Document Type

Conference Paper

Rights

This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only

Disciplines

5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, Sociology, Social sciences, Religious studies

Publication Details

Presented at 14th. Bi-Annual Conference of Student Services in Ireland, 19-20th. June 2013.

Abstract

Interfaith: one Shoe Size Fits All?

This paper explores interfaith activity through a social policy lens. Examining our contemporary world through the concepts of Globalisation, Migration, Immigration and Cosmopolitanism the paper reveals how there is not only a growth in ‘global’ phenomenon but also reveals a corresponding impact on local issues and identities.

A further discussion as to the nature of religion and the nature of religious belief in the global context raises the possibility of a framework for religious belief which can be applied to interfaith activity. This discussion also shows a shift in the cultural significance of religious alignment from a body that contributed to the moral order to a contemporary paradigm which sees religion as a ‘dealer in identity’.

This framework for interfaith activity is then applied to the specific settings. Firstly the framework is applied to the establishment of an ispace in a third level institute (DIT Bolton St., Dublin) and secondly to the activity of two Interfaith groups in Ireland; The Mid-West Interfaith Network and the Dublin City Interfaith Forum.


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