[As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan comes to a close, I am offering one more essay on the value of interfaith dialogue. - CK]
In his inaugural lecture at Cambridge University, C.S. Lewis stated that “Christians and Pagans had much more in common with each other than either has with a post-Christian. The gap between those who worship different gods is not so wide as that between those who worship and those who do not.” He was talking about how Europeans had for so long seen their history as divided into two eras, pre-Christian and Christian, but that today we must acknowledge a third, the post-Christian era. Lewis was speaking in 1954 in England, and his view was understandably quite Eurocentric.
In his inaugural lecture at Cambridge University, C.S. Lewis stated that “Christians and Pagans had much more in common with each other than either has with a post-Christian. The gap between those who worship different gods is not so wide as that between those who worship and those who do not.” He was talking about how Europeans had for so long seen their history as divided into two eras, pre-Christian and Christian, but that today we must acknowledge a third, the post-Christian era. Lewis was speaking in 1954 in England, and his view was understandably quite Eurocentric.
Today, we live in a world that is far more diverse and less Eurocentric. Moreover, we of European descent find ourselves in a world that is not only
post-Christian in terms of culture, but also multicultural in its diversity. In
fact, both Christian and post-Christian cultures are, depending upon your point
of view, either in decline or awakening to find themselves as one among many
viable communities.
From my
perspective as one who tries to champion interfaith dialogue, C.S. Lewis’s
observation that Christians and Pagans had more in common than either has with
the modern world is an excellent starting point for dialogue. As one who
regularly participates in Christian worship and tries to be a practitioner of
faith, when I see Muslims gather at the mosque, Jewish friends meeting on the
Sabbath, or Hindus meeting for worship, I see fellow travelers and pilgrims
who, like me, are attempting to connect with the divine realm in order to bring
meaning to their lives.
Those
of us who seek peaceful dialogue with other faiths, however, too often focus
only upon the things we hold in common. In actual fact, we cannot simply look
at our similarities, have a kumbaya moment and go in peace. We must acknowledge
that there are indeed differences that cannot be glossed over. There are a
number of resources that I have found which can help those who wish to become
more engaged in interfaith endeavors.
Resources I have found helpful
I. God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World — and Why Their Differences Matter, by Stephen Prothero. In Stephen Prothero’s book he argues that we are not advancing
toward a better world by claiming that all religions are essentially the same.
He opts for realism over idealism and says we do more good by a healthy
understanding of the differences found the world’s religions.
Prothero’s point is well taken, that we cannot just
gloss over religious differences and think that all religions are the same. It
is also true that what a person believes about God or ultimate reality will
affect how that person engages with others in society. Prothero uses a sports
analogy to drive home his point. You cannot say that baseball, football and
basketball are the same, because they have different goals and rules. You
cannot say that baseball is superior because it scores more runs, when the
other sports do not even have scoring runs as a goal. I have a clergy friend
who was telling me about an interfaith group she was a part of. There were
Buddhists, Muslims, Jews and Christians in the group, and they did not try to
say that they believed the same things. What they were trying to do was to find
ways to live together and projects in which they could cooperate. So I can
agree that all religions are not the same.
Prothero uses the sports analogy. I might use a different analogy, though. People throughout the world speak different languages. Even though these languages are not the same, and often concepts are lost or diminished by attempts at translation, each language has grammar and syntax, and each language has communication as its purpose. So in some sense, languages are the same even though the words, sounds and structures are completely different.
Prothero uses the sports analogy. I might use a different analogy, though. People throughout the world speak different languages. Even though these languages are not the same, and often concepts are lost or diminished by attempts at translation, each language has grammar and syntax, and each language has communication as its purpose. So in some sense, languages are the same even though the words, sounds and structures are completely different.
II. The Search for God at Harvard, by Ari L.
Goldman. Goldman’s approach is different from Prothero’s. Goldman is
a journalist and an observant Jew. The book is about his experience taking a
year’s leave of absence to study at Harvard Divinity. He states that his
preconceived notion was, “If you know one religion, you know them all.” Diana
Eck, professor of World Religions at Harvard, gave him a wake-up call on the
first day of class when she said, “If you know one religion, you don’t know
any.” Goldman came to understand that “It is unfair and unwise to understand
one religion by the yardstick of another.” The author came to appreciate other
faiths in the course of his studies by seeing them from the inside.
On passage in particular illustrates Goldman’s intent in
writing the book: “I am sitting in a black Baptist church and feel swept away
by the incredible combination of pain, joy and music ricocheting through the
building. I am sitting in a Russian Orthodox Church surrounded by statues and
icons, and feel a sense of mystery and transcendence. I am sitting among
Quakers at a Friends' meeting and feel a serenity I have never before known. In
each case I leave as a Jew, rooted in the richness of my own faith but
nourished by the faith of others.”
III. When Faiths Collide, by Martin Marty keeps
the reader firmly planted in the real world and calls for active engagement,
not simple tolerance in interfaith matters. Those who advocate tolerance
usually hold matters of faith and religion lightly and think everyone should do
the same so that we can all “live and let live.” In reality, however, there are
many for whom religion is central to their identity and world view and they
will not relegate it to a lesser role. For Marty, hospitality is what is called
for in dealing with religious conflict. Marty goes to great pains to describe
the culture that dev eloped in the United States as we moved toward a more
pluralistic society. Using the terms “belongers” and “strangers” Marty
illustrates how attitudes develop, misunderstandings arise, then suspicion and
conflict ensues.
In terms of interfaith opportunities Martin Marty prefers
the term “conversation” rather than “dialogue,” adding that no one ever comes
away saying “I won that conversation.” He advocates telling stories since
stories are important to everyone and they are more open-ended than doctrinal
statements. He also advises the reader to expect conflicts but to realize that
conflict can lead to more creative interaction.
Martin Marty makes no claims to having a solution to the
problem of belongers vs. strangers, but hopes to “present readers with some
understanding of the zones where the religious meanings and intentions of
strangers have become confused and heated” so that we can begin to “explore
understandings, options, and alternatives that we may have been overlooking
before.” The key lies in overt acts of hospitality in which one can welcome the
stranger without denying one’s own faith or attacking the faith of the other.
IV. Beyond Tolerance by Gustav Niebuhr is a very hopeful and helpful
book, in my opinion. It is written by the grandson of Richard Niebuhr (and great
nephew of Reinhold Niebuhr). In his role
as journalist, Gustav Niebuhr gives accounts from across the country of ordinary citizens
engaging in meaningful communication and collaboration with people of other
faiths. This short and readable book
offers a basis for a true regard for the faith practices of others and actual
examples of interfaith dialogue.
V. The Jew in the Lotus, by Roger Kamenetz is a fascinating account of a
delegation of rabbis who travel to Dharamsala, India for dialogue with the
Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama had invited them for a visit because he wanted to
learn from them “the secret of Jewish spiritual survival in exile.” The book is
a wonderful discovery of Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism. It offers an example of
purposeful interfaith dialogue. The
effect upon Kamenetz was a rediscovery of his Jewish roots.
The
Global Village
The
global village is becoming more and more evident as we find ourselves living in
close proximity with people from other cultures. This proximity is more common
today than it has been in the past. We are seeing more bilingual communication
on road signs, in community flyers, and on food labels in the supermarket. For those of us accustomed to being the
“belongers,” we can find ourselves becoming irritated that “strangers” have
come into our midst. Those societal and cultural bearings that were our center
may not feel as secure as they once did. Unfortunately, the response of the dominant culture (the
belongers) is often to redouble their efforts in keeping the past alive and to
do all manner of things to make things more difficult for the immigrant, the
newcomer, the Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu (the strangers).
For
those of us in our respective faith communities, we have an opportunity to
practice hospitality in order to learn from our neighbors and to help in
building a pluralistic society that benefits the common good. We can show by
example how to welcome the stranger and how we can be true to our own faith and
culture while listening to the stories of those from different faiths and
cultures. It requires listening with true regard for the other as well
as a concern for the well-being of all of society – not an uncomplicated task
or an easy one, but a task well worth taking up.
_______
Note: Some sections of this essay were
taken from previous blog posts:
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