The term proselytism has become a problem. A word which traditionally simply meant the attempt to persuade someone to change their religion, has come to imply improperly forcing, bribing or taking advantage of vulnerabilities in the effort to recruit new religious adherents. Those opposed to public faith argue that proselytism is one of the key reasons why faith-based organisations should not have a greater public role, engage in closer partnerships with statutory agencies or received public funding.

The Theos report The Problem of Proselytism argues that, while there is a diversity of approaches in amongst faith-based organisations, there is little evidence of widespread abuse. Why, then, are concerns about proselytism so persistent? How should faith-based agencies respond?

Theos and The Centre for Theology & Community are holding a ‘practitioner’ conference, intended for trustees, leaders and staff or faith-based organisations, as well as for religious leaders involved in faith-based social action projects. The conference will provide be an opportunity for attendees to hear from a range of experts in the field, and be supported in developing an intentional and transparent approach to integrating their faith into high quality services and social action.

This will also see the launch of a new resource intended to support charities in incorporating, embedding and expressing their faith ethos in a way appropriate to them and their context.

Date and time: 2 December 2015 | 11am-4pm
Place: Christ Church Spitalfields, London E1 6LY

This conference is free

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Image by Quinn Dombrowski under Creative Commons 2.0