Young Christians accounted for
the greatest proportion of applicants to the Tony Blair Faith
Foundation’s Faiths Act Fellowship this year.
The youth leadership programme brings together 30 people between the
ages of 20 and 27 from the UK, US, Canada and India who are motivated by
their faith to work together to help vulnerable people.
This year saw 687 young people from different faiths vying for
places, with 41% of them coming from Christians.
Thirty-six per cent of
UK applicants were Christians.
The foundation said the figure demonstrated the extent to which young
Christians were engaged with religion and making a choice to live out
their faith in a positive way.
Muslims and Hindus made up the second and third highest faith group
demographic, accounting for 17% and 18% of the total applications
respectively.
The foundation’s founder Tony Blair said: “Too often we hear about
the negative aspects of faith but these figures clearly show that there
is a groundswell of young people who want to turn the tide against
religious tensions and build bridges of understanding.
“I look forward to seeing these young people lead their communities
in interfaith action. As the first ever World Interfaith Harmony Week
approaches I am confident in the potential for this generation to affect
real change.”
The successful applicants will work together for one year towards
advancing the Millennium Development Goals with a particular focus on
eradicating deaths from malaria.
SIC: CT/UK