spirituality

In Britain, it was the World Congress of Faiths which introduced and encouraged interfaith services, although Will Hayes, a Unitarian, had published a collection of services in 1924. At the 1936 World Congress of Faiths, the final session included readings from the scriptures of the world and ‘universalist’ hymns were sung at some points during the proceedings. The memorial service to Sir Francis Younghusband, the explorer and mystic who founded the World Congress of Faiths, which was held at St Martin-in-the Fields in 1942, also included readings by members of several religions. By the early nineteen fifties, All Faiths’ services had become a regular feature of WCF’s annual conference and in 1953 an All Faiths’ service was held to mark Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and thereafter an annual service was held for many years. On two occasions, the Dalai Lama was the speaker - once at the West London Synagogue.

By the seventies other organisations such as the Guide Movement and the United Nations Association were arranging similar services. In 1972 the Commonwealth Multifaith celebration, previously held at the Guildhall, took place at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of the Queen.

At one WCF service, Bishop George Appleton said ‘We stand in worship before the mystery of the final reality to whom or to which we give differing names, so great and deep and eternal that we can never fully understand or grasp the mystery of His Being.’ The sense that God is greater than any religion is common amongst supporters of interfaith worship. Others stress the value of the services in their emphasis on human unity.

Critics have argued that interfaith worship glosses over the profound differences between religions - for example, that many Buddhists are uneasy with talk about God. Some Christians felt that they compromise the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. This is of special concern for those who believe that their religion is the only way to salvation or to heaven.

Interfaith worship is not intended to replace the regular patterns of worship. It is for special occasions. Supporters often claim that interfaith worship is a symbol of hope in a divided world and an effective way for people of different faiths to make a joint commitment to seeking peace and justice, to serving the needy and protecting the planet.

Bibliography
Jean Potter and Marcus Braybrooke (Eds), All in Good Faith: A Resource Book for Multi-faith Prayer, World Congress of Faiths 1997
Paul Puthanangady (ed.), Sharing Worship, Communication in Sacris, National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Centre, Bangalore 1988

(right to left) Eliyahu McLean, Ibrahim El Hawa and Buddhist monk praying together in Israel