Interfaith Dialogue

The SIG attaches therefore great significance to interfaith dialogue. The SIG maintains regular informal contacts with representatives of the various religious communities, particularly with the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches [SEK] and the Swiss Conference of Bishops [SBK]. It also sits on a range of interreligious committees committed to theological discourse and work on achieving common political positions, thus fostering religious freedom and peaceful relations between the religions.

The SIG active on interreligious committees

Members of the Jewish community are actively involved in the following committees:

• Swiss Council of Religions (SCR)
• Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission [JRGK]
• Protestant-Jewish Dialogue Commission [EJGK]
• Interreligious Working Group of Switzerland [IRAS Cotis]

Swiss Council of Religions (SCR)

Amongst the members of the Council of Religions are representatives of the Swiss Conference of Bishops [SBK], the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches [SEK], the Co-ordination Centre of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland [KIOS], the Federation of Islamic Umbrella Organisations in Switzerland [FIDS], the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Metropolitan of Switzerland, the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland and the SIG. The Jewish religious community is represented by the SIG’s President, Herbert Winter. Three permanent experts also sit on the committee. The Jewish religious community is currently represented here by Esther Starobinski-Safran.

Objectives and tasks of the SCR

The aims of the SCR include the desire to make a contribution to religious peace in Switzerland and to foster trust between the religious communities and dialogue on current issues of religious policy.

In pursuit of these objectives, the Swiss Council of Religions has set itself the following tasks:

1. To discuss questions of common interest, particularly those centring on interreligious and intercultural co-existence in Switzerland.
   
2. To consult regularly on the issues to be addressed and the manner in which they are to be pursued.
3. The SCR can also function as a channel of communication for the federal authorities.
4. The SCR maintains relations with pan-Swiss organisations that have similar aims.
   

Interreligious Working Group of Switzerland [IRAS Cotis]

Numerous representatives of many religious communities are on board in the Interreligious Working Group of Switzerland [IRAS Cotis] - for example, Bahais, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jews.  The aim of the working party is to improve tolerance and mutual respect between the communities. It encourages meetings between members of the various religious communities with the goal of breaking down fears and reservations. The working party also advises religious communities on getting their needs understood and being taken seriously by political and ecclesiastical authorities.

Protestant-Jewish Dialogue Commissions and Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission [JRGK]

The following dialogue commissions, i.e. the EJGK (Protestant-Jewish Dialogue Commission) and the JRGK (Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission) first emerged in 1987 as a result of joint talks between the SIG, the SEK (Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches) and the SBK (Swiss Conference of Bishops). The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom night which the then presidents wanted to take as the starting point for an ongoing dialogue.

The commissions (the members of which all have equal status) are composed of experts who see their task as one of fostering mutual respect between Christians and Jews and of working towards a culture of interdependability.

The commissions deal with intellectual, cultural, ethical and existential subjects and seek to establish the bases for reaching consensus to which the SIG, the SEK and the SBK can commit jointly in their quest for a society based on peace and justice. The commissions support the umbrella organisations [SIG, SEK, SBK] in their efforts to oppose anti-Jewish statements and actions. They identify and work on basic questions pertaining to the relations between Judaism and Christianity and summarise the results in ground-laying texts.

The SIG nominates Jewish members for these commissions who nevertheless sit as private individuals expounding their own opinions.

The SIG also maintains contacts with the following organisations:

• Institut für interkulturelle Zusammenarbeit und Dialog
• Zürcher Lehrhaus
• The Working Group for Christian-Jewish Projects [CJP]
• Christian-Jewish Working Group [CJA]
• La Fondation Racines et Sources