Many of us will have been shocked and dismayed by the news of the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Day. This Sunday we will be holding a silent vigil at 3.30pm in the Chancel at St Mary’s to pray for the victims and for the gift of reconciliation. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

None of us can be unaware of the fact that religiously motivated violence has increased dramatically in recent years. The reasons for this are complex and we should be wary of an unreflective and uncritical analysis that simply blames ‘religion’ for conflict and discord in the world. The reality is that religious leaders have often played a key role in facilitating dialogue and reconciliation. Just before Holy Week, Pope Francis appealed to political leaders in South Sudan to build a lasting peace in that country – dramatically kissing the feet of each of them. This week, at the funeral of Lyra McKee, Fr Martin Magill drew applause when he challenged the political leaders of Northern Ireland: ‘"Why in God's name does it take the death of a 29-year-old woman with her whole life in front of her to get to this point?"

In recent months, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, has announced an independent review, led by the Bishop of Truro, to investigate the fact that millions of Christians throughout the world face persecution and discrimination. At the same time, we hear reports about the ways in which our own Home Office has treated asylum seekers, particularly converts to Christianity, with humiliation and disdain. An Iranian national, who claimed asylum in 2016, was told passages in the Bible were ‘inconsistent’ with his claim to have converted to Christianity after discovering it was a ‘peaceful’ faith.

The Home Office conceded that their staff needed more effective training in handling asylum cases based on religious persecution. But this instance reflects the fact that attempts to assess and address the complexity of religious persecution and violence demands a high degree of religious and theological literacy. And yet, increasingly, ignorance about religion is deemed culturally and socially acceptable.

One of the roles of a University Church is to promote education and learning. Our task is to work with others to help people understand the place of religion in the world – and to recognise that ‘religion’ is not simply a system of beliefs but a lived and embodied practice. It is not simply about the head. It is also about the heart. And that is one of the reasons why we will be gathering to pray and to show our love and compassion at the Vigil on Sunday.