A Handbook of Faiths Contemporary society is increasingly diverse and there is now public recognition of the presence of many faiths within our country. Each of these faiths has its own diversity and individuals within each faith relate to their traditions and interpret their sacred texts in different ways. They will also have cultural variations. It may be convenient to group people together under a faith label and it is sometimes appropriate to do so, but this can also be distorting and can lead to stereotyping and misunderstandings. We need to treat people as individuals, while recognising their religious and cultural contexts. We also need to understand the significance of diverse traditions and to explore how faiths and cultures impact on our lives and affect our society as a whole. Within most faiths and cultures there are special rituals to mark the various stages of life. We may be invited to participate in these. Some people have set times and places for prayer, others do not. The workplace may need to make provision for this. Particular attention must always be paid to dietary requirements and to all aspects of food preparation. If we make the effort to understand the meaning of different religious and cultural practices, we may find our own lives enriched when we discover the principles and values that lie behind the differences. This book is a handbook for everyone. It is meant to raise awareness of the diversity of our faiths and cultures, and to remind us to engage with each other as human beings not merely as patients, students, clients or customers. A Handbook of Faiths was prepared and published by Suffolk Inter-Faith Resource in association with The Festival Shop
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