Information about faiths and beliefs
BBC World Service - Religions website
This website has good information on the six main religions of the world - Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Within each section there is a variety of information covering such aspects as the number of adherents, their geographical distribution, the main beliefs, different groupings within the religion current issues. In some cases there are links to past BBC transmissions on particular topics. This would be a good website to begin to explore basic information about these religions.
This is a really good website and complements the World Service website listed above. It is huge and by following links it can take you almost anywhere you want to go with a particular religion. It has on its home page a brief A-Z of religions and beliefs with links to a religious quiz, multifaith calendar, message board, e-cards, statistics and features.
The religious quiz gives a series of 10 multiple choice questions on a variety of topics and at different levels with the main religions covered being Islam, Christianity and Judaism. There is instant marking which gives you your score out of 10. It's fun, and a good way to learn for everyone as you can repeat the quiz until you improve your score.
The message board covers a range of religions with messages posted numbering from the hundreds to the thousands. Don't be put off by these large numbers. There are many different topics under discussion in each section and they are easy to identify and explore further if you wish. While browsing under Islam there was a current topic (from an incident the day before) under discussion on 'Islamic Terrorist Arrests' which actually had some good information on the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland as part of the discussion.
The multifaith calendar allows you to find out for each month which religious festivals are coming up. You can then move to the e-card section and you'll probably find a card for the occasion to send to as many friends as you like. Cards cover all the major festivals of the main religions.
Statistics give you numbers of adherents of religions for England and Wales and worldwide.
The features section is another large section with starter links for major and minor religions and further links to a wide range of topics and issues within each religion.
So a very useful, all-purpose website which is accessible to all ages and provides opportunities for research in depth, comparisons, interaction and quizzes. Well worth a few minutes of anybody's time.
Ontario Consultants on religious tolerance
This is a large religious Canadian (Ontario) website which contains nearly 2,500 essays and articles on various aspects of issues and religions. The website does not adopt any particular religion or belief stance and covers the full diversity of religions in North America. There is information about major faiths in the world and reports on controversial religious topics, which include religious hatred and bigotry throughout the world and they can be accessed by country. This is a very useful website for gaining an insight into disputes of varying nature and religion in different parts of the world. The hosts claim to explain all sides to each topic fairly and objectively.
Surprisingly, there is no reference in their search file to sectarianism or anti-sectarianism, and there are no listings under UK / Ireland with examples of religious hatred - perhaps because the focus appears to be from the perspective of government actions / laws, although not exclusively.
Inter Faith Network - www.interfaith.co.uk
This is a UK site by The Inter Faith Network for the UK.
It works to build good relations between the communities of all the major faiths in Britain: Baha'i; Buddhist; Christian; Hindu; Jain; Jewish; Muslim; Sikh; and Zoroastrian.
Connect: Different faiths shared values.
Connect is about making connections and friendships. It's about how it matters for people to build bridges of friendship and understanding between people of the different and distinct religions in this country today. Connect have produced an excellent booklet called 'Connect: Different faiths shared values'
This booklet can be downloaded at http://www.interfaith.org.uk/connect/dl.htm
Or you can get a hard copy of the Connect guide by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope (A5 size with 35p postage) to:
The Inter Faith Network for the UK
8A Lower Grosvenor Place
London
SW1W 0EN
If you run a youth group or project you can order more copies of connect.
Contact ifnet@interfaith.org.uk for details
Within the Inter faith Council site, there is also useful information here for local government equality officers interested in taking forward multifaith issues. Though much of the work has been done for English local authorities, the information can be adapted for use in Scotland.
For example, The Inter Faith Structures and Local Government ( downloadable from the site as a pdf document) is a 12 page good practice booklet lookiing at some of the issues involved in working with, and helping establish, multi faith initiatives, taking into account the context of partnership working between inter faith structures and local government.
Scottish Inter Faith Council - http://www.interfaithscotland.org/
A useful website for keeping up-to-date with inter faith events in Scotland. You can read their newsletters and contact local inter faith groups in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Shetland and Skye.
To advance public knowledge and mutual understanding of the teachings, traditions and practices of the different faith communities in Scotland the Scottish Inter Faith Council (SIFC) has produced a number of documents including a booklet, 'A Guide to Faith communities in Scotland'. This booklet costs £2.00 plus p&p. You can order one by e-mailing the Council at admin@interfaithscotland.org or you can borrow a copy from the CERES Resource Centre by e-mailing us at ceres@ed.ac.uk or calling Rana Syed on 0131 651 6274.
The Scottish Inter Faith Council (SIFC) is located at:
The St. Francis Centre
405 Cumberland Street
Glasgow
G5 0SE
Tel: 0141 429 4012
The Religious Observance Review Group, Scotland recently reported. It makes a number of recommendations which will inform future guidance on religious observance for schools. The guidance acknowledges the multicultural and multi-faith features of contemporary Scotland. The original consultation report can be accessed here.
The Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) conducted a consultation for the Relgious Observance Review Group. Their report which drew out key themes and issues from the 1,473 responses can be accessed here.
Tolerance Limited is a UK-based media, events and training company that serves to improve inter faith relations and society's understanding and tolerance. They also host three other websites here which explore the positive power of the media to contribute to an integrated multifaith society through coverage of religious and inter faith issues. They also host www.adamandeveit.net. This is a great website and takes a myth-busting, thought-provoking approach to religion. They dig up deep-rooted perceptions and prejudices by relating the religious faiths to society in a unique and creative way.
From this website there are many useful links to other religion / spirituality related websites which you can browse through.
The third one is a new website, currently under development, that looks at faith and football.
This is the website for the United Religions Initiative, a growing global community working to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings. There are some teacher activities which may be useful for introducing religions, beliefs and spirituality or adapted for use during assembly - most suitable for upper primary and lower secondary.
BBC - What the world thinks about God
This BBC website takes a contemporary look at aspects of world religion, including the connection between religion and war. Are religion and religious differences to blame for war and conflict? Many war leaders have claimed to have God on their side, but should religion get the blame? A 'War Audit' commissioned for the BBC programme What the World Thinks of God investigates the links between war and religion through the ages. It was carried out by researchers at the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University. It has links to video clips from the programme. Senior school level and considers the complexity of reasons for war.
The Festival Shop
For multifaith, multicultural and citizenship resources. Catalogue available from:
The Festival Shop
56 Poplar Road
Kings Heath
Birmingham
B14 7AG
Tel: 0131 444 0444
Fax: 0121 441 5404
email: info@festivalshop.co.uk
Particularly good for RME books and for RME, race equality and citizenship posters.