Celebrating unity in diversity

Tuesday, July 8th, 2014

Representatives of regional interfaith groups from throughout New Zealand participated in the National Interfaith Forum, held in Dunedin in the last weekend of June.

People from a diverse range of faiths and beliefs came together over three days to deepen their mutual understanding, respect and cooperation, and celebrate our ‘unity in diversity’.

The group

Stated its continuing commitment to deepening open and honest relations between people, and acknowledging the innate humanity and dignity of people of all faiths and none.
Endorsed the development of a religious and cultural diversity education programme for New Zealand schools.
Reiterated the principles of the Statement on Religious Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand, first endorsed by the National Interfaith Forum of 2007.
This being an election year, called on all political parties to place at their heart, the strengthening of community and the building of a compassionate, inclusive, just and sustainable nation

The Statement on Religious Diversity was first published in 2007 and has since been endorsed by a wide range of faith communities. It provides a basis for ongoing discussion of religious diversity in New Zealand.
It sets out a number of principles which are grounded in international human rights treaties and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, including:

Freedom of religion, conscience, and belief
Freedom of expression
The right to safety and security
The right to reasonable accommodation of diverse religious practices in various settings.

The Catholic Church in New Zealand is committed to strengthening relationships between people of different faiths present in New Zealand. In 2009 the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) established the Committee for Interfaith Relations to assist them in their interfaith work.

The Committee consists of up to eight members and is responsible to the NZCBC Commission for the Church in Society. The Committee looks to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID) for leadership in the field of interfaith relations.

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