Inter Faith Week 2025 is kicking off with a sense of festivity, as government representatives, faith leaders, and a plethora of interested parties gather in central London today. The theme is Community: Together we serve.
We'll be bringing reflections on the launch event and the significance of Inter Faith Week in the eyes of some Cambridge students over the coming days. But what else is happening?
Food, faith and educationÂ
Religious Education professionals are encouraged to check out the Inter Faith Week for Schools resources, which include a webinar with three Cambridge researchers whose work explores interactions of food and faith:
Dr Stefan Williamson Fa discusses Muslim-run food-sharing initiatives; Peach Hoyle reflects on how food takes on particular meaning in women's interfaith spaces; and Reem Fatthelbab joins live from Sierra Nevada, where Sufi Muslims are making history via olive cultivation.
The CIP webinar will be available to watch on YouTube with related resources to follow. Other teacher-friendly activities include twilight webinars on Working with local community groups (Wednesday) and Belonging in the classroom (Thursday).
Watch the Cambridge Food & Faith webinar on YouTube (premiering Friday 7 November at 4pm).
Visit the Inter Faith Week for Schools website (ifw4schools.co.uk) for further ideas and resources.
When faith becomes a flag
On Monday, Hannah Peterson (Sociology) and Dr Marietta van der Tol (Divinity) discuss the rise of Christian Nationalism in the US & UK. Hosted at Lucy Cavendish College, this early evening event is organised by the Woolf Institute in partnership with the National Multifaith Youth Centre.Â
Register for When faith becomes a flag via Eventbrite.co.uk.
Research Forum lunch
Dozens of Cambridge researchers gather on Tuesday 11 November to renew a commitment to taking religion seriously. 19 new members were recorded at the most recent CIP committee meeting, making this an extraordinarily fertile time to engage in inter-religious inquiry at Cambridge.
Learn more about Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum.
(Membership pages will be updated shortly.)
Facilitator training
The practice of Scriptural Reasoning (SR) is a dialogue model long associated with the Cambridge Interfaith Programme. Professor Daniel Weiss and others lead Tuesday afternoon training for those who have experienced SR and would like to think together about the pragmatics of facilitating.
This activity is intended for the University of Cambridge community in the first instance.Â
Further information & register for SR facilitator training.Â
Elsewhere in Cambridge
On Wednesday St Edmunds' College hosts Eddies Interfaith Fair. Divinity graduate and current MPhil student Jasmine is part of the organising team. They are keen for the college community to learn about what Cambridge offers for interfaith dialogue, social action, spiritual wellbeing, and civic engagement.Â
On Thursday, local faith leaders meet at Cambridge Central Mosque (advance registration essential). The goal is to reflect on local interfaith relations.
Find more details on the main Inter Faith Week website (InterFaithWeek.org).
Further afield
Cambridge Divinity PhD student Geneva Blackmer is among the guest speakers at an interfaith conference focused on Recognising and preventing violence against women. This evening event is hosted at Coventry University, with the UK branch of the United Religions Initiative.
Read more about Geneva & the Coventry conference (via UriUK.org).
After Inter Faith Week
The Cambridge Interfaith Programme hosts activities year-round. Activities coming up later in November include a new reading group on Spirituality and Psychology, and an online launch for Dr Emily Qureshi-Hurst's latest book—Decoding the Cosmos—organised in partnership with the Oxford Interfaith Forum.
Find more about all CIP initiatives in our event listings & bookmark our news pages for the latest on research, publications and more.
Bridging divides elsewhere
On Tuesday 18 November, Cambridge Friends of Standing Together and the UK Friends of the Parents Circle Families Forum hear from bereaved Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers. Witness the remarkable strength it takes to transform grief into a commitment to peace, rather than revenge.