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Do you know someone of a different religion or belief than yours?

17 Jun, 2020

A new analysis by Pew Research Center finds that people who interact more with members of other religious groups also tend to have more favorable opinions toward other groups. It is also related to more positive attitudes about diversity.

The study also finds that across 11 emerging economies surveyed all around the world, there is a great deal of variation in terms of how often people interact with people of differing faiths (see chart). Key findings:

— Those who interact with people of other religious groups have more positive opinions of them

— Regularity of interaction with people of other religions varies widely

— People who interact more with those of other religious groups also tend to have more favorable opinions


A Business Doing Something About It

Mark Woerde, Founder of Havas Lemz and LetsHeal.org, believes he can make the world a better place through advertising. In 2018, his team advanced interfaith understanding and peace in a global campaign featuring the world’s most prominent religious leaders – from Pope Francis to Ayatollahs, Chief Rabbis and Hindu Swamis – making a joint appeal to “Make Friends Across Religions.”

The concept Mark and his team initiated and realized was: “The World’s Most Prominent Religious Leaders Make Historical Joint Appeal to Everyone: Make Friends Across Religions.” The message could also be seen via many news outlets around the world. The conservative estimate of the unique number of actual people who have seen the statement is 200 million and growing.

For their work, they received a Gold Medal at the 2018 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards in Seoul, Korea. The awards are given biannually in tandem with the Paralympic Games by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation in cooperation with the Business for Peace platform of the UN Global Compact.

The #MakeFriends video is below.