The expertise to read and expound religious texts is limited. Even if you consider yourself open-minded and a supporter of religious pluralism, it might be hard to respond to allegations that religious texts promote violence. Drawing on the Scripture and Violence essay collection (eds. Snyder and Weiss, 2021), this workshop is intended to equip you with knowledge and confidence to overcome internal and external prejudices about the relationship between religious communities and seemingly pro-violent texts. We will also discuss some challenges of facilitating this kind of learning.

(A follow-on course is available on request, for those who would like to train as facilitators.)

Enhance your EDI-Q with Religious Sensitivities training from the Cambridge Interfaith Programme

Would you feel confident discussing beliefs and worldview with someone from a very different cultural background? If you heard someone (a peer or colleague) railing against a religion, calling it violent or harmful, how would you respond?

Religion is a common taboo in UK society. Combined with prejudicial attitudes, this can lead to ignorance, discrimination and isolation. Through a series of interactive sessions, the Cambridge Interfaith Programme offers a skills-based approach to enhancing religious sensitivities and growing your confidence in meaningful cross-cultural conversation.  This can be applied in workplaces, communities and educational settings.

This year, we are offering three different skill-based sessions, exploring different approaches to overcoming ignorance. The sessions do not focus on religious literacy (as if that were teachable in 60 minutes) but rather on learning and practising useful techniques to increase awareness—in yourself and with others.