Listening as a Radical Act: Building Interfaith Connections

March 2025

By James Roberts

There is a common misconception that interfaith work is “fluffy”; that it is reserved for people who largely all think the same thing and who wish to share platitudes over tea and biscuits. Interfaith work is not always seen as radical or cutting edge. For many years, I held this misconception myself – until I actually stepped into interfaith spaces.

My first real encounter with interfaith work was with the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ). After becoming increasingly intrigued about interfaith engagement, I joined CCJ’s Campus Leadership Programme. This programme equips and supports university students to lead interfaith events on their campuses through a training residential, bespoke mentoring, funding and support.

Through this programme, I very quickly began to see in interfaith engagement a careful process of relationship building, an opportunity to deepen faith literacy and a brave space for conflict resolution. I realised that interfaith work is not just for people who all think the same thing – on the contrary, it is for people who have taken a bold step into navigating the profound differences between our faiths and communities.

If we are going to build bridges in our communities between people of difference, then we need to begin with listening.

After four years working with CCJ to facilitate interfaith encounters, I am more convinced of its importance, but also its radical nature. This is especially the case in our current climate, as interfaith relations have greatly struggled in light of the conflict in Israel and Gaza, and as we have seen an exponential rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia here in the UK.

Counterintuitively, perhaps, the most “radical” response which I have encountered to these highly complex issues is the very simple activity of listening. On the surface, this may not seem radical or cutting edge. But to me this is the most fundamental element of productive interfaith engagement, and it has the potential for deep transformational impact in our communities.

Careful, attentive listening helps us to navigate our differences. At CCJ, this is at the heart of our dialogue work. We create opportunities where Christians and Jews can listen and learn from one another. In the past year and a half, we have curated listening spaces where Christians and Jews have been able to share their reflections on how the conflict has impacted them here in the UK.

The intended outcome for this form of deep listening is a greater sense of empathy. We will not agree on many things (we may even hold opposing views), but a willingness to simply listen to the “other” helps us to create relationships based on empathy, where we can begin to hold together differences and contradictions in our hearts.

This work is greatly needed in our local communities. People of faith have such an important role to play in strengthening community cohesion.

So, how can we put this into practice? There are a number of practical things which we can all do to build bridges with our neighbours and listen intently to them.

Firstly, we need to reach out to neighbours of different faiths. It is very easy to live in diverse communities without actually getting to know our neighbours at all. Getting in touch with the local Mosque, Synagogue, Gurdwara or any place of worship, is a good first step to correct this, and meeting the people within these communities is vital.

Secondly, we can intentionally listen to our friends, neighbours and colleagues of different faiths. We might ask ourselves if we are truly hearing their perspective and understanding where they are coming from. This does not have to be on the most contentious and difficult issues of our time – any opportunity to listen and learn from people of other faiths will help deepen our understanding of our differences.

Thirdly, we need to maintain these relationships. Any relationship building is like gardening – if we neglect the garden, then it becomes overgrown, so it needs frequent care and attention in order to flourish.

Fourthly, get your community involved. Interfaith work should not just be about the leaders of communities, but about everyone. Opportunities for two different communities to come together can be transformational for the local area.

Finally, if this intentional listening and relationship building deepens into mutual dialogue, then it’s important to establish ground rules for conversation. This is especially important if you are organising any interfaith event and you envisage difficult conversational topics. The CCJ has been leading interfaith dialogue for over 80 years, so if you have any questions on how to do this, please do get in touch with us.

In a culture where we are so often encouraged to react, to instantly share our opinions, and to argue on social media, the simple act of listening can be a radical act. If we are going to build bridges in our communities between people of difference, then we need to begin with listening. We need to practice holding together nuance, differences and even contradictions within our own hearts. This is no easy task, and the first step to encounter the “other” is a bold and radical act – one I hope we all begin to take.

James Roberts is Senior Programme Manager at the Council of Christians and Jews. He teaches occasionally at Sarum, most recently a session on modern orthodox spirituality as part of the Modern and Postmodern Perspectives on Christian Spirituality course.