Interfaith Week

Hello to my faithful readers!

My... INTERfaithful readers that is! ;P

As you're all aware, I'm really involved in the Interfaith Council at my university, and this year, we're putting on our first Interfaith Week EVER! All very exciting, but also very stressful... And hopefully worth it.

A little background... When I joined, not only was the group incredibly poorly advertised and difficult to find, but they really didn't do much. Now, sitting around once a week to discuss topics and three people going on a trip each semester to a place of worship are great and all, but those were the two biggest things I wanted to change. First, I took over our Souljourn trip, the trip to a place of worship in LA, built it up to visit four different places in one day, and drew crowds of 15-20 the past couple of semesters.

As president, I've been working with the co-president and vice president to build visibility, getting a booth at our Involvement Fair and posting flyers around campus.

The next step has been planning Interfaith Week, a week we hope will become our organization's main event, and help both spread awareness of our organization, and encourage the rest of the student body to engage with a lot of the issues we raise! But it's really been a struggle to plan...

So this week we're in the thick of planning, as it comes up next week and we need a caterer for one of our events and I still need to finish planning the big Souljourn trip and we need to advertise so people come out to the events and on top of planning for my fraternity events, family visiting the same week and all the assignments I have for this writing class I'm taking, I'm drowning in work!

It's just such a difficult thing because we've never done something like this and we're still shaping and deciding exactly how we want the final product to operate. In addition, I feel like the rest of the club is dwindling. The three of us plus two other volunteers from the club are working really hard, but in the meantime, club attendance is going down, and we're worried that next year, when several of us graduate, there will be a lack of leadership to continue the club and we could see it die... Which would really suck. It would suck to see this end cuz it's something I'm so passionate about, and something that's changed my life so profoundly.

Because it's new, we're running so behind, and we have so little help, I've come to accept that this semester, we'll be laying groundwork for next semester more than anything else. If this year's a success, AMAZING! But if not... Next year will be so much easier! So even though it's driving me crazy, I think everything will be okay!

But it's times like this I have to wonder why this stuff is so important to me...

Freshman year, I came to school as a Religion Major, and I knew that I had to join the Interfaith Council. After all, you can only really understand a religion if you talk with the practitioners; studying them in class can only get you so far (and vice versa). It was very poorly advertised, but I found them after a couple of weeks combing the Religious Life website. Joining has changed my life in incredible ways, beyond anything I'd hoped for.

Learning about these other traditions deepened my understanding of my own faith and helped me appreciate other religions. It made me consider all the different ways we imagine God, through the stories we tell and the ways we worship. Perhaps most profoundly, I got to talk religion with secularists and atheists. Seeing the way they approach these issues, and the ways they find meaning without religion has been so impactful, and part of the reason I've remained a part of the Secular Student Fellowship all three years of college. It's been their perspectives that have most enhanced my own spiritual understanding of the world, and changed my life fundamentally. I feel like I'm a more welcoming, loving and kind person because of all these experiences have taught me.

And I want this for others... I want to make this available to anyone who wants or needs this! Because it has inspired me so much, I need to make sure everyone knows we're out there. I don't really proselytize, but if I did, it would be for interfaith, not for Christianity (odd... coming from the future pastor). But I'm serious. This has opened up the world to me, and I want everyone to experience what I've felt... I guess I feel the most influential thing that's happened in a while is becoming not just faithful, but INTERfaithful!

So all this work we're putting in... I think it will be worth it. I think it will make a difference in someone's life, and maybe even help bring new future leaders to our club! And next year we can make it happen again!

So here's to the future of these efforts! Let's make a difference!

Are we all the same?

"Those whose selves are extraordinary, who abide in the divine nature, offer love to me with their minds focused on none other, knowing me as the everpresent origin of beings...

"And there are also others who, sacrificing with the sacrifice of knowledge, worship me in my oneness, in my separateness, and in my many forms facing everywhere."

–Lord Krishna, The Bhagavad Gita 9:12-15

A lot of people think Interfaith Dialogue means you have to think that all religions are essentially the same, or drawing on the same divinity in different way. That it's one mountain, but there are many paths to the top, and that we will all reach the same place, that there's one god in many forms who people worship in many ways.

Seems like Lord Krishna does to. Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu, and if you've ever seen The Last Airbender, you probably . THIS avatar is a form the god Vishnu takes whenever he needs this particular form, and he has several others. It's not a chain of reincarnation, but more a manifestation of Vishnu. Here he's basically telling someone that those truly in touch with the divine worship him as Krishna, but others sacrifice to other incarnations of Krishna (other gods, for example, such as the Judeo-Christian god, the other gods of the Hindu tradition, or the gods of pagan religions, for example). The idea is that those people are really worshipping Krishna, and that they are simply heading up the same mountain by a different path.

However, not everyone thinks that way. Some do, but other people believe that their tradition is the most accurate, and that any others will suffer an eternal damnation for not following the True God. Others think that we are all headed down different paths, worshipping entirely different things, and the ends may be different for all of us. And some just think they can never know, that what will be will be, and no amount of guesswork can discern the truth.

A dear friend and mentor of mine, Jim Burklo (my guru as I refer to him) uses the analogy that there are many paths up many mountains, and we all travel up our own. When we get to the top, maybe we're on different mountains, but maybe we're all in the same mountain range. Maybe our gods are different, but maybe they're all connected. But we all make our own journeys, and arrive at different places.

But no matter what perspective people approach their understanding of other faiths from, they can all join the conversation. I've had beautiful discussions with people who think I'm burning in hell for my... unorthodox beliefs ;P and also with those who think they have no way of knowing, but we all come to the table together. A table where (ideally) everyone can be equal for the moment, and we can come to learn and love rather than to change each other.

That's the dream anyway, for people to talk regardless of how they feel about another person's beliefs. To be respectful and compassionate. But it doesn't always happen. It's hard to do. To use a less religious example, I personally find it painful to talk about vaccination with anti-vaxxers, because I so strongly oppose their ideas because I fear for not only their children, but for others. I struggle to respect and love, because I have such strong feelings. And maybe that's how others feel coming to the table of interfaith. How can they let be burn in damnation when they know what I need to hear to save my soul. It makes it hard to come and participate in a dialogue sometimes, and I understand as someone who feels similarly in a different context.

So how can we get this to happen? Bringing people together? How do we view other faiths? How can we cooperate with not only such fundamentally different views on the world, but different views on how to understand other traditions?

It's a conundrum... But it's one I think is important. Important to solve, but maybe even just important to ask the questions at all.

In Our Lives

Cousin: "Elaine, why are you so involved in Interfaith?"
Elaine: "Cuz cooperating helps make the world a better place."
Cousin: "Cooperate?? But Muslims are just trying to take over the world!"
Elaine: "... Where did you get this information?"
Cousin: "One told me so!"

Since last time's post was so international and world-shaking in scope, I figured I'd share a more personal story. Elaine's a good friend of mine and her cousin is... Less interfaith-savvy than her... The conversation actually happened, paraphrased of course, but Elaine went on to talk about how one person doesn't represent an entire religious group, and even if that one Muslim seriously believed Muslims wanted to conquer the world, you can't look at the entire group as the same as that one.

Even people like the Dalai Lama or the Pope can't represent their entire group, because not everyone follows the exact same version of their religion as those two, even though both supposedly DO represent their faiths. For example, groups of Buddhist monks are massacring people in Myanmar, and some Catholics priests have sexually abused children.

Rather than judging the religion by the few who want to rule the world, or slaughter villagers or rape children, we need to see each person as an individual representative of their personal faith. On the flip side, we can't naively assume that everyone is going to be as peaceful as the Dalai Lama, or as compassionate as the pope. We need to face the harsh reality that some of the people in these religious groups are dangerous, hurtful and/or despicable.

Interfaith isn't just big meetings for peacemaking in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it can be any moment when you have a conversation about faith with anyone. There are opportunities everywhere to grow in our own understanding of each other, and to contribute to others' understanding, giving and taking whenever we get the chance! It's something that goes on in our daily lives.

Hopefully Elaine's cousin came away better for it, with a new appreciation for other faiths... But what if she didn't? What if all this is doing is alienating her form Elaine, making her see Elaine as "less of a Catholic" because of her interfaith involvement? (Again, this part of the conversation actually happened) What if Elaine really is less of a Catholic because she has to suspend her beliefs to discuss religion with someone she so fundamentally disagrees with?

That's one of people's biggest reservations, that they will become "less" of whatever they are. Less of a Catholic, or a Muslim or an Evangelical Christian for engaging in this dialogue. Similarly, a lot of people assume conservative people can't be involved in the dialogue, or that they won't be because they are so firmly rooted in believing their own tradition to be the only True one. Even conservative atheists are thought to shun interfaith dialogue, mostly because people think they want nothing to do with faith, which is true sometimes, but some of the greatest interfaith discussions I've personally had are so great because of the secular voices that come to the table.

I've never felt like I've had to compromise my own beliefs to participate, but I'm also super progressive (like really though... sometimes I wonder if I've progressed too far...), so maybe I'm just falling into the stereotypes. But Elaine considers herself a staunch Catholic, and on the more conservative side theologically, violating this stereotype. Atheists like Bart Campolo may believe that there is no God at all, but he certainly doesn't feel like he has to compromise his own intellect and reason to discuss what to him may seem to be an imaginary being.

Others feel differently... It's tough to get Evangelical Christians involved because they're often so conservative, and they often are so certain of their own Truth that they have trouble accepting another. Which is a shame because I think everyone has so much to offer to the discussion!

I think it all comes back to those fancy terms Abu-Nimer was using: Religiorelative vs. Religiocentric. Changing the dialogue from focusing on our religion in a central way, and more relatively. But maybe these don't work as well as they work for me... Maybe they don't work for you. But they're a starting point, and I think shifting our thinking in that way can bring us all a little closer, as we have the tough conversations with our cousins, or the chats with our friends. Ready at every moment to gain something from them, and give something if we can!

Israel & Palestine

Welcome back folks :)

I've made it clear that i think interfaith dialogue has the power to change the world, and I've talked about a few places I think it would be most important. The biggest one is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In case you haven't noticed it, there are a lot of people fighting over in the Middle East about a few sections of land, and a lot of people are dying cuz of it... Slight understatement. Point is, it's a horrible thing to see so many die over these small tracts of land.

This conflict also has a lot to do with religion, because most Jews are on Israel's side and most Muslims are on Palestine's side (for the most part), and we have a big interfaith issue. Because religion figures so heavily into the conflict, interfaith dialogue seems to be a natural avenue for the solution. I know certain organizations have been working on this, and one guy I've gotten to know recently used to work in the area. Bart Campolo (the aforementioned guy) used to work with Abraham's Path, an organization that now focuses mostly on religious tourism in the Middle East, but that used to (according to Bart) have a hand in encouraging interfaith cooperation in the area. He described people sitting around tables conversing and trying to convert each other (as many of these passionately fundamentalists often do), but ultimately discussing their ideas possibly for the first time. Communication and cooperation began in these little meetings, and Bart certainly thought the experience made an impact!

I guess I've always thought this work can be really impactful, and Bart agrees, but I've never really studied it before. So... I went searching for more scholarly information and came across:

Abu-Nimer, Mohammed. "Religion, Dialogue and Non-Violent Actions in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society 17.3 (2004): 491-511. JSTOR. Web.

Using small samples and case studies, Abu-Nimer gives the case for implementing interfaith programs on a larger scale, and provides a framework for doing so. Through his examinations, he has determined that the most effective interfaith programs are the ones that best change participants' viewpoints from what he calls "religiocentric" to "religiorelative." Basically, this means changing from understanding your religion as the only valid one and seeing others as invalid in every way to understanding people's beliefs as valid to them personally (if not true). It's the idea that religion is more RELATIVE and not necessarily CENTRAL. He discusses how to establish groups which effectively do this, and suggests that even the extremely fundamentalist can change their way of thinking.

The reason this is so important is cuz in the diplomacy over this religiously motivated conflict, no religious leaders are present. Instead, politicians discuss the political issues, and peacemakers have tried to remove religion from the discussion, seeing it as only a destructive force. However, this has only prevented diplomats from discussing the issues motivating the violence, and the ones who are condoning and encouraging the violence (often religious leaders) aren't discussing the issues. If, as the author suggests, they can turn the destructive forces of religion into tools for peace and healing, then perhaps there can be an end to the conflict.

But what if bringing more religion just bring more conflict into the mix? Can people who so vehemently disagree on such a fundamental level ever come to an agreement, or would their biases prevent cooperation? Should we leave the discussion to politicians and diplomats? Are there even answers to these questions?

The Journey Begins

Let's go on a journey together.

The past few years have been chocked full of some of the most striking examples of Interfaith dialogue in history, both good and bad. This past month, when Muslim extremists killed 12 people over a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, we saw some of the worst. This event only months after a Christian college student in Oklahoma beheaded another student for practicing witchcraft. But the conflict between religious groups is only becoming harder to avoid as we become even more connected. Especially in the United States, religious diversity is increasing, and we are increasingly forced to face this diversity.

So how do we manage the diversity? Do we strive for political correctness to keep everyone pleased, or do we loosen our strict standards and accept that every once in a while, someone will get offended and that's okay? How can we as individuals work in our lives to make an impact on how the world faces these issues?

Do our actions have the power to change the world around us, from the most intimate encounters of classmates or coworkers of different faiths to the conflict between Israel and Palestine?Can the ways we handle this diversity make a difference? Can understanding these issues as well as possible guides us in changing the world?

That’s the journey we’re going on. It is a journey not just here on this blog, but out there in the world, where these things happen all the time. It’s a journey where we can come together here and I’ll share my piece, and we can talk about it, but the real action happens when we leave, hopefully enriched. It’s a journey where we can use the internet tools at our disposal to learn and grow and change the world by working together.

For though interfaith conflict has been so destructive, maybe cooperation can not only replace the violence, but work towards the restoration of the world. Martin Luther King, Jr, as a timely example, built the Civil Rights Movement based on Mahatma Gandhi’s interfaith movement in India, a movement which gathered a variety of different religious groups to break the British yoke together. Both these movements worked with diversity and changed the world in massive ways, living out the peace their faiths called for.

So who am I and why do I care? I’m a college student who wants to become a pastor in the United Methodist Church someday, and have some crazy adventures on the way. I’m studying Religion, and I run and Interfaith Council on my campus. I’ve participated with Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a national interfaith organization dedicated to the slogan “Better Together.” I’ve heard interfaith scholars like Eboo Patel speak, and I’ve personally been featured both on NPR and on Larry King’s new Faith Network (still in production as I write this) for my involvement in our Interfaith Council. In addition to Interfaith Council, I participated in a evangelical Bible study for three years, am still a member of the Secular Student Fellowship after 3 years (the only person of faith there), have been in both a Torah study and a Muslim study of how to recite the Qur’an, and am now starting my own Progressive Christian fellowship. In short, interfaith is my life.

As a Methodist, interfaith is important to me because working together always trumps working against one another. It is important because I do firmly believe that we can change the world. It is important because my faith calls me to see the divine in everyone, and by extension in every faith. It is important because once the religions of the world turn to solving the problems that face us, I don’t think there’s any limit to what we can accomplish when not mired in conflicts with one another!

But who knows… Is the answer to take faith out of the discussion, or to integrate it? Does interfaith even help at all? Maybe there is no solution other than to learn to live with the conflict. I’m the kind of guy who thinks if we all hold hands and sing Kum Baya, everything will be better… but that’s not too realistic. So join me in this conversation, embark on this journey with me and let’s learn a little more about the importance of interfaith dialogue.