Introducing People of Different Religion and Belief
As set out in the resource on the
Religion or Belief Landscape of the UK, Baptist Christians in the UK are likely to encounter people of various, other than Christian, religion and belief traditions in a whole variety of ways and contexts. This can include at school/college/university, in work, in leisure contexts, in public settings, in public places, as well as outside and when visiting their places of worship.
A series of resources giving a brief introductory overview to these people, their religion or belief is being produced.
Christians can understandably become uncomfortable and even distressed when words and concepts that are central to their understanding of the Christian religion are not properly understood in the wider culture. But Christians in the UK have the relative advantage that many such words and concepts have historically entered into the English language - although arguably, they are also increasingly being lost from a common contemporary cultural understanding.
Thus, although it can be unfamiliar, those of other than Christian religious traditions who are introduced in these resources are introduced in terms of the words, concepts and descriptions that they use about their own religion or belief traditions. Using the terms that people of other traditions use in relation to themselves is a part of honouring how people understand themselves.