As we celebrate Inter Faith Week UK 2026, I find myself asking a rather uncomfortable theological question: Why do our regular Christian calendars and lectionaries lack a formally recognised Interfaith Sunday? If interfaith encounters are as old as Scripture itself, why has interfaith not become an integral part of our Christian worship, nurture, discipleship and liturgical traditions? Does this omission expose the Church's theological nervousness towards other faiths? Does it reveal an inherited religious exclusivism that we have not sufficiently challenged? These questions are not intended to undermine Christian identity, but to deepen our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus Christ in a religiously diverse world.
Interfaith Is as Old as Scripture
The Bible is filled with encounters across religious, cultural and ethnic boundaries. Abraham receives a blessing from Melchizedek, a priest outside his covenantal lineage (Genesis 14:18–20). Ruth, a Moabite woman, becomes central to the biblical narrative of belonging. Naaman, a Syrian commander, encounters God's healing through Elisha (2 Kings 5). Jesus engages in theological conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4), while the Good Samaritan becomes an embodiment of neighbourly love (Luke 10:25–37). Paul engages with the religious traditions and philosophical understandings of the Athenians (Acts 17). Although these encounters cannot all be equated with contemporary interfaith dialogue, they demonstrate that encounters with religious ‘others’ are woven into the biblical narrative.
Perhaps the problem is not the absence of interfaith in Scripture, but the absence of interfaith as a theological lens through which we interpret Scripture. For generations, Christian interpretations have frequently emphasised religious separation, doctrinal boundaries and conversion, while giving comparatively less attention to hospitality, mutual learning and encounters across religious differences. Why have we privileged some biblical narratives over others?
Is the Church Theologically Nervous?
One possible reason for this liturgical omission is the Church's unresolved theological anxiety about other religions. Does engaging with other faiths compromise Christian identity? Does recognising wisdom in other religious traditions diminish the uniqueness of Christ? Does interfaith dialogue undermine evangelism? Does respecting religious differences imply that all religions are the same? These questions continue to shape Christian attitudes towards interfaith engagement.
However, when theological caution becomes a reason for avoiding meaningful relationships, it risks becoming theological insecurity. Jesus was not afraid of religious difference. His conversation with the Samaritan woman did not avoid theological disagreements; rather, he engaged them through dialogue. His parable of the Good Samaritan challenged the religious superiority of his listeners by placing an outsider at the centre of neighbourly love. Could it be that the Church is more comfortable proclaiming God's universal love than practising that love across religious boundaries? A theologically confident Church should not fear religious difference. Christian faithfulness does not require hostility towards other religions. Rather, our commitment to Christ should inspire humility, hospitality, friendship and solidarity.
Does This Omission Reveal Religious Exclusivism?
Church calendars are never theologically neutral. They communicate what we consider important enough to remember, celebrate and teach. We observe Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Christian Unity, Peace Sunday and other significant occasions. Yet interfaith engagement remains largely peripheral to our established liturgical rhythms. Of course, the absence of a designated Sunday does not automatically demonstrate intentional exclusion. Some churches actively engage in interfaith work throughout the year, and special observances vary across denominations.
Nevertheless, a persistent omission raises significant ecclesiological questions. Has the Church developed an understanding of Christian identity that is more concerned with preserving religious boundaries than nurturing neighbourly relationships? From a decolonial theological perspective, this concern becomes particularly significant. Colonial Christianity frequently positioned itself as religiously superior, treating other traditions as inferior or requiring replacement. Although contemporary churches have challenged many such assumptions, their legacies can remain embedded in our theological imagination.
The absence of Interfaith Sunday may therefore reveal an unresolved tension between the universality of God's love and the exclusivity of our ecclesial imagination. We proclaim that God loves the world (John 3:16), yet our institutional practices can sometimes suggest that God's concerns are confined primarily to Christians.
The Liturgical Silence: Where Are Our Interfaith Hymns and Prayers?
Another striking omission is the relative scarcity of hymns, prayers and liturgical resources explicitly nurturing interfaith relationships. We have hymns celebrating creation, salvation, Christian unity, mission, peace and justice. But how many hymns do we sing that celebrate friendships across religious differences? How often do our intercessions remember Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Bahai, Jain and other religious neighbours, not merely during crises but as fellow participants in our shared humanity? Although some resources exist, they remain marginal to mainstream congregational worship.
The ancient theological principle lex orandi, lex credendi reminds us that worship shapes belief. Our hymns, prayers and liturgies form our theological imagination. What we do not sing about, we may struggle to celebrate. What we do not pray about, we may fail to prioritise. And what we exclude from our liturgies, we risk excluding from our Christian imagination. Perhaps we need to decolonise not only our theology of religions but also our hymnody and worship practices.
Towards an Interfaith Sunday: A Theology of Neighbourliness
Coming from India, where interfaith relationships have been part of my everyday lived experience, I have never understood interfaith merely as an academic discipline or occasional civic activity. It is about friendships, shared hospitality, celebrating differences and working together for the common good. Living and ministering in Britain has strengthened this conviction. Interfaith is not about abandoning Christian convictions, nor about pretending that all religions are identical. It is about learning to live faithfully and respectfully alongside neighbours whose beliefs and practices differ from ours.
I therefore propose that our churches seriously consider recognising an annual Interfaith Sunday, particularly during Inter Faith Week, as an opportunity for Christian worship, biblical reflection, theological learning and public witness. Such a Sunday could inspire new hymns, prayers, liturgies and educational resources, while encouraging congregations to challenge religious prejudice, resist antisemitism and Islamophobia, celebrate religious diversity and work collaboratively for justice, peace and human dignity. It would not replace sustained interfaith engagement throughout the year. Rather, it would help establish interfaith as an essential dimension of Christian formation.
From Theological Nervousness to Theological Hospitality
The absence of Interfaith Sunday invites us to examine not only our Christian calendars but also our understanding of the Church. What kind of Christians are we nurturing if people can spend their entire lives attending worship without being intentionally encouraged to understand and love their neighbours of other faiths? Interfaith is not merely something Christians do outside the Church; Christians must be formed for it within the Church. Perhaps it is time to move from interfaith as an occasional event to interfaith as a spiritual discipline; from interfaith as a civic responsibility to interfaith as Christian discipleship; and from interfaith as an optional activity to interfaith as an integral expression of the Church's mission. For the Church is called not to withdraw from religious diversity but to witness to Christ's love within it.
As we observe Inter Faith Week 2026, I leave us with a theological provocation: If interfaith is as old as Scripture, why does it remain so peripheral to our Christian worship and nurture? Are we afraid that engaging with other faiths might weaken our Christian identity, or are we afraid that such encounters might transform our inherited understanding of Christianity itself? Perhaps the Church does not need less Christian conviction to embrace interfaith. It needs a deeper, more courageous and more hospitable Christian faith, a faith confident enough to love beyond its own religious boundaries.
@rajpatta
06.11.2026
