Interfaith charity rebrands amid ‘amplified’ social divisions

One of the UK’s leading interfaith charities is rebranding and launching a new charter to keep pace with demographic changes.

The Three Faiths Forum is to be known as The Faith & Belief Forum as of this week, as it seeks to tackle “amplified” social divisions along religious lines.

The charity, established by Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi and Revd Dr Marcus Braybrooke to promote better relations between Abrahamic faiths in 1997, has expanded its work in recent years.

It now goes into schools, as well as running arts activities, social action and mentoring schemes, and engages will many faiths and levels of observance.

The Faith & Belief Forum has also launched a charter for inclusion, which received support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Board of Deputies of British Jews and Sir Sigmund Sternberg Charitable Foundation, as well as groups from across a range of faiths religious.

The document urges organisations to work together and promote better relations, through a series of principles that support inclusivity and dialogue.

Phil Champain, Director of the charity explained why the charity, has rebranded. He said: “The UK is facing fast paced demographic change, rising social and economic inequality and increasing levels of hate crime. Social divisions along faith and cultural lines have been amplified.

“Through our learning and training activities we create much needed dialogue space and support and develop inclusive leadership”, and that the change will aim to “erode the impact of persistent and interconnected ‘dividers’” in society, such as economic inequality.

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