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All in Good Faith
multifaith dialogue weekend, the members of the conference may wish to share in readings from the world's scriptures and in prayers. For many years a feature of the World Congress of Faiths Annual Conference was a concluding All faiths service.
In many parts of the world, perhaps especially in India, Britain and North America, there are now local interfaith groups or councils. Many of these arrange at least an annual occasion when people of different faiths read from their scriptures or offer prayers. There was a marked increase in such occasions during the 1993 Year of Inter-religious Understanding and Co-operation.
As there is more mingling in society between people of different faiths, so the ceremonies that mark the rites of passage may become interfaith occasions. Two people who belong to different religions may decide to marry and want a ceremony that includes elements of both of their religions. At a funeral, the friends who come to pay their last respects may belong to more than one religion. Such occasions are not discussed in detail in this book.
Assemblies for worship in schools, which also raise particular questions, some of which relate to the law, are another subject not here discussed. Some of the theological and philosophical questions, however, about the relation of religions to each other and the appropriateness of praying together are the same in both ceremonies to mark rites of passage and in School Assemblies. Some of the material reproduced in this book may also be appropriate to both situations.
Praying Together
The increase in interfaith prayer has been accompanied by continuing discussion and controversy. Most of the published material to which we have had access, certainly in Britain, has been by Christians and has reflected the intra-Christian debate on this subject. This is not surprising in view of Christianity's majority status in Britain and because, compared for example to Hinduism, Christianity is traditionally exclusive in character. in preparation for this book, material has been received from India, the USA and some other countries and reference
is made to this.
The intention of this book is that it should be multifaith in character, although both of us, who have edited the material, are Christians. Members of different faiths have been asked to share
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