Inter Faith Week 2025 \u2013 Community: Together We Serve<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Faith and Belief Forum worked with a consortium of organisations to lead Inter Faith Week 2025, leading on the\u00a0ifw4schools<\/a> initiative. We reached 700,000+ students through our resources.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u064cRead the full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bursting The Bubble: The Future of Inter Faith Week England<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Following a major national consultation led by the Faith & Belief Forum<\/a> and with support from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government<\/a>, a new report has been published on the future of Inter Faith Week in England.<\/p>\n Following a national consultation of 450+ people, the report marks a significant step forward in shaping the future of this vital national initiative.<\/p>\n The report was released on Thursday 1st May 2025.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n UK Summer Riots 2024: Restorative Responses & Interfaith Instincts<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Restorative Responses & Interfaith Instincts<\/em> is a report focussed on responses to the UK Summer Riots and unrest in 2024.<\/strong> It is produced by the Interfaith Restorative Justice Project (IRJP)<\/a>, a partnership between The Faith & Belief Forum, Interfaith Glasgow, and Why me?.<\/p>\n Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, this research explores how communities across the UK were impacted by and responded to the unrest that followed the tragic events in Southport in 2024. The report highlights the role of restorative practices and interfaith engagement in fostering healing, resilience, and dialogue in the face of division and violence.<\/p>\n The report explores key examples of community resilience across the UK including the actions of Imam Adam Kelwick of Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool.<\/p>\n This was released on Friday 2nd May 2025.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Faith and Belief Forum – Annual Report 2023-24<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Annual Report highlights our work in the 2023-24 year which saw F&BF respond to and address unprecedented levels of social polarisation in the UK.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nRead the full report<\/a>\n <\/p>\n Faithful Allies Toolkit<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Faithful Allies focused on allyship for LGBTQ+ people of faith. Through a series of educational dialogue and peer support sessions between January and May 2024, Faithful Allies brought together 10 faith and community leaders to build up their knowledge, skills, and confidence to make positive change for LGBTQ+ inclusion in their\u00a0<\/span>faith\u00a0<\/span>communities. During the\u00a0<\/span>programme<\/span>, participants\u00a0<\/span>developed an allyship project in their own\u00a0<\/span>communities.<\/span><\/p>\n The toolkit includes a range of practical strategies to support your own Faithful Allies journey, with a focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion in faith spaces. It includes session learnings, recommended reading, and useful links to enhance your allyship skills.<\/p>\n We are now developing this pilot into a two year project with the National Lottery Awards for All, and will be launching the project in June 2025. If you would like more information on this project, please email sophie.mitchell@faithbeliefforum.org<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n <\/p>\n Young Interfaith Leadership: The Conflict in The Middle East<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In May 2024, 12 young leaders from diverse faith and belief background came together to speak to MPs and government leaders in Westminster around the Conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n They shared moving stories about how the conflict, despite its geographical distance, has been affecting them and their communities close to home.<\/p>\n They detailed how it has made life in school and on university campuses challenging as they called on government leaders to create opportunities and settings for young people to come together, to counter the polarisation, hatred and dehumanisation that they have seen \u2013 and sometimes experienced \u2013 first hand.<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annual Report 2022-23<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This Annual Report highlights our work in the 2022-23 financial year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Promoting the Exploration of Religion and Worldviews in Schools \u2013 Fostering Coherency and Diversity<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Carrie Alderton, Amy Ark, Phil Champain and Anna Lockley-Scott \u2013 Faith & Belief Forum<\/em><\/p>\n This Insights Report summarises and analyses the data from a series of focus groups held online between July and November 2021, as well as two surveys open in this same time period. This report summarises our participants views; terms in quotation marks are direct quotes from participants.<\/p>\n The data was collected as part of the project Promoting the Exploration of Religion and Worldviews in Schools – Fostering Coherency and Diversity. This is a project undertaken by The Faith & Belief Forum<\/strong>, The Open University and Inform<\/strong>, with funding from Culham St Gabriel’s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The project aims to educate people outside the classroom about the importance of teaching Religion and Worldviews inside the classroom.<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n Building Closer Communities: An evaluation report<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This report details the design and delivery of the Building Closer Communities programme evaluation. Building Closer Communities was a Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government funded programme delivered between November 2020 and March 2021 by interfaith charity The Faith & Belief Forum, in partnership with youth interfaith charity The Feast.<\/p>\n The programme was designed to \u2018promote shared values among people of all backgrounds through sustainable social integration and meaningful civic participation\u2019 in the two \u2018target areas\u2019 of Birmingham and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.<\/p>\n The report shows that the programme was largely very successful in meeting this aim and a subsequent, longer programme is recommended.<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n Together, We Can Achieve Unity<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Shared Learning Paper from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government\u2019s Race, Faith and Hate Crime Programme 2020-2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n This paper explores the shared learning and best practice examples from the Faith & Belief Forum and seven other organisations that delivered projects focused on increasing social cohesion during the pandemic.<\/p>\n They were funded under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government\u2019s (MHCLG) Race, Faith and Hate Crime Programme<\/a> 2020- 21. All organisations were highly successful in their collective numerical and geographical reach, and in their impact.<\/p>\n As part of the programme, the Faith & Belief Forum ran the Building Closer Communities project, which enabled residents in two regions \u2013 Birmingham, and Barking & Dagenham in London \u2013 to meet, share, and explore issues related to faith, belief, and culture.<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n Contact in the Classroom<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This evaluation report is based upon doctoral research conducted by Lucy Peacock<\/a> from the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations<\/a>, Coventry University. Lucy researched the impact of the Faith & Belief Forum’s\u00a0School Linking programme<\/a>\u00a0between 2016-2020 in order to better understand the ways in which the programme fosters peaceful relations between young people in schools.<\/p>\n The PhD combined interdisciplinary research in education, the sociology of religion and social psychology with impact evaluation to provide an original account of the role and effectiveness of School Linking. The research draws upon analysis of almost 1,500 student and teacher surveys designed by F&BF in 2016-17, as well as data collected by Lucy in 2017-18 through online surveys, teacher focus groups and participant observation of teacher training and school activities.<\/p>\n The report summarises Lucy\u2019s research findings and their implications for our understanding of School Linking\u2019s theoretical underpinnings (contact theory). It closes by detailing how the research has influenced the design, delivery and evaluation of School Linking moving forward.<\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n Cohesive Societies: Faith and Belief<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This report was commissioned by the Faith & Belief Forum<\/a> and the British Academy<\/a> and makes a contribution to the Academy\u2019s Cohesive Societies programme. This programme asks how societies sustain cohesiveness in the face of rapid political, social, economic and technological change.<\/p>\n The report, written by Dr Madeleine Pennington at the think tank Theos<\/a>, explores the different ways in which faith and belief interacts with societal cohesion. It has a particular emphasis on how faith organisations interact with communities.<\/p>\n Part one of the review considers how cohesion policy has accounted for the faith and belief sector over time. Part two considers the practical impact of the faith and belief sector on our communities.<\/p>\n Read the press release about the report<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to the podcast about the report<\/a><\/p>\nDownload the full report<\/a>\n Working Together in Barking and Dagenham<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Working Together in Barking and Dagenham is a two-part document which has been collaboratively created by the Faith & Belief Forum, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum. Together the three parties undertook extensive engagement with stakeholders in the local community and facilitated the creation of a shared action plan.<\/p>\n The vision of this document is a better connected, faith friendly borough, where people of all backgrounds feel safe, celebrated, and included and the invaluable contribution faith communities make to the borough is realised and amplified, faith-based needs are understood and met, and where faith-based organisations, including B&D Faith Forum, are leading voices with platforms to represent their communities.<\/p>\n This document recognises the role that all organisations and residents in Barking and Dagenham have in realising this vision.<\/p>\nDownload Part 1<\/a>\nDownload Part 2<\/a>\n Media, Faith and Belonging<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The report finds that inaccurate, sensationalised and simplistic media coverage reinforces negative stereotypes of religious groups, increasing the potential for suspicion, fear and communal violence. The report highlights how journalists, academics, community organisations and religious groups are working to address the issues in three ways: by challenging inaccurate stories, telling their own stories and working together to make a shared story.<\/p>\n It is the third and final in a series of reports supported by a grant from Dangoor Education which look at different aspects of belief and belonging in London.<\/p>\n Press release about the report is available here<\/a><\/p>\n Audio recording from the roundtable event available here<\/a><\/p>\nDownload the full paper<\/a>\n Hate Crime, Faith and Belonging<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It draws on insights from a May 2018 roundtable at Birkbeck which brought together 23 local organisations, academics and policy experts to explore the issues and share good practice. The report recommends that responses to hate crime should be led by local communities and seek to challenge divisive narratives with messages of belonging. Responses to should be collaborative, bringing together faith groups, faith forums, community organisations and local government.<\/p>\n It is the second of a series of three reports supported by a grant from Dangoor Education which look at different aspects of belief and belonging in London.<\/p>\n Press release about the report is available here<\/a><\/p>\n Audio recording from the roundtable event available here<\/a><\/p>\nDownload the full paper<\/a>\n Faith, Belief and Inclusion<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The report <\/span>draws on insights from a June 2018 roundtable event where 25 local organisations, academics and policy experts gathered to discuss factors for exclusion for Londoners from different faiths and beliefs, and to share good practice on inclusion. While the focus of the report is on London, it contains plenty of insights for those looking to remove barriers to belonging in the rest of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n It is the first of a series of three briefing papers supported by a grant from Dangoor Education which look at different aspects of belief and belonging in London. The next two reports will look at hate crime and the <\/span>role of <\/span>the <\/span>media.<\/span><\/p>\n Press release about the report available here<\/a><\/p>\n Audio recording from the roundtable event available here<\/a><\/p>\nDownload the full paper<\/a>\n Faith, Belief and Belonging in London<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Our thanks to Her Majesty\u2019s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London\u2019s Council on Faith, The Exilarch\u2019s Foundation and the Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, for their input and support which makes this series possible.<\/p>\n This paper accompanied our Evening of Faith Recognition and Celebration, which recognises the contribution of local projects to improving the lives of Londoners of all faiths and non-religious beliefs.<\/p>\n Throughout this paper, we mention projects which have received awards for their contribution to and for faith communities in London.<\/p>\nDownload the full paper<\/a>\nDownload the text-only version<\/a>\n <\/p>\n Encountering Faiths and Beliefs<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faithbeliefforum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IFW-Report-2026_Spreads.png\")
<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum, United Religions Initiative<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum, United Religions Initiative<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum, Why Me?, Interfaith Glasgow<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Faith & Belief Forum, NCS, Facing History and Ourselves<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Carrie Alderton and Phil Champain \u2013 Faith & Belief Forum<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Sarah Harvey and Suzanne Newcombe – Inform<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>This external evaluation was led by Dr Lucy Peacock from The Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry university.<\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>This report by the Faith & Belief Forum and the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck calls on media organisations to provide more opportunities for religious groups to represent themselves.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>This report by the Faith & Belief Forum and the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck explores the issue of religious hate crime, and provides recommendations for organisations working to address the issue.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>This briefing paper by the Faith & Belief Forum and the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London explores and provides recommendations for how to create a London that\u2019s more inclusive of people of different faiths and beliefs.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>This briefing paper is the first in a series on how faith and belief relate to social exclusion and belonging in London.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Drawing on the experience of educational experts working in schools across Britain, “Encountering Faiths and Beliefs” argues that pupils from different backgrounds need to interact with each other to build tolerance and understanding. It proposes several principles for good practice, including:<\/p>\n\n