Interfaith Commitment

A Model Statement of Interfaith Commitment

A model statement of interfaith commitment from another setting may help some local groups consider what they would like to say together.

The following statement of common commitment was signed in November 2009 by faith leaders in the U.K. at the launch of Inter Faith Week, an Inter Faith Network initiative:

We believe that good interfaith relations are a vital part of a harmonious, just, and respectful society.

We pledge, today, to deepen our work to increase understanding about and between our faiths and to strengthen our cooperation on social issues.

We renew our commitment to developing effective and long term ways of dialogue and mutual learning. We shall continue to seek to understand the patterns of engagement of our faith communities — through history and today; to affirm the positive aspects of these patterns; and to heal wounds of misunderstanding where these are found.

While our great religious traditions are distinct in belief and practice, there is much that unites us. We will draw on fundamental values held in common and on the wisdom of our respective faith traditions to continue to work — as individual communities and together — for the wellbeing of our society, our wider global community and the planet that is our home.

Alongside all of good will, we will work to tackle with renewed determination the challenges of poverty, ignorance, injustice, crime and violence, and social fragmentation and to help shape a society where all feel at home; all are valued and justly treated; and all have a chance to thrive.

See the guidelines for religious encounter and dialogue adopted used by the Inter Faith Network.

In 2000, interfaith leaders in the U.K. had attended an event in which they had used an expression of commitment suitable for public reading together. It has since been re-used.

Faith community representatives:
In a world scarred by the evils of war, racism, injustice and poverty,
we offer this joint Act of Commitment as we look to our shared future.

All:
We commit ourselves,
as people of many faiths,
to work together
for the common good,
uniting to build a better society,
grounded in values and ideals we share:
community,
personal integrity,
a sense of right and wrong,
learning, wisdom and love of truth,
care and compassion,
justice and peace,
respect for one another,
for the earth and its creatures.
We commit ourselves,
in a spirit of friendship and cooperation,
to work together
alongside all who share our values and ideals,
to help bring about a better world
now and for generations to come.

Items marked with are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select "save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing. Click on the image in the right column for free download of the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Ecumenical & Interfaith News Network - PCUSA

Ecumenical & Interfaith
News Network - PCUSA