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London Rabbi named 2004 Grawemeyer Religion Award winner
03524
December 3, 2003

London Rabbi named 2004 Grawemeyer Religion Award winner

Prize-winning book pleas for 'tolerance in an age of extremism'

by Michelle Melton
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

LOUISVILLE - "For too long, the pages of history have been stained by blood
shed in the name of God. Allied to weapons of mass destruction, extremist
religious attitudes threaten the very security of life on earth. In our
interconnected world, we must learn to feel enlarged, not threatened, by
difference," states London's Chief Rabbi, Professor Jonathan Sacks in his
book, The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations.

Sacks and his book have been named the winner of the 2004 Louisville
Grawemeyer Award in Religion, awarded jointly by the University of Louisville
and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

The prestigious annual award includes a $200,000 cash prize. It is given to
the originators of creative works that contribute significantly to an
understanding of "the relationship between human beings and the divine and
ways in which this relationship may inspire or empower human beings to attain
wholeness, integrity, or meaning, either individually or in community."

"The Dignity of Difference is a plea - the most forceful I could make - for
tolerance in an age of extremism," says Sacks. "I see in the rising crescendo
of ethnic tensions, civilizational clashes and the use of religious
justification for acts of terror, a clear and present danger to humanity."

In the book - first published in hardback by Continuum (London, New York) in
2002 and reissued by Continuum in a revised paperback edition in 2003 - Sacks
demonstrates how religion may function constructively to promote global
peace, and it is precisely this practical aspect that attracted the attention
of this year's final-selection committee.

"Sacks argues that as long as we see 'the other' (those who are not like us)
as a threat to our beliefs and way of life, we are headed for doom," says
Susan R. Garrett, professor of New Testament at Louisville Seminary and
coordinator of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion. "Sacks makes a biblical and
theological case for valuing difference, petitioning us to look upon 'the
other' as enriching the collective heritage of humankind," she says.

The Dignity of Difference is intrinsically about globalization. It argues
that the economics and politics of globalization have an inescapable moral
dimension, which places great responsibility on the world's religious
communities.

According to Sacks, such communities have emerged in the 21st century as key
forces in a global age. But in order to be forces for peace, such communities
must move beyond mere appreciation and respect for difference, beyond the
temptation toward uniformity. Religious communities must recognize that
difference is part of God's design. Sacks' book "provides a theology of
difference," he says.

Sacks, who lives in London, has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew
Congregations of the Commonwealth since 1991and has become widely recognized
as one of the world's leading contemporary exponents of Judaism.

He also has a distinguished career outside the Jewish community as a writer
and broadcaster and is often a contributor to radio, television, and the
national press. In 2001, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred upon him the
Doctorate of Divinity in recognition of his first ten years as Chief Rabbi.

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