Belief roadshow aims to 'build peaceful relations'

Rev Tom Wilson said the roadshow was a chance for pupils to learn about religions and belief systems

A roadshow that teaches schoolchildren about different religions has launched in Leicester with the aim of encouraging tolerance and understanding.

The Religion and Belief Roadshow, organised by the St Philip's Centre in Leicester, showcases 10 different religions and beliefs.

It visited St John the Baptist Primary School in Leicester earlier this month and has reached about 1,700 children across the East Midlands so far this year.

Rev Tom Wilson, director of the centre, said it was "a basic life skill to get on with people who see the world differently to you".

The roadshow involves schoolchildren trying on clothing from different cultures, sampling traditional food and a speed-dating style game offering a brief introduction to each of the 10 religions and beliefs on show, which were:

• Baháʼí

• Buddhism

• Christianity

• Hinduism

• Humanism

• Islam

• Jainism

• Judaism

• Paganism

• Sikhism

Rev Wilson said: "It's not about telling people to agree with stuff. It's about having that respect and understanding.

"Leicester's a great city. We've had our challenges, we continue to have some challenges, so we need to keep working at this, getting on well with each other."

Large-scale disorder broke out in the city in September 2022, amid tensions involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities.

Riaz Ravat said he hoped the roadshow would encourage people to talk

Riaz Ravat, deputy director of the centre, said: "This is a very powerful medium. I would say for the first time many of the children today will encounter religions and beliefs that they have never encountered before.

"What we hope is that not only do they talk about this within their peer group, but they go home and talk to their parents, their parents talk to others about that.

"I see this as a small building block in building peaceful relations in our city but much further beyond as well.

"It's having those skills to be able to relate to people who are different to you."

Ramila Chauhan says the aim of the roadshow is to get the children to understand the similarities between different religions and beliefs, rather than the differences

Ramila Chauhan, education officer for the centre, says when the children meet people of different faiths and cultures, they "learn to tolerate and understand".

"All of these faiths have a basic line of love compassion, understanding and they’re not that different really," she said.

"They look different, they dress different, but they are the same ultimately."

Clara said she found the roadshow interesting

Clara, 11, who is Christian, said she enjoyed hearing about the Baha’i faith at the roadshow "because I'd never heard of that before and it was really interesting".

Yusuf, 10, said he was Muslim and found it "really interesting" to learn about Hindu festivals and gods.

"You should always be fair to [people] if they're a different race, religion or even people who are non-religious, we should always be kind," he said.

Sheryl tried on a sari as part of the roadshow

Sam says he "loved" trying on the religious outfits

Laurence Jacobs, one of the trustees of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation, said the Jewish community in Leicester had "shrunk" since the 1950s.

"It's important that I'm here to share our experiences and what it’s like to be Jewish with the youngsters," he said.

"We try very hard not to bring national issues into our relationships.

"We can't ignore the fact of what's going on in the Middle East, but we try not to allow that to impact on the friendships and relationships we have with all of the religions."

Humanist Nicole Shasha says "non-religiousness is also a growing belief in this country"

Nicole Shasha, coordinator of the local Leicester humanist group, said: "It’s important that students can understand that there are non-religious world views, as well as religious ones and more importantly that we can get along with everybody despite our different world views and beliefs."

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