Faith at a glance

What is faith? Not an easy question! Faith usually involves a worldview, a way of seeing and understanding ourselves and our experience. Faith may depend on revelation, truth given to us from beyond the world of everyday reason; or it may be based on our observation and experience of nature and the natural cycle of birth and death, cause and effect, and the turning of the seasons. 

Faith evolves over the centuries.The great faiths are repositiories of the wisdom of the generations, and are essential for passing that wisdom from mother to daughter, father to son, through stories, festivals, and the rituals of birth, coming -of-age, marriage and death.

Religion involves both faith, a particular worldview, and also practice based on that worldview. Religion is concerned with how we live as individuals, and with how we live together as communities. That is why it is important today, when people of many faiths live, work and play side by side in the cities and towns, and often also in the countryside, of the East Midlands.

In these pages, we've tried to set out some of the basics of the religions that may be believed and followed by the people we meet in the supermarket, in the park, at the school gate, at work, at cricket matches and on the tram. Click on the religion that you are interested in, and you will find an outline of the faith and practice, and some links to further information.