Barcelona's Night of Religions is back in town, in its seventh edition, on 17 and 18 September. Subtitled “Convictions and beliefs in dialogue”, this seventh edition will feature some fifty activities held throughout Barcelona and organised by places of worship and associations of various beliefs offering talks, workshops, concerts, performances and guided tours, among other activities.
The main aim of Night of Religions is to generate and promote a meeting place for mutual understanding and dialogue between Barcelona’s city residents and religious and faith communities and organisations. It will offer two open days of dialogue in which some fifty communities and associations of various religious traditions or convictions will be taking part: Christians of various denominations, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baha’is, Hindus, Sikhs as well as other faiths and non-religious organisations. As in previous editions, this will be an event for discovering the plurality of faiths, spiritual traditions and confessions practised by the city’s residents, and for interacting with them. The two previous editions had to adapt to the situation created by the Covid-19 health crisis, but this year, the event will be back to an in-person format (with just one virtual activity).
Backed by Barcelona City Council and the foundation “La Caixa”, the initiative is organised by the UNESCO Association for Interreligious and Interfaith Dialogue (AUDIR), led by its youth group.
The Night of Religions uses inter-religious, interfaith, and intercultural dialogue to highlight how religious plurality forms part of, and enriches, Barcelona’s identity. The aim is to generate a meeting place and space for dialogue between Barcelona’s citizens and the city’s various religious and faith communities. Night of Religions also seeks to break down prejudice and stereotypes which are a source of many forms of discrimination, and to promote the values of a culture of peace.
“The diversity of beliefs and faiths is a legacy of our society and, when it is accompanied by respect and dialogue, it is a pillar on which to build a fairer, more egalitarian society”, affirms Arnau Oliveres, co-director of AUDIR. He adds that, The Night of Religions, Faiths and Beliefs is an event that brings people together and promotes inclusive dialogue, which aims to be a space that enables people to get to know the diversity of our country and to combat prejudices, stereotypes and discourses that promote hate, showing the contributions of different traditions to a shared humanity”.
For his part, the Commissioner for Intercultural Dialogue and Religious Pluralism at Barcelona City Council, Khalid Ghali, emphasises the “importance of having an event like The Night of Religions in a plural and diverse city like Barcelona, an annual event that, now in its sixth edition, is consolidating its role as an event where local residents can get to know and learn more about the beliefs and faiths found in the city”. He highlights the fact that this initiative “generates spaces and opportunities for meeting and dialogue, it breaks down stereotypes and prejudice and enriches all citizens”.
The opening event will take place on 17 September at 12 noon in the function room at the Cotxeres de Sants Community Centre (carrer de Sants, 79). Participants include Mr. Khalid Ghali Bada, Commissioner for Intercultural Dialogue and Religious Pluralism at Barcelona City Council and Ms. Montse Castellà, chair of AUDIR. Following this, the group “Rumba Nois” will be performing a concert of Catalan rumba, with a talk on the origin of the Roma People and Catalan rumba, and a clapping workshop.
The activities organised for this edition include guided routes around different parts of the city and also themed routes which, in the previous six editions, have been a huge success and have gone from strength to strength. Some of them, as in previous editions, are organised by Barcelona’s inter-religious dialogue groups*. This year, they’ll all be taking place on Saturday, 17 September and prior booking is required. In this edition, we have:
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Guided tour of cemeteries of Barcelona: a guided tour of Montjuïc cemetery, a reflection of the city.
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Tour of Gypsy Memory and Catalan Rumba at the Ecomuseu Urbà Gitano de Barcelona.
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Guided tour organised by the Gràcia Inter-religious Dialogue Group: visit to the Church of Verge de Gràcia i Sant Josep, the Dojo Zen Ryokan and the Gràcia Evangelical Baptist Church.
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Guided tour organised by the Nou Barris Inter-religious Dialogue Group: visit to the Yamaat Ahmadia Mosque, the Sant Sebastià Church and the Barcelona United Evangelical Church.
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Guided tour of the Eixample: visit to the Barcelona Church of Scientology and the Brahma Kumaris Centre; both will be offering a workshop.
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Guided tour organised by the Raval Inter-religious Group: visit to the Tarek Ibn Ziad Mosque and the Filipí Tuluyán-San Benito Centre.
Freedom of conscience and religion and their recognition in the city are fundamental. And for freedom of faith and conscience to be truly possible, we need to work in the framework of secularism, so that all world views and options of conscience (whether or not religious) can coexist and cooperate with equal opportunities. But besides the right to the expression of faith, religious and conscience organisations and traditions contribute incalculable wealth and value to cities such as Barcelona. They are part of a common good, a historical, cultural and human good that must be guaranteed and preserved.
So, then, the 17 and 18 September will be two days for discovering Barcelona’s various religions, forms of worship and faiths. Days for believers and non-believers alike, for positive community life and enjoyment.