Chair Salaam questions OFCP on engaging unaffiliated New Yorkers and future projects
Chair Salaam asks whether OFCP engages with the nearly one-third of New Yorkers who are religiously unaffiliated. Atif says faith leaders are defined broadly and they welcome anyone leveraging faith-based values for social good. He also describes an ongoing listening tour across houses of worship citywide.
Some anti-religious biases are not from
other religious groups, but rather from non-religious communities that have a negative view on one religion or
just religion broadly.
Nearly a third of New Yorkers do not affiliate with any religion.
Does OFCP engage with or have any plans to engage with unaffiliated New Yorkers to promote interfaith understanding?
Thank you so much for that question.
We define faith leaders broadly.
There are individuals who we are engaging with across ideological spectrums who may be unaffiliated with the house of worship, but still identify and leverage their faith-based values for social good.
We welcome all and everyone who wants to partner with us.
And lastly, are there any special projects on the horizon for OFCP?
Yeah, thank you so much for that question as well.
As I mentioned, we're currently on a listening tour.
We want to make sure that decisions about community include community.
We have gone across the city visiting houses of worship and faith leaders, and we look forward to those partnerships.