Interfaith beyond the pandemic:from London communities to global identities

COVID-19 has touched every facet of society, including the institutions and networks of the London interfaith1 world. From Whitehall to Whitechapel, the pandemic has reshaped the interfaith sector while revealing its importance. The urgency of reducing infection rates at mass gatherings resulted in the creation of unprecedented interfaith initiatives by the State, and the sudden ubiquity of online platforms has enabled a growth of new civil society interfaith initiatives. All the while, well-established interfaith structures have been drawn upon but not always found able to respond to the unique challenges of the times. In this report we explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted interfaith and set out recommendations for the sector moving forward. Our data indicates that the pandemic has exacerbated an already existing and troubling intergenerational divide in the sector. Yet, at the same time, it has revealed the immense value and dynamism the interfaith sector brings to public life.