We live at a time when people of different faith backgrounds are interacting with greater frequency than ever before. We hear the stories of people who seek to make faith a barrier of division or a bomb of destruction all too often. Instead, we view religious and philosophical traditions as bridges of cooperation. Our interfaith movement builds religious pluralism.
We define religious pluralism as a world characterized by:
Respect for people’s diverse religious and non-religious identities,
Mutually inspiring relationships between people of different backgrounds, and
Common action for the common good.
We think pluralism is achieved by two things:
The science of interfaith cooperation: by creating positive, meaningful relationships across differences, and fostering appreciative knowledge of other traditions, attitudes improve, knowledge increases, and more relationships occur. These three are mutually reinforcing and backed by social science data, what we call the “interfaith triangle”.
The art of interfaith leadership: people who create and foster opportunities for positive knowledge and opportunities for engagement move others around the interfaith triangle and lead to a community marked by pluralism.
We believe that American college students, supported by their campuses, can be the interfaith leaders needed to make religion a bridge and not a barrier.
My hopes for you:
I hope today's presentation inspired you. I hope you are still thinking about what Eboo Patel discussed. I hope that it has made the book, "Acts of Faith", more meaningful and not just another book that you place on your shelf that you felt forced to read. I hope you will take this book and use it as a reminder of what you can and will become.
Your assignment is two parts. First, you are to email me your orginal paper on "Acts of Faith". On this orginal paper, I want you to revise in red areas that you you wish to add to, change and elaborate on from what you heard Patel speak about.
Secondly, on this blog, I I want you to ask yourself: How can you an College Student, become an interfaith leader needed to make religon a bridge not a barrier?
As a college student, I can become an interfaith leader with the intent to make religion a bridge not a barrier in various ways. One way could be to remind people, particularly young people that the purpose of religion is to love not hate. People are so often taught that in order to be a part of a religion that one has to hate a certain group or religion as a whole, and that with hatred comes anger and with anger comes violence. Those who are non-believers are accused of hating all religions when that’s not always the case, and are often seen as enemies of religion. People are forgetting that and are twisting what identifying and belonging with a religion really means. Another way could be to embed service in everyday life because with service comes understanding and with understanding comes bridges of cooperation. It gives diverse religions a way to come together for a common purpose, which will then bring diverse religions together to cooperate. Basically, what Eboo and what President Obama concluded about what was needed with building religion as a bridge is exactly what needs to be done to do so. On a college level, by creating places and spaces for people to voice their opinions and to come together for a common good is a great place to begin building a bridge across religions. It takes young people, their voices, action, and a common purpose as the recipe for an interfaith group, and as an interfaith leader I can make sure that people are understanding each other and are not creating barriers between them.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I agree on that fact that religion is to love not hate and that parts of religions say that we need to hate another religion and that hatred leads to violence. One of the ways we are taught to hate other religions it that we are told that all those other religions hate us; therefore, we should hate them back. But that is not what we are supposed to do, I believe they saying turn the other cheek would come into good use. Instead of hating these religions we should show them the love we have. Another cliché saying that would fit this would be to kill them with kindness. Again I agree with you that service it a great way to build bridges of cooperation and that it is a way to share our differences. In everyday life and in religion we all have different beliefs just like in service we all have different talents we can bring to the table.
DeleteEboo Patel mentioned in his talk today that college campuses provide the best environment for making ideas into a reality. He said that this process happens faster on campus than any other place. Several things make this possible, but just to name a few, students are given opportunities to explore new things—whether that means new classes, clubs, sports, or even a new language. To go along with this, faculty and staff are especially supportive of new ideas presented by young minds that want to make some sort of difference. The resources on campus are so bountiful that coming up with an idea is really all one has to do to get the ball rolling on a new endeavor. For myself, I can become an interfaith leader that works toward making religion a bridge instead of a barrier first and foremost by being open-minded. Not only can I accept that other people have different beliefs and ideas, but I can learn about them. Instead of just agreeing that people think differently about various topics, I can take the time to actually go ahead and learn about their perspectives, and why they value the things they do. Understanding where people are coming from makes a big difference on how easily we can accept their ideas. This way, it is less likely that we make judgments without really knowing everything that leads one person to believe what they do. In addition, we are less likely to jump to conclusions about things we don’t have all the facts about.
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, I really found your ideas interesting. I agree how students are given many opportunities in college to explore new things, and that the faculty are all very supportive. I agree how being open-minded would be a great way to bridge religions. If people of one religion can show they care and are interested in another religion, that will help help others be respectful to other religions also. I agree how learning other religions would help the understand their values and see where people are coming from. In the end if everyone can understand each other a little better, there will be more peace in the world.
DeleteIn a previous blog when we talked about the Golden Rule, that was a bridge that connected many religions. That is one aspect many religions have a common ground on. I know Monica, at the beginning of the class, said that we should not just look at what we have as similarities but this is one thing that we as college students could use to build a bridge instead of a barrier. Me, personally as a college student, can become an interfaith leader by speaking out about my religion, not in a way that puts down other religions or is bias but in a way so that others may build a bridge across these two religions. Not only can we build a bridge by telling our story but being open-minded and truly listening to what others believe. One question a student asked was in what way can we, as students, follow the IFYC’s practices and Eboo’s answer was to get involved in service. Again this relates to what we did last week, with community day. Service is a great way for use to build a bridge. There are many opportunities that St. Scholastica has for use to get involved in our community. As Eboo said, college is the best place to make an idea into reality. We can get involved in clubs and organizations that already exist or create our own that will help us become interfaith leaders needed to make religion a bridge not a barrier.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
DeleteIt is interesting how you pointed out that we can all come together because every religion has a form of the Golden Rule-I never thought of that before. It is at least one thing that pretty much every religion shares and can come together for.
I also completely agree that service plays an important role in building a bridge because it is a chance for people of different faiths to put aside their differences and come together for a better cause. It is essential that people step out of their comfort zones and come together to serve the community. With this, I think that college students have the power to change the world.
As a college student I can become an interfaith leader by reaching out to others. I can hopefully make religion a bridge and not a barrier by helping others understand their religion more. Just as the “Golden Rule” explains how every religion talks about treating their neighbors how they wish to be treated. That is how I would help bridge religions. I would tell people that religions are similar, they all help man find his meaning of life. Since they are similar there is no reason for religion to be a barrier between people. As a college student, to best help there be interfaith between other college students you would need group gatherings and activities with others to help others feel comfortable. I believe religion can become a bridge for everyone if they are educated and taught by others their age.
ReplyDeleteCollege is a place where things happen. It is a place where people try and discover who they are and what they want to do with their life. While you are out discovering yourself, you can't forget your surroundings and the what is happening in the world. I think that as a college student, I can be an Interfaith leader by actively keeping track of what is happening in the world and try to get other people to become more aware of major world issues. If more people know about issues, especially the wars of religion, more people might want to become involved in stopping the violence.
ReplyDeleteI can also become an Interfaith leader by teaching and making people aware of the importance of religious pluralism in the world. This can be achieved by starting a pluralist club dedicated to bringing together people from different cultures, different geographical locations, and different faiths. As Eboo Patel explained in his presentation, the whole reason for his creation of Interfaith Youth Corps(bringing people of different faiths together and volunteer to help make connections between young people) is so that the young people become inspired and want to go out in the world and become an Interfaith leader. He hopes it will be a "domino effect":people reach out to others, then those people go out and spread the message, ect. The dream is to have a lot of people more aware of how important having diversity in the world is a very good thing. I can be an Interfaith leader by doing this very thing: reaching out to others and teach them about pluralism so that they understand. I think that a major problem with youth these days is how unaware we are about global issues. It is not necessarily our fault. The resources for making a change or becoming involved are not readily made available. Through education, reaching out to people, and making sure people know how to get a hold of resources, this can lead to change, change can lead to action, and eventually I believe that religion will become a bridge that will connect people together and make the world more accepting of each other, despite differences in faith.
As a college student I feel that there are many opportunities to become an interfaith leader, and also many opportunities to support religious pluralism. As Eboo said in his presentation, ideas are transformed into reality the fastest on college campuses. We have the chance to make a difference in the world by promoting religious pluralism in our own lives. At The College of Saint Scholastica, there are many different people with different backgrounds and beliefs, and it’s a great atmosphere because the college promotes being at peace and respecting one another’s views. Here I am able to interact with people that are different than me, and in a healthy way. I can also influence others to do such, I can show them how important it is to support religious pluralism and how to respect others and their beliefs. Together we can all build a “bridge of cooperation.”
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Eboo when he said that ideas transform into reality the fastest on college campuses. This is extremely true especially on such small campuses like the College of Saint Scholastica. It is really easy to meet all kinds of different people from different cultures and religions. When you meet many different kinds of people you can come up with great ideas. I love how you brought up building a "bridge of cooperation".
DeleteI could become an interfaith leader as a college student by branching out my beliefs and ideas to other students across campus not just at St. Scholastica but other campuses as well. What i mean by this is I could start a group or even a blog like this one and talk about everyone's different beliefs and organize different events for the group to do. This would in turn create a bridge between all the students and hopefully not create a barrier but take down people's barriers as they see what can happen when people build bridges between each other and interact with everyone. As the others have talked about this really applies with the "Golden rule" which is treating others as you want to be treated. When this rule is applied people are more likely to put up bridges and not barriers for others.I believe that anyone can become an interfaith leader but the question is who will do it? I will try my best to start building these bridges now and not have my barriers be so strong.
ReplyDeleteMitch,
DeleteI really like your idea about branching out to other areas besides just St. Scholastica. I had a similar idea in my post where I would get people form UMD, CSS, high schools, and businesses together to create a bridge. Thinking over the idea, there might be some barriers in the beginning meetings between these different groups of people, but they should eventually diminish. This would be a very similar situation to our groups we have in dignitas class. Things will be a little shaky at the beginning but eventually pick up and the group would start to roll.
College campuses are breeding grounds for relationships between people with different backgrounds. Well that is to say if everyone is open-minded. This comes with a "service"for other people, teach them your traditions and they in return can teach you their's. With the interaction there is bound to be something in common. Religion may be different with the name and beliefs, but some morals have to be the same.Knowledge of others is what I think is one of the largest keys to unlock the bridge for interfaith communities. With knowing what others believe in, everyone can communicate respectfully. With this students would be able to start better together groups, and just groups open to the public. The people in the groups must be from different backgrounds, with that comes the opportunity of becoming a leader.
ReplyDeleteKris, I love your opening sentence, it is very true in so many ways. I feel like we are open minded the first couple weeks of college but it fades as we progress. You need to interact and share stories to gain peoples trust. I agree with you need to know knowledege about everything to lead interfaith.
DeleteI believe that as a college student, I can help make religion a bridge instead of a barrier by listening to other peoples stories about their religions and backgrounds growing up. To help become an interfaith leader by going to church and helping other people learn about the religion that I follow. If we help teach people about religions, they will understand that religions are more closely related than we believe. Also, by keeping an open mind to other religions is important to becoming a good religious leader. Respecting and accepting others and what they believe in is what we need to work on to help build the bridge of religion. All in all, learning others religions and keeping an open mind is what students need to create religious groups and become more close to each other and our religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteLogan,
DeleteI completely agree with what you are saying here, about learning about other religions and just trying to be close to each other. By going to church you don't have to think your religion is the only way to go. you have to have an open mind to build the bridges for other religions to branch out to you. you can't always expect the other people to make a move but if you keep your mind open and no barriers up maybe they will put their barriers down and branch out themselves.
As a college student i could become an interfaith leader and help build a bridge for religions rather than a barrier by listening and interacting to all view points and people and accepting that not all people have the same opinions and beliefs. Hopefully, by doing this, people with different opinions and beliefs would feel more confident to speak up and make their voice heard and listened to. This would then lead to people with different backgrounds interacting with each other and talking about their own feelings an noticing that most beliefs have the same basic building blocks. The main aspect to building a bridge is respecting others and what they feel.
ReplyDeleteJosh,
DeleteI really like the way you way to build a bridge for religions instead of being a barrier. I never thought of it that way! It would definately be beneficial to the world if people did speak their mind about their beliefs. Except that can cause conflict as well. But there is already so much conflict in the world already that I feel that if people stopped just taking what others are saying and start standing up for ourselves, alot of the worlds problems will be solved. There won't be any sneaking around planning revenge. A conflict would be solved and over and done with.
Josh,
DeleteI agree with what you had to say about building bridges with people rather than barriers. Accepting that everyone has different opinions about things is a great start to this. By listening to others you can begin to understand their point of view. I also agree that people will feel more comfortable sharing their opinions in this kind of setting.
It is all about acceptance of others and their ideas. We have talked about this many times already in class and through the blog assignments. Bridges can be build instead of barriers when all religions learn to accept differences and take a step onto the other side. Mr. Patel stressed that college is where lives are changed, and completely new ideas can be learned. I would use my organizational skills to become an Interfaith leader. Getting a group together on campus, joining together with UMD, nearby high schools, and businesses, we could combine an effort to teach the Interfaith Youth Movement. Having a variety of ages as well as religions will only strengthen the bridges, and weaken the barriers.
ReplyDeleteAustin,
DeleteI found your idea to be extremely interesting. I had never thought of that before and I to feel like that would be successful. Becoming connected with people from different schools creates a much more diverse group of people and allows for more bridge building and possibly even the removal of barriers. Age is extremely important because it brings different experiences to the table and allows for a more in depth discussion on religion. Accepting differences and finding similarities within our religions is very important to the building of bridges.
As a college student I can become a Interfaith youth leader within my campus by not having restraints that exclude other people in my community. I can use religon as a bridge because by not having restraints that would exclude others I can learn and see others poing of views as well as their beliefs. I feel like doing this will draw us closer in a relationship and help build bridges instead of burning the bridges that I would have with others.
ReplyDeletePatel explains how colleges are the best place to turn an idea into a reality. Colleges are full of people who are opening their eyes to new concepts, ideas, and beliefs that they never even thought of before. Making religion a bridge requires a realization of a common religious characteristic, such as the Golden rule or something of the like. By leading these people in a direction that discusses and utilizes religion in a compassionate and respectful way we create bridges. Barriers are created through the spread, or as Patel said “injecting,” of hateful ideas and messages towards others into religious thought. Instead we must promote the idea of respect and community. Through service projects and other opportunities to interconnect with people from different religious backgrounds we can form bridges and break down barriers creating a more pluralistic society. By acting together and not individually we are able to express our values with more emphasis than if it was just one person.
ReplyDeletePaul,
DeleteI found your ideas to be quite interesting and realistic. Realizing commonality between other religions really make a difference when learning about different perspectives that people hold. Also, realizing that we all can bring something to the mix by interconnecting is truly how forming bridges between religions happens. You cannot expect to make meaningful relationships if one cannot respect a person nor have an open mind about their religion. Patel’s ideas about being “better together” are exactly what pluralism needs. We are better together and need to mindfully reject all poison inject into our religions. I thought religion was supposed to be about compassion, love for all, community and living for a greater good than ourselves, no matter the title. Since when does accepting hate into our lives regulate what we live by and what we believe?
I, being a college student, can become an interfaith leader in a variety of ways. I can be an interfaith leader by starting a group that has to do with interfaith things. For example, religion. I think this would be successful because many people feel very strongly about their religions but they don't seem like it.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
DeleteI think your idea of creating some kind of group in effort to become an interfaith leader was great. You said people feel very strongly about their religion, but a lot of the time, they don’t show it. This reminded me a little of the upcoming presidential elections. Some people have very strong opinions one way or another, but people display their attitudes in different ways. Some are the first to plan a protest, and some sit quietly on the sidelines, keeping their opinions to themselves. Some kind of interfaith group would encourage discussion of different religions, but would keep debate off the table.
I think we need to find common ground and simuliar background stories. To become an interfaith leader I would need to be very open minded, accepting to everyone and everything. Like Patel said in his speech right now in my life is my time to make a difference and find out who I am. He really found himself in college and now its our turn.
ReplyDeleteBeing a college student, I can become an interfaith leader by simply reaching out to others and listening to others ideas and beliefs. There are so many wars about beliefs today it is unbelievable. The most sickening one to me is the 'Vote Yes' or 'Vote No' campaign going on right now. In my opinion, love is love and marriage shouldn't matter who it is between. I am so sick of seeing posters and billboards and T.V. commercials. I just want to go for a walk or watch some T.V. I do no want to be bombarded with slander from both political parties. This is why I hate election years. They cause nothing but drama and hurt feelings. I understand they are important but it's just annoying! Anyways, Patel spoke about how the college years are the one time in your life when nothing gets put into place faster. A college campus is full of new ideas and employees ready to help those ideas become realities. In the real world, the people you need to go to to make a change are above you and not always willing to listen to someone not as high up as them. But at a college, most employees will help student(s) into making their dreams realities before anything else.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
DeleteI agree with you that the "Vote Yes," and "Vote No," advertisements for the marriage amendment are annoying. I do not understand why it is such a big deal if same sex couples want to get married, I mean it’s not anyone else’s marriage, so why should they bother to care? It’s not affecting other people’s marriages, and it is not any less valid then the traditional marriage. I also agree with you on the fact that college campuses are full of people that can help students transform their dreams into realities.
John,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Simple things just as having a talking group, or something as complicated as having meetings and objectives for a large groups of people. This has so many ways in which you could start being a leader only the sky is the limit.
If you are interested in some new ideas on the interfaith movement and the Trinity, please check out my website at www.religiouspluralism.ca, and give me your thoughts on improving content and presentation.
ReplyDeleteMy thesis is that an abstract version of the Trinity could be Christianity’s answer to the world need for a framework of pluralistic theology.
In a constructive worldview: east, west, and far-east religions present a threefold understanding of One God manifest primarily in Muslim and Hebrew intuition of the Deity Absolute, Christian and Krishnan Hindu conception of the Universe Absolute Supreme Being; and Shaivite Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist apprehension of the Destroyer (meaning also Consummator), Unconditioned Absolute, or Spirit of All That Is and is not. Together with their variations and combinations in other major religions, these religious ideas reflect and express our collective understanding of God, in an expanded concept of the Holy Trinity.
The Trinity Absolute is portrayed in the logic of world religions, as follows:
1. Muslims and Jews may be said to worship only the first person of the Trinity, i.e. the existential Deity Absolute Creator, known as Allah or Yhwh, Abba or Father (as Jesus called him), Brahma, and other names; represented by Gabriel (Executive Archangel), Muhammad and Moses (mighty messenger prophets), and others.
2. Christians and Krishnan Hindus may be said to worship the first person through a second person, i.e. the experiential Universe or "Universal” Absolute Supreme Being (Allsoul or Supersoul), called Son/Christ or Vishnu/Krishna; represented by Michael (Supreme Archangel), Jesus (teacher and savior of souls), and others. The Allsoul is that gestalt of personal human consciousness, which we expect will be the "body of Christ" (Mahdi, Messiah, Kalki or Maitreya) in the second coming – personified in history by Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha (9th incarnation of Vishnu), and others.
3. Shaivite Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucian-Taoists seem to venerate the synthesis of the first and second persons in a third person or appearance, ie. the Destiny Consummator of ultimate reality – unqualified Nirvana consciousness – associative Tao of All That Is – the absonite* Unconditioned Absolute Spirit “Synthesis of Source and Synthesis,”** who/which is logically expected to be Allah/Abba/Brahma glorified in and by union with the Supreme Being – represented in religions by Gabriel, Michael, and other Archangels, Mahadevas, Spiritpersons, etc., who may be included within the mysterious Holy Ghost.
Other strains of religion seem to be psychological variations on the third person, or possibly combinations and permutations of the members of the Trinity – all just different personality perspectives on the Same God. Taken together, the world’s major religions give us at least two insights into the first person of this thrice-personal One God, two perceptions of the second person, and at least three glimpses of the third.
* The ever-mysterious Holy Ghost or Unconditioned Spirit is neither absolutely infinite, nor absolutely finite, but absonite; meaning neither existential nor experiential, but their ultimate consummation; neither fully ideal nor totally real, but a middle path and grand synthesis of the superconscious and the conscious, in consciousness of the unconscious.
** This conception is so strong because somewhat as the Absonite Spirit is a synthesis of the spirit of the Absolute and the spirit of the Supreme, so it would seem that the evolving Supreme Being may himself also be a synthesis or “gestalt” of humanity with itself, in an Almighty Universe Allperson or Supersoul. Thus ultimately, the Absonite is their Unconditioned Absolute Coordinate Identity – the Spirit Synthesis of Source and Synthesis – the metaphysical Destiny Consummator of All That Is.
For more details, please see: www.religiouspluralism.ca
Samuel Stuart Maynes