Faith

Religion and science are often seen to be polar opposites.

While both fields can claim to have many passionate followers and occasionally propose equally divisive ethics, they are commonly seen as being at completely different ends of the spectrum.

Charles Darwin in 1875

However, both religion and science form the cornerstones of discussions at the Reading Interfaith Group.

The group were formed in April 1984 around the objective of formulating both a Christian and a scientific response to the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly global economy.

Their aim was to enable members of different faiths to learn about each other's beliefs, practices and traditions to create greater friendship, harmony and understanding.

Twenty five years later and the group still meets to discuss work in the local community and new ways to eliminate prejudice and fear by promoting a knowledge and appreciation of each other.

Chairwoman of the Reading Interfaith Group Sarah Griffin joined Clare Catford on BBC Radio Berkshire to tell her more about the group and the work that they do.

"I think in some ways science did me a favour very early on, in that I realised that I wasn't going to know everything in life.

"I think I felt under a lot of pressure because my dad was a doctor and I think that he would have loved me to be a good scientist.

"I remember sitting in lessons at school and they were talking about really unlikely things to me, like rays of light and sound waves, but I had never seen a ray of light and I couldn't get my head around it at all!"

For more than 20 years the group have organised events in Reading to experience each other's worship, witness each other's ceremonies, enter into dialogue with one another and celebrate a common commitment to spiritual values.

Sarah revealed one particular moment in her life that caused her to re-evaluate her own stand-point.

Sarah Griffin from the Reading Interfait

"I remember a couple of summers ago looking really closely at a blade of grass, back then I didn't really like grass because like a lot of people I suffer from hayfever, but I was really studying it like a scientist would and I thought this is incredible, there is no way that a human being could have done that.

"And I guess that was science speaking to me and telling me something about God.

"There are so many different ways of looking at science, it's a very broad area.

"I think it's an advantage of religion that you can approach it with a standpoint of general ignorance.

"It's frightening and a little arrogant to claim that you know all the answers.

"I think some of that stems from a fear and a felling that you need to stay loyal to your particular faith tradition."

Join Clare Catford on BBC Radio Berkshire to hear more local people discussing their life and their faith every Sunday morning from 6am - 9am.