The Religious Affairs Office

In an effort to raise awareness and promote the religious plurality of Barcelona and its practical application (freedom of worship) in the context of a society where people of all convictions coexist (religious and non-religious), the Office of Religious Affairs is working on two basic areas: training and educational and teaching activities.

Over the course of April, the Office of Religious Affairs, together with BCN Acció Intercultural, both from the Department of Interculturalism and Religious Diversity at Barcelona City Council, presented their educational and training resources to different collectives in the city. These tools, training, activities, materials and resources are conceived to help people reflect on racialisation, discrimination and breaking down stereotypes and prejudice:

• 11/04: to schools in the district of Gràcia and different education centres and the Education Consortium in the same district.
• 17/04: to technical staff in Interculturality in the various districts of Barcelona.

Together with other organisations, a workshop was held on 16 April entitled “Anti-racist teaching tools to promote resistance”, the second session in the Cycle on Violence and Resistance by the Training Group from the BCN Antirumours network. The Human Rights Resources Centre, the cooperative Espai La Tregua and the OAR presented methodological tools and resources to reflect and engage in dialogue about how racism cuts through different spheres. One of these spheres is religion, understanding religion as a potentially racialising element. In this workshop, the OAR presented one of the most successful teaching resources: the travelling pack “Faces of the plurality of beliefs in Barcelona: breaking down stereotypes and overcoming prejudice”.

WHAT IS THE TRAVELLING PACK “FACES OF THE PLURALITY OF BELIEFS IN BARCELONA: BREAKING DOWN STEREOTYPES AND OVERCOMING PREJUDICE”?

The travelling pack “Faces of the plurality of beliefs in Barcelona: breaking down stereotypes and overcoming prejudice” (2021) is a teaching exercise that consists of finding out the religious traditions of various people, taking into account some images and sentences linked to people’s identities and beliefs. The aim of this exercise is to present the city’s religious pluralism and debunk stereotypes or prejudices associated with the various religious and spiritual traditions. The idea is to facilitate knowledge about religious diversity, and to normalise religion and respect for this plurality in school settings. The teaching activity is based on accounts from believers from various traditions present in the city and allows for a follow-up workshop on religious plurality in classrooms and free education environments. It is a brief dynamic, designed for upper primary and secondary school students.

WHAT OTHER TEACHING AND EDUCATION RESOURCES DOES THE #OarBCN HAVE?

Over the years, the OAR has developed a series of educational activities and resources that not only foster respect for diversity within the classroom, but also turn it into an efficient learning tool. Besides the travelling suitcase, the tools and materials facilitate knowledge and recognition of this plurality and also generate learning, participation and dialogue between students and the people who are part of the communities holding the beliefs and convictions found in Barcelona.

• Visits “Places of worship, places to discover” (2008) for secondary and upper primary school students. This consisted of guided tours of places of worship for various religious and spiritual communities in Barcelona. A discovery activity enabling tours of several places of worship located in the area and discussions with the people in charge, so students can find out at first hand about the communities that congregate there.
• The website “Discover religions” (2018), aimed at the educational community, offering reference and information material on religious plurality, and designed as a complementary support tool for the educational activities organised by the office.
• Self-learning and community service project (ApS/SC) “Discover the diversity of beliefs in your surroundings” (2022) for secondary school students to explore the plurality of surrounding beliefs through the development of an educational pack based on a study of the area’s religious diversity.