Interfaith

Interfaith relations

The VCC relates to a number of faith based community organisations, including:

FCCV (Faith Communities Council of Victoria)
Established in 2010, the Faith Communities Council of Victoria (FCCV) is Victoria’s umbrella multifaith body. FCCV seeks to promote positive relations between people of different faiths and greater public knowledge and mutual understanding of the teachings, customs and practices of Victoria’s diverse faith traditions.

JCCV (Jewish Community Council of Victoria Inc)
The JCCV is the peak representative body for Victorian Jewry, representing about 55 Jewish community organisations.

JCMA (Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia)
The JCMA is a not for profit organisation which aims to reduce racism, intolerance, bigotry and violence and the associated emotional harm through creating and providing forums for interfaith dialogue and shared experience.

CCJV (Council of Christians and Jews Victoria)
CCJV aims to educate Christians and Jews to appreciate each other’s distinctive beliefs, practices and commonalities

Religions for Peace Australia 
Religions for Peace Australia seeks to work with faith traditions and religious organizations for interreligious understanding and harmony, including the right to freedom of religion and belief and in the pursuit of peace, justice and human dignity.

Interfaith Networks and Councils

Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission (Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne)

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE AND DOCUMENTS

Dr Joshua Ralston, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity, presented on an approach to Christian-Muslim dialogue. A recording of the lecture is available on this link

World Council of Churches – Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation 
WCC attempts to strengthen interreligious trust and respect through bilateral and multilateral dialogues, and through regional and cross-cultural encounters on topics like religion and violence, perceptions of “the other,” and the search for identity in pluralistic societies. Read more here
Current Dialogue, the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) long-standing journal on interreligious relations, is available online and as a print issue in a new format.

Walking Together: Catholics with Jews in the Australian context
In 2023 the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference launched a new document called ‘Walking Together: Catholics with Jews in the Australian Context’, to highlight Christianity’s unique relationship with Judaism and to celebrate the positive relationship the two faiths enjoy in Australia. You can download the document here
To read a statement about it from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, click here. And to read a statement about it from AIJAC (Jewish community group), click here.  The Australian Council of Christians and Jews has also released a statement.

Winds of Change: The Contribution of the Sisters of our Lady Sion to Jewish/Christian Relations in Australia: 1960s-2020+
Download the document here