to be honest about. Everyone is welcome.
Saying that, it does help to have an open mind. The Reading Interfaith Group is based on toleration and mutual respect. Whatever our faith background or belief, it is assumed we all have a great deal to learn from each other.

3-Will I compromise my own religion by getting involved with Interfaith?

It would not be fair to provide a definitive guarantee since every individual is different. From asking around it would seem most people gain a greater sense of their own religious background and identity through communication with other faiths.
Reading Interfaith Group committee members tend for example to be acutely aware of their own faith backgrounds. We enjoy our differences and it is unusual in a meeting for everyone to agree on everything. This characteristic is to be expected since Reading Interfaith Group merely works to promote friendship.
Sometimes meeting other faiths can be like a window to extend our understanding. At other times it is a mirror showing what we have already believe from a slightly different perspective.

4-What is the difference between the Reading Interfaith Group and the Reading Faith Leaders Forum? Are you in competition with each other?

Although our names sound similar we are quite different. The Reading Interfaith Group is independent and deals with issues relating to faith and how this faith is expressed. We aim to build bridges between exisitng faith communities with little relevance to external organisations.
The Faith Leaders Forum is a new consultative group originally set up by through goverment funding to involve the wider community as part of the Local Strategic Partnership. It is funded through grants and used to give an informed opinion about wide-ranging matters related to the community.
Although our roles are different we tend to work in partnership through regular communications and sometimes by visiting each others meetings.