Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme (The) (CIP Summer School)

Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme, Faculty of Divinity, West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9BS
UK
Phone: +44 (0)1223 763 013
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Courses

 

The Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme (CIP Summer School)

 

History

The Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme was born in 2002 with the aim of bringing the resources of the Faculty of Divinity, and the University of Cambridge more generally, to bear on questions about the relationship between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The Programme was established to pursue research and public education projects that would

  • bring together Jewish, Christian and Muslim participants, and others;
  • be responsible to the religious communities, to society more generally, and to the academic disciplines;
  • embed long-term inter-faith learning, collaboration and collegiality into Cambridge University and other institutions; and
  • emphasise face to face discussion and joint study and research, including study of each others scriptures.

In 2005, CIP embarked on a three-year feasibilility study, supported by Coexist, which resulted in affirmation of CIP and by the General Board of the University of Cambridge in 2008. The Board fully endorsed “a long term inter-faith programme incorporating first class research and teaching activity as well as a significant element of public education and outreach”.

In 2008, CIP was named a flagship project of the University’s 800th Anniversary Campaign.

From its inception until 2011, CIP was part of CARTS, the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies.  CIP was housed in a suite of rooms in the CARTS wing of the Faculty, and all its activities were encouraged and overseen by the CARTS Management Committee.  Successive directors of CARTS played a strong role in guiding and supporting CIP’s developments.

With the support of valued partners and benefactors, CIP continues to go from strength to strength.

 

The CIP Approach to Inter-Faith Encounters

Of the many different ways of approaching encounters between people of faith, CIP offers a distinctly in-depth, reverent and scholarly perspective.   

We pursue forms of inter-faith engagement that embody what we call the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme ‘DNA’:

The engagements we pursue involve:

  1. participants’ critical love for their own traditions;
  2. partnerships of difference between participants;
  3. a commitment to long-term apprenticeship and collegiality;
  4. a constant pursuit of deeper understanding within and between traditions; and
  5. work done both for its own sake and for practical benefit.
  6. Abrahamic faiths and beyond…

 

The history of Scriptural Reasoning

Scriptural Reasoning grew by accident… and through friendships between Jews, Muslims and Christians.

SR began in the early 1990’s as Textual Reasoning, a university-based forum for scholars of Modern Jewish Philosophy and scholars of Rabbinic texts to meet and study together. The aim was to grow in understanding of the different disciplines, and to approach key questions about Judaism in the present and future. In the mid 1990’s, some Christian friends of members of the Textual Reasoning group sat in on the conversation, and were so attracted by the lively process that they suggested using it as a model for inter-faith conversations. Later, Muslim friends were invited to join the conversation, and Scriptural Reasoning was born.

 

News

Scriptural reasoning

Public Education

Research

Resources

For more information please visit the website.