Nothing Holy About Hatred aims to bring together people from all faiths, denominations and non-religious beliefs, to stand against the damage and harm caused by homophobia.
By highlighting the very real damage that homophobia causes within communities – the pain, isolation, violence, bullying, self-harm and even suicide – we are simply asking people to come together against the consequences of homophobia. We want to encourage faith leaders to talk about these issues within their own communities, and aim to give people of faith a voice in this conversation. We’d like to engage with an inclusive range of faiths and denominations, as well as LGBT groups and their allies, to bring together all interested parties to begin a discussion about this, and to start having an impact on the lives of the people who are affected by the consequences of homophobia on a daily basis, including LGBT people and their families.
Our aims and objectives are to:
- Form a coalition of members from many different faiths, denominations and non-religious beliefs, along with LGBT groups and other allies, who support the campaign’s message against homophobia
- Highlight the very real and painful consequences of homophobia, and promote the idea that faith communities and leaders have a duty of care towards those affected by it, and a pastoral role to fulfil to LGBT members of their communities and their families
- Raise the profile of the issue and provide a platform for members of different communities and faith leaders to show opposition to violence and hate crime and other consequences of hatred and homophobia
- Promote an alternative ‘middle ground’ narrative to the wider community regarding the issue of faith and sexual orientation
Who We Are:
Phoenix: An Intercommunity Initiative for a New Centre Ground
This campaign is supported by Phoenix, a network of bloggers, activists, opinion-formers and community leaders coming together to engage in a new conversation around issues relating to diversity, social cohesion, values and norms, and to challenge those polarising narratives prevalent within public discourse today. With members from diverse faiths and backgrounds, the group is committed to addressing issues such as identity and belonging, gender equality, youth alienation, and the role of religion, and is also working to develop a unique format and inclusive space for facilitating difficult discussions. Phoenix is owned by its members, but has been initiated and nurtured by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is an independent think tank working with leaders in government, business, media and academia to develop multi-country responses to the major security and socio-economic challenges of our time and to enhance Europe’s capacity to act effectively in the global arena.
This ISD action research project, supported by the Open Society Institute (OSI) – Brussels, seeks to understand the impact of social media on attitudes and intolerance. During the campaign, ISD will monitor and analyse the results, in order to learn what works best and to help other civil society organisations understand the influence of social media on intolerance and the ways in which they can use these technologies to tackle intolerance through their own work and networks.
Nothing Holy About Hatred is officially part of 2012 Hours Against Hate, a global campaign to stop bigotry and promote pluralism and respect, recognised by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Truce Centre.
