Our world is full of different people with different perspectives and backgrounds. All of us have beliefs as to life and our purposes here on earth. For many of us, this is defined by our religion. January 17th 2010 is World Religion Day. “The aim of World Religion Day is to foster the establishment of interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasizing the common denominators underlying all religions.” (www.worldreligionday.org). It’s hard to avoid the fact that our world’s beliefs can conflict at times. On this day we can stop and reflect on our commonalities instead of our differences.
The topic of religion can be very touchy. Anger and hatred between beliefs happen frequently, even within a religion. But why is this? Is it possible to look past our differences, and reveal what we all have in common? I had the great opportunity to meet with several people associated with different religions to receive their thoughts on World Religion Day and what it means to them.
Unitarian Universalist
Gaye Ortiz, a former Roman Catholic who later found Unitarian Universalism, shared her thoughts on this day. When asked if she found it hard to practice her religious beliefs in our society, she responded: The Bible Belt is a place where dogmatic beliefs are sometimes oppressive, and respect for other non-traditional (i.e., non-Christian) religious expression is sometimes lacking. But there are many people who are seekers for freedom of religion and appreciate the liberal faith home that Unitarian Universalism offers. The UU Church of Augusta is very involved in community and social action projects, like Spooky to be Hungry, and we partner with other faiths in projects like Habitat for Humanity and the Harrisburg Interfaith Garden.
We need to practice respect for all faiths and those who follow them; fear of the unknown is what makes us so distrustful, so we should seek to learn about other faiths and learn to work alongside each other to make the world a better place for all. There are many misconceptions about other faiths in this day and age but we all need to live together on this planet and work for world peace – it is not an impossible task!
Buddhist
Natalia Poppeliers was raised Unitarian Universalist but became a Buddhist. She considers herself to be of both traditions. Her responses: I sometimes find it difficult to practice Buddhism in our society for two reasons. The first is that because we are a relatively small percentage of society, there are many misconceptions about what Buddhism entails. The second reason is that is often seems that there are elements of our culture (particularly the focus on materialistic gain and a certain tolerance and encouragement of aggression) that do not fit well with the Buddhist path. Sometimes this provides a challenge.
We must recognize that, just as there are many roads to a destination, there are many paths to wholeness (in the religious sense). Our individual path may not meet the needs of others but it is no less valid. The key to acceptance and harmony between the religions must begin with dialogue, good-will, and an open heart and mind.
Methodist
Jessica Bolyard explained her religious background: I grew up in the Methodist church, really from the time I was born. I said I was a Christian, but I never really understood what it was all about; my family went to church together just because it was what we did every Sunday. I was baptized and confirmed when I was 12, simply because I was the "right age" and everyone my age had to go through the confirmation class then. I didn't fully understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ until I was 21, at which point I really feel that my life turned around. Since then, I've been on a pursuit for Christ and have sought to conform my life according to His will.
When asked how difficult it was to practice her religion on our society, she responded: I have never felt it to be difficult on a societal level. It has been hard for me personally, at times, simply because of the difficulty of finding the balance between being a positive witness and being someone people can't relate to. On a societal level, though, I have never found any sort of persecution or adversity. Much of this could be because we do live in the Bible belt, and it is almost expected that everyone has Christian beliefs to some extent. (I say that realizing that having "Christian beliefs" is very different from being a follower of Christ.) It seems to me that around here, telling someone where you attend church is akin to telling them what neighborhood you live in; it tells them a little bit about you, but doesn't elicit any sort of real response because the perception is that everyone attends somewhere.
Clearly, I believe that Christianity and the message of Jesus Christ are truth; if I didn't, I wouldn't practice it. However, it was never Jesus' intentions to alienate people based on their beliefs, and as such, it should not be my goal, either. The message of Christ is love, and that is what drives my relationships with others, regardless of race or religion or background. Peace and harmony, it seems to me, go hand in hand with love. There is room for people of all beliefs if an attitude of love supersedes any beliefs or creeds as we interact with others.
Baptist
Greg DeLoach, a local Baptist pastor, shared with me his perspective on the religions around us and how we should approach them. When asked if society makes it difficult to practice his faith, he responded: No, not at all. For starters, it’s kind of ingrained in the culture of our society. I’ve never lived in communities in America that were different than the Deep South, but even in other areas we are given the opportunity to worship freely, and I value the respect of other religious to do the same as well. If I’m invited on a civic level to pray or to do things that would in some way be religious or quasi religious, I try to be respectful that I’m speaking to a diverse audience.
We’re moving from an exclusive mindset to one of toleration. And I think that even toleration isn’t a higher ideal. To tolerate means that we’re just going to stand it because we have to to live together. My hope would be that we could make a movement to work together. I do mean that in a very comprehensive way. I believe that our church has a responsibility to work with not only other Christian groups, but also with Jews, Muslims, and even with no-believers. Recognizing that our faith is guiding us to make a transformative difference in the fabric of this culture, then any one desiring the same deserves our working with them. So it’s not toleration but engaging together for these common goals. I love the image in John 4 where Jesus in the middle of the day is at Jacob’s Well, and a Samaritan woman is there to draw water and he engages her in conversation in a very non condemnation standpoint. Even though she was ethnically on a different line and also practicing a faith that would have been considered in some ways compromised or in other ways corrupted of that day, he engaged in a conversation where she was. This is a model that informs me, as a Christian, about my relationship with others.
Muslim
Ahmad Nadeem Gill, the president of the Islamic Society of Augusta, shared his thoughts on this subject:
There are a lot of similarities within religions. No religion will tell you to steal, or do wrong things, or hit each other; every religion will tell you similar things. Sometimes people will, for their own benefit or own limited knowledge, extract certain things from beliefs which produce the different religions. But very simply, every religion tells that there is one God, you are responsible for your own deeds good or bad, and every religion tells you that there will be a heaven and a hell. Otherwise, if there is no day of judgment, no one would be checking on our deeds. There would be no boundaries. So you see there are many similarities within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
In western society obviously there are good things and there are not so exciting things. My family and I are invested in this society. I am here and my kids were born here. We are ready to accept the person who is just like our own or act in a similar way, but we are always suspicious for someone who behaves a bit different, looks different. It is the nature of our society. But what we need to do is familiarize ourselves with each other. Once we familiarize ourselves with each other then we will know more about each other’s customs and why we worship the way that we do. I personally believe that as a God so mighty, He did not create just one path to live. I believe He intended for us to have separate religions. Our faces are different, our culture is different, our backgrounds are different, and so we have different tribes amongst our similarities. Think about it, if we all had the same face and had the same attitude every morning, then we would be machines. We are different so we can find each other and find comfort.
We need to learn about other religious and respect them. If I am traveling to a destination, I can go one of many ways, but they all end in the same point. I could say one way is better, but what is the point, they all end in the same place. So we need to learn about each other, and we need to have a tolerance. Unfortunately in this society, we focus more on negative things. And it has a lot to do with the media. Negativity is more interesting to viewers, so the media feeds that to the viewers. When I see something negative, it is my responsibility to inquire about it instead of making an opinion. It’s like the media and the war on terror. My daughter goes to school, and she wears a head scarf. Kids will jokingly ask, “Are you from the terrorist group?” And it is due to the media showing these things again and again. They use the religion to make their own point or to make their own agenda. That doesn’t mean that the whole religion is wrong. So we need to look for the commonalities; we all worship the same thing and we all believe in good, no cheating no lying, helping the elderly and the poor. What are the differences that we can’t just accept one another? Religion is meant to bring people together, but we make it into what we want and that causes it to push others away. If we can look at the similarities instead of the differences then we can find unity.
After meeting with Ahmad, he invited me to stay for lunch. The meal consisted of foods that were customary of his religion. As I enjoyed the hospitality of the people there, I met another man who was interested in sharing his thoughts on World Religion Day. His name was Sardar Yousufzai. He was the professor of the chemistry department for a local college. Here are his thoughts: In chemistry, I always teach one word to the students; neutrality. The sun is coming; the heat is coming to nourish you, to warm you, it gives you oxidation, visibility, etc. You have to be around it. In the same way, there are others around you. I am Muslim, and I am responsible for my own religion, but at the same time I want to understand what other peoples are doing, and mainly what is similar. I’m not looking to adopt their belief, that’s not my concern. It’s good to know why other people do good and what their faith is. It is communication that is important. I don’t know your beliefs you don’t know my beliefs, but we are communicating. And after communicating, we will discover something about each other.
Communication comes first, then understanding other’s religions. When you’re figuring out the human being you have to understand other human beings. Look for things that are common. Our goal, as Muslims, is to provide peace and harmony to society where we are, whether it be in U.S.A. or any country. And when your religion is not dominant you must look for common ground. So, the two things that are important are communication and understanding.
There seems to be an underlying message that appears in each conversation. That message is communication and understanding. It is good for us to learn why other religions do what they do. It is important for us as individuals; after all we are only one person with one perspective in life. It is also good for humanity in general. If we can learn to be more open with people of other beliefs, we will be contributing to the harmony that our world so desperately needs.
