Religion and Belief

The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. The Regulations adopt a definition of direct and indirect discrimination. The regulations define "religion or belief" as "any religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief".

It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate directly or indirectly on the grounds of religion or belief. Direct discrimination can also include discrimination on a "persons' perception of another's religion or belief whether the perception is right or wrong". Harassment or victimization on grounds of religion or belief is also unlawful.

The definition of religion or belief is defined as;

From the Census Data 2001, the following is a breakdown of the different faith communities in Leicestershire:

Please see the attached document for a list of local organisations working to promote positive inter-faith relationships across Leicestershire

For information on Leicestershire's Framework for Community Cohesion, along with a series of factsheets about different religions, go to the Leicestershire Together website:

The Interfaith Forum for Leicestershire was established in July 2008. The Forum brings together representatives from Faith communities across the County and provides space for open and honest discussion and debate about a wide range of issues affecting the different faith communities in Leicestershire.

The Forum is chaired by the Venerable Paul Hackwood, Archdeacon of Loughborough and the Vice Chair is Resham Singh Sandhu who represents the Sikh Welfare Society.

At the first meeting, each of the different faith representatives present signed up to a pledge of support for the Forum and its agreed aims of:

For more information about the Interfaith Forum for Leicestershire, please contact Noel Singh on 0116 3057020, email: noel.singh@leics.gov.uk.

In accordance with the Education Act 1996 and circular 1/94, Religious Education and Collective Worship, the Local Authority has a duty to set up a Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE”).

For information about the Leicestershire SACRE, please go to:

England’s first ever National Inter Faith Week took place in November 2009. Initiated by the Department for Communities and Local Government, along with the Inter Faith Network for the UK, the aim of the week was to strengthen links between different faith communities.

Organisations across Leicester and Leicestershire helped contribute to an extremely successful week, by hosting a number of interesting and exciting local events and activities to celebrate the week, including:

For a more detailed breakdown of events held during the week download the flyer (PDF Format)

Inter Faith Week in Leicestershire kicked off with a hugely successful Launch Event at County Hall on Monday 16th November. The event included informative and inspiring presentations from a number of speakers from national, regional and local inter-faith organisations, along with displays showing examples of the positive inter-faith, multi-cultural and community cohesion initiatives taking place across Leicestershire. The event also served as an introduction to the significant range of inter-faith activities and events which took place across Leicestershire, as part of National Inter Faith Week.

Over 100 people attended the launch event, which was opened by Roger Wilson, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, and Roger Blackmore, the Lord Mayor of Leicester City. Other dignitaries in attendance at the event included the Right Reverend Tim Stevens (the Bishop of Leicester), along with a number of representatives from faith communities across Leicester and Leicestershire. At the end of the event, all attendees joined in with the signing of an 'Inter Faith Charter', showing their commitment to the building of positive relationships amongst all faith communities.

The week of activities provided a unique opportunity for people of different faiths and beliefs to come together, and celebrate the rich multi-cultural diversity of Leicestershire.  Inter Faith Week further helped to demonstrate the County Council’s commitment to inter-faith understanding and acceptance, as well as strengthening the ongoing, positive inter-faith relations between Leicestershire’s faith communities.

The Multicultural, RE and Curriculum Resource Centre based at Rothley Crossroads is part of Library Services for Education (LSE) and holds a wealth of books, teaching resources and artefact boxes to support the teaching of RE, PSHE, Citizenship and anti-racism in County schools.

Please follow the link below for information about the Centre:

http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/libraries/library_services/lse/resource_centre.htm

Resources from the Centre are available to borrow during the following opening hours (please telephone or e-mail to make an appointment):

The address for the centre is:

For more information, please contact Clive Brett at LSE on 0116 305 3818 or email: clive.brett@leics.gov.uk.

Download the Interfaith and International Calendar for 2010 (Excel Format)

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