One or more religious communities and/or organizations join forces to build a care center with the aim of treating or taking care of sick people from all different faiths, with a commitment to also foster interfaith dialogue as part of its activities and services.  This promising practice can also be done as an ‘add-on’ to existing care institutions.  Caring for people regardless of their religion can build relationships and strengthen interfaith relations. The action is designed for any religious organization that has the capacity to found an institution especially considering that specialists/doctors are needed.

One or more religious communities and/or organizations join forces to build a care center with the aim of treating or taking care of sick people from all different faiths, with a commitment to also foster interfaith dialogue as part of its activities and services.  This promising practice can also be done as an ‘add-on’ to existing care institutions.  Caring for people regardless of their religion can build relationships and strengthen interfaith relations. The action is designed for any religious organization that has the capacity to found an institution especially considering that specialists/doctors are needed.

Activity: Structure and Needs

The needs and structures for this promising practice depend on the target group of the center. Respective groups may have a diverse range, meaning that the center could focus on youth, the general public, women or retired people. It is recommended that the initiative defines their target group early in the process of developing such a project. Additionally, practitioners may either focus on psychological issues and mental support or physically injured patients. If general hospitals and care centers already exist it is recommended to focus on the issues that most urgently need to be tackled. For instance, if a hospital to treat wounded people nearby a conflict zone already exists, it would be advised to establish an interfaith care center that tackles traumas and mental scars. The practice also may involve taking care of particular requirements for meals and praying hours, while a diverse religious representation of doctors and physicians contributes in achieving the goal. In order to alleviate the burden of funding, official representatives as well as aid and philanthropic organisations should be contacted, as they might be interested in contributing to the initiative. This could enable long-term partnerships.

Objectives: Impact and Focus

This is a promising practice because it involves religious communities in helping disadvantaged people or people in need of treatment. Receiving interfaith care ensures that all patients at the hospital are at ease because there will always be someone in the staff to understand particular needs. For the medical team, religious diversity ensures that they are comfortable with their religion and feel safe expressing or practicing it, first at work but also, as a consequence, in the broader society. Strong interfaith bonds may also result from the intimate interaction between doctors and patients as well as between the latter. Interfaith understanding is especially important in providing health services because religious practices often entail bodily aspects that have to be taken into account and religious sensitivities are often heightened at a time of personal and family health-related crisis. Moreover, while the practice in this domain is easy to initiate out of good intentions, its long term practice might be complicated by logistical and/or financial requirements linked to specificity in increased demands of different religious nature.

Field Data: Examples and Sources (Organisation – Location)

1.) Hadassah Hospital – Jerusalem

The Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem takes care of all patients from every part of the region and employs doctors from a wide diversity of religious beliefs. The medical team is diverse ensuring that all patients feel comfortable in their treatment.

2.) Tschwane Foundation – Pretoria, South Africa

The Tschwane Foundation in Pretoria has created a community centre for women that provides a second chance for women who have been sexually abused, have caught sexually transmitted diseases or have had lack of opportunities. It has helped dozens of women to cure their diseases, find a new home, get jobs and find a way towards a happier life.

3.) Himaya organization – Beirut, Lebanon

The Himaya organization in Beirut is one of the very rare non-confessional organizations in Lebanon. It aims at supporting all endangered youth in the country. The practitioners treat the most serious cases of children abuse or trauma. They welcome people from all religions, while the patients live together during long periods of time while they get treated. At first, they all form groups in function of their religion but soon after, children start building friendships. All the important religious events of the religions present in the centre are being celebrated. Affected young patients also come from the borders of Lebanon and from the Syrian and Palestinian refugees’ population.

4.) Community of Mother Theresa Interfaith Retirement Centre – La Goulette, Tunisia

The Interfaith retirement centre, established by the Sister of the Community of Mother Theresa, is a center for old people to be taken care of when they need it. The sisters treat the patients free of charge. Moreover, it serves as an occasion for the elderly to get in contact with people of different faith. Furthermore, visits to other retirement centers create an occasion for the retired to connect with people who live in a similar situation and serve as an opportunity for social interactions that may have become rare in old age. The religious structure therefore promotes medical and human care as a basic right to all, irrespective of the religious identity of the people they welcome.