Braver Angels, an organization focused on depolarization in the U.S. political context, and Rumi Forum, dedicated to interfaith dialogue, came together for a Braver Angels "America's Public Forum" event about the role of faith in bridging divides entitled "Interfaith Bridges, Intra-faith Divides, and Polarization." It was a fascinating event and only the beginning of the conversation that needs to happen on this topic. Luke Nathan Phillips of the Braver Angels DC Alliance moderated the event, with Ibrahim Anli of the Rumi Forum and Rev. Rich Tafel of Church of the Holy City as panelists. Pretty much everything they said I found important so I have recorded it to share with you all here.
Rumi was a jurist, a man of law as well as a man
of spirituality. His first work on reconciliation between these two was through
intra-faith efforts within Islam. Some
attendees expressed interest in learning more about the history of Islam during
Rumi’s time to understand the dynamics and value of this intra-faith dialogue.
Rev. Rich Tafel who is on the board of the
National Council of Churches (NCC) shared that NCC has held Christian-Muslim
dialogue and Christian-Jewish dialogue but was not open to a dialogue with
evangelicals. However, when he asked the head of the equivalent of the NCC for
evangelicals, they were open to dialogue.
We need to engage in the intra-faith and
interfaith dialogue to learn what is keeping people away from organized
religion, because people need something to believe in in order to make meaning
of the world, and in some instances the alternative is “conspirituality,” or
people developing their own and following others’ conspiracy theories, which
can be quite dangerous.
In the past, Christian denominations split over the
issue of slavery. In today’s day and age, churches are beginning to split over
the issue of LGBT issues.
Politics, economics and culture influence on
another. Politics however is downstream
from culture. This means that culture influences politics.
Protestant habits are part of the dominant
culture in the US.
Seeing the “contractual” (which is important in
politics) does not ensure seeing the “relational.” This is why we need civic engagement, especially
interfaith dialogue, to be an autonomous actor in order to build and secure
relational power. We have a loneliness
crisis which leads to authoritarianism. Just having a community of faith is a bulwark
against loneliness and depression.
Christianity is countercultural in a culture
focused on what is measurable and profitable. A focus on being peacemakers, on
spirituality, and enchantment, brings an important dimension.
We are living in a time of theological
deprivation. People are dissatisfied with the way faith is conveyed, organized,
and manifested.
Within Muslim society, this is causing people to
abandon the faith in Muslim-minority countries and to veer towards extremism in
Muslim-majority countries.
Within Islam, as life changes, how the Muslim
law is comprehended is supposed to change as well.
Braver Angels has a community of atheists and
people who are not closely affiliated with particular faith traditions.
Nursi, a 20th century Muslim
theologian, observed sentiments of both superiority and inferiority against the
secular west; however he said no, we will look eye to eye and engage
meaningfully as believers, in the most inclusive sense of the term “believers.”
There is a lack of overall performance from the
faith community to help humanity frame material and technological advancements
over the past few decades. Whereas in past centuries, technological
advancements were accompanied by intellectual and philosophical performance.
Faith is an invaluable source of wisdom. Without adequate engagement, human
dignity is at stake.
Rev. Rich comes from the Swedenborgian church,
founded by a scientist who had a mystical experience. He sees science as a way
of understanding God’s world. The
problem is that when science became a belief system, a religion, it became
crushed into a one-dimensional world where spirit and faith became lost. From a faith/spiritual perspective, however,
we are all connected.
10 years ago, Rev. Rich was asked by people in
AI what a person can do that machines can’t. Understand the good, the beautiful
and true, and the meaning of life, he said. What about the transcendent? We surely can’t understand everything God,
the great spirit and Creator of the universe, can. Sadly, the theological arguments haven’t kept
up enough with the technology of the modern age. But perhaps the breakdown of
community and society will force us to realize there is more.
During the enlightenment, an emphasis on the
spiritual was taken over by an emphasis on machines and what is
transactional. This leads to depression,
sadness, and nihilism. People are
rejecting the way they see religion in the world.
There was a question about orthodoxy (focused on
doctrine) vs. orthopraxy (focused on practice). Literalism is a national security problem.
Within Islam, Muslims have countered legalistic trends through Sufism. Teachings are connected through the Qur’an,
but it is also spiritual. It has helped to counter extreme forms of
heterodoxy. Scholarship, economy, and
military being under one power leads to tyranny (“gunpowder empires”). This can be countered with the power of
spirituality. Spirituality and legal studies
have informed each other and prevented extremes.
Jesus’ opponents were also religious
fundamentalists.
Literalism in Christianity can be challenged by
pointing out when an extremist takes one passage literally but not another
which may actually contradict the first. Extremists often interpret passages
for their own ends.
Orthodox views can be helpful to certain people
depending on where they are in life. For example, a man who was dangerously addicted
to drugs, drinking and other vices who found power in the black and white
teachings of a faith tradition changed his life and probably even saved his own
life. People come to faith in different ways and at different levels and
therefore the avenue through orthodoxy should be respected.
A literal interpretation could mean many
different things, and is not necessarily going to be top/down or aggressive. It
is also about how a person interprets faith teachings for the place they are at
in their life. It is important to bring
compassion into the situation.
A question was asked about Fiddler on the Roof
and how people can be moved to acceptance of interfaith relationships. It is important to anchor yourself to where
you are and then explore the stories of others in a spirit of learning. Devotion
and openness do not contradict one another, they are a fake dichotomy. Some guidelines:
o
Ask people directly when you have a curiosity,
rather than asking other people about them.
o
Don’t compare your best with their worst. There is Christianity and there is Christendom.
We all have moments where we shine and moments where we fail.
o
Hold space for “holy envy” in your heart.
Reconverting to your own faith by interacting with the other. Ibrahim shared how he was reconverted to
Islam through deep conversations with devout Southern Baptist evangelicals when
he was in Israel.
o Have humility – be open to seeing the parts of your life that need to change. Having the person who will tell you the truth about yourself is the greatest spiritual gift. Often there is a common value of love for kids across religious traditions.
Borders define but don’t divide.
There was better interaction in medieval times within the scholarly sense. There was more mingling. Interestingly, each branch of science was in its own language and was therefore siloed. Muslims translated them all into Arabic which ushered in a new era of understanding and cross-cultural exchange.
In the Swedenborgian church, all faith paths are considered good. A good person is in Christ consciousness regardless of whether they believe in God.
It’s important to have cultural translation and travel between different worldviews, to genuinely seek to understand where people are coming from in their perspective.
We have too many “conflict entrepreneurs” who pay on divisions. We need more peacemakers.
G.K. Chesterton said “America is a nation with the soul of a church.” If this is true, it is a fractious church. The great American spiritual and political leaders have used a mix of spiritual and political language to make people feel they are all part of the same thing.
There was interfaith activism after 9/11 but people had to be careful. This work started with highlighting similarities rather than differences. This may have been seen as diluting faith.
People who have power are less interested in interfaith dialogue, whereas people without power are more interested in interfaith dialogue. What would it be like if people who were involved in interfaith dialogue had the power?
“People of faith” actually is a rather exclusive term. There are not enough bridges being made to people who don’t claim to be of any faith.
Rumi Forum is modeled off of an Abrahamic group in Turkey.
The idea of “tolerance” is outdated and insufficient.
We need more “spiritual entrepreneurs” who practice both faith and action.
The biggest barrier to church work is the church. Issues such as the pedophile scandal in the Catholic Church have pushed people away for decades.
People often come to terms with conversations about faith around times of significant life events such as funerals and baptisms.
Ibrahim describes himself as a persecuted dissident because he has seen religion be used for political ends in his home country. Settling in America, he believes in the American ideal and sees the urgency of ensuring that we succeed as a country of religious pluralism and democracy rather than being overcome by division and polarization.
We finished with an iftar meal - the breaking of the day-long fast which happens every day during Ramadan. What better way to have interfaith dialogue than through enjoying a meal together that holds such significance to those who are fasting to make more space for God.
