Over the years, many newly arrived immigrants and refugees have made the Fairfield LGA their
home and hence the region is home to nearly every nationality in the world. A tour through
Fairfield will uncover places of divinity such as the Lao Temple Wat Phrayortkeo
Dhammayanaram, Aboriginal Scared Sites, the Bonnyrigg Turkish Mosque, Fairfield Uniting
Church, Cambodian Temple Vat Khemarangsaram, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and the
Mingyue Lay Buddhist Temple. These diverse communities have lived side by side relatively
harmoniously for many years. However do the different communities interact and learn from one
another? Are they able to celebrate and rejoice in their differences? How does faith both unite
and divide these communities?
Where we choose to worship represents a large part of who we are and how we choose to live
our lives. Our faith can provide guidelines of how we live, what we eat and what we wear. Our
faith can also give us an important link to our cultural homeland. Churches/Temples/Houses of
Worship are also places where you are not seen to be different, strange or alien. In a new
country, a place of worship can unite a community by offering friendship, acceptance and solace.
However what we believe can also divide us from the wider community. Human history is riddled
with religious wars and unfortunately such wars continue to dominate our world. Racism is often
based in an irrational hatred of difference and what you belief can sometimes mark you as
‘different’ from the wider community. Hence your belief can become the focus of someone’s
hatred. Whether the hatred results in a large-scale war such as the Israel / Palestine and Middle
East situations or a series of attacks on a Muslim Mosque in Western Sydney, we can not escape
the religious bigotry that continues to divide our community.
Interfaith harmony is one of the most important issues we face today. Our faith represents a large
part of who we are and how we live. It also gives us a community that offers friendship,
acceptance and solace. However what we believe can also divide us from the wider community.
Being different can mean been misunderstood and ostracised.
Young people in Fairfield grow up in such a diverse environment. For many of them their diversity
is not seen as a difference but as a commonality. They are constantly surrounded by peers from
different cultures and religions, and for the most part they embrace each others differences. With
generations of distrust and hate breaking down amongst the young people in Fairfield, isn’t it time
that we looked to them and followed their lead?
