wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Interfaith seminar: There's value in diversity, say young people from three faiths

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>For immediate release - 12/08/2009 16:37:32

THERE'S VALUE IN DIVERSITY, SAY YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THREE FAITHS

By Emma Halgren (*)

Free photo and audio files available, see below

Religious diversity is an unavoidable reality today – and an
opportunity, according to the participants of an interfaith
seminar held in July at the World Council of Churches (WCC)
Ecumenical Institute at Bossey outside Geneva, Switzerland.

The three-week course, which had the theme "Building an
Interfaith Community", was attended by young Christians, Jews and
Muslims from all over the world.

Students heard presentations on Christianity, Islam and Judaism,
and on the contributions of each of the religions to peacemaking.
Daily morning prayers were prepared alternately by the Christian,
Jewish and Muslim participants, and the group attended services
in a church, synagogue and mosque in Geneva.

Religion is so often seen as a barrier to peace, but peace is a
central theme across the religions and a good basis for
discussions about interfaith community-building, says Rabbi
Delphine Horvilleur. 

Horvilleur, one of a handful of female rabbis in France, was a
guest speaker at the seminar.

She encouraged participants to think about the many dichotomies
that existed in religious life – for example, me/other,
conservative/liberal and holy/profane. Such dichotomies
highlighted the importance of the question "Who is the other?",
said Horvilleur. She said there were two key threats when it came
to considering the issue of "the other" through interfaith
dialogue.

"It's disturbing in interfaith dialogue that there is a tendency
to move towards this idea of absolute sameness – an attempt to
synchronize all the positions," she said. "To create the idea
that there is absolutely no difference between the religions can
be a big threat."

But she said there was also a danger at the other end of the
spectrum: "The other most common threat is the idea that there is
only one truth, or that 'my truth is truer than your truth'."
Charting a middle road between these two extremes was the key to
constructive dialogue, she said.

>Interfaith dialogue increasingly important

Rev. Bruce Myers, a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada and
a masters-degree student at Bossey, said interfaith dialogue was
of increasing importance in the Canadian context.

"We still like to think of ourselves as a Christian country, and
the statistics and the census bear that out, but we're also a
country of immigrants and always have been," he said.

"Increasingly we're receiving new Canadians from parts of the
world where Christianity is not the predominant religion, and
we're still in a process of learning as a country how we can make
room for the other, how we can make room for new arrivals and new
expressions of religion, and still maintain what we could
consider a Canadian identity."

He said there are numerous examples of how these questions arise
in civic life, including debate over whether it is appropriate
for Muslim women who wear a full veil to have to uncover their
faces in a polling booth to identify themselves to a polling
officer when voting, and whether it is acceptable for Canadian
Mounties to wear a turban instead of the distinctive Mountie hat
if they are Sikh.

He said there is often a tension in contemporary Christianity
between classical ecumenism and the emerging need for interfaith
dialogue.

"Ecumenism has always been a passion for me – increasing the
bonds among Christians and reducing the divisions among the
churches," he said. "But that's not enough in the 21st century,
especially in 21st-century Canada. We need to move beyond
ecumenism and talk interfaith."

Jessica Sacks, an Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem, said she
regularly sees first-hand how divisions can emerge based on
religious differences.

"I come from a place where you can't afford not to engage in
interfaith dialogue; a place where I live in very close proximity
to people whose language is different and who read the place we
live in completely differently," said Sacks.

As a student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem she was a
member of a group of Muslim and Jewish female students who met
regularly to learn about each other's faiths. The impact may have
been small, but it was an important starting point, she said.

"For us that was significant, and we formed friendships. Change
will come through us each working in our own communities to try
and open them up a little more."

>Religious pluralism a reality

Lubna Alzaroo, a student in English literature at the University
of Bethlehem, said that the course had highlighted for her the
reality of religious pluralism in today's world – and helped her
to see the value in it.

"There are many truths, and my truth can be different from
another person's truth, but it's alright," she said. "It's okay
if people are different, because that's what society is based
upon – people's diversity and differences."

Alzaroo was one of ten Muslims in the group, hailing from
countries as diverse as Romania, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Another participant, Sarah Abdullah, lives in a town of 600
people in South Carolina, USA, where she and her mother are the
only Muslims.

"It's a predominantly Christian culture," she said. "I think
interfaith dialogue is important for this area, because when I
first moved there, people were shocked and couldn't work out who
I was and where I came from."

Abdullah said that what she had learned on the course will help
her to engage with the people in her community when she returns
home.

"I learned a lot of things about Christianity that I didn't
know, even though I've spent most of my life living in a
Christian country," she said. "It's broadened my horizons – it's
helped me think about the world beyond the States. Now that I
have a better understanding of Christianity, I can relate better
with the Christians around me."

>[943 words]

(*) Emma Halgren, WCC Communication intern, is a member of the
Uniting Church in Australia.

WCC programme on Inter-religious dialogue and cooperation
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/interreligiousdialogue.html

>Ecumenical Institute at Bossey
>http://bossey.ch

Free high resolution photo of Sarah Abdullah and fellow
participant Emmanuel Babatunde Gbogboade, a Christian from
Nigeria, working on an art project at the interfaith seminar (©
WCC):
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/images/wcc-main/news/2009/aug/090728_10.JPG
Listen to the interview with Rev. Bruce Myers, a priest in the
Anglican Church of Canada and a Masters student at the Bossey
Institute: 
Introduction (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Bruce-introduction.mp3
) 
Why is interfaith dialogue important in the Canadian context? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Bruce-canada.mp3
)
How do you plan to apply what you've learned in your home
situation? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Bruce-homecontext.mp3
)
What are some of the challenges of interfaith dialogue? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Bruce-challenges.mp3
) 
What has made this summer school a unique experience? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Bruce-unique.mp3
)

Listen to the interview with Sarah Abdullah, a Muslim secondary
school student from the USA: 
Introduction (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Sarah-introduction.mp3
)
Why is interfaith dialogue important in your part of the USA? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Sarah-US.mp3
)
What have you learned through this course? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Sarah-learning.mp3
)

Listen to the interview with Jessica Sacks, a Jew who grew up in
the UK but now lives in Jerusalem: 
Introduction (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Jessica-introduction.mp3
)
What has surprised you during the course? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Jessica-surprises.mp3
)
Why do you think interfaith dialogue is so important? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Jessica-dialogue.mp3
)
What has been your own experience of interfaith dialogue and the
impact it can have? (
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/sounds/2009/interfaith/Jessica-experience.mp3
)

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.