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+ OUT LOUD: FAITH Presented by the Housatonic Community College Diversity Awareness Committee November 12, 2014 11am – 12:30pm Beacon Hall Events Center + Guest Panel Imam Nasif Muhammad Al-Aziz Islamic Center, Bridgeport, CT The Rev. Cass L. Shaw President and CEO Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport Virginia Smith Congregation President, Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Bridgeport Rabbi Daniel Victor Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Bridgeport, CT + Welcome! + Question: Can many belief traditions peacefully and respectfully coexists? + Question: Do faith communities have an obligation to peaceably exist together? + And… What about the secular community? What obligation, if any, do they and the faith community have to each other? + On college campuses… In Can Religion and Spirituality Find a Place in Higher Education, Religious Studies scholar Peter Laurence asks, “How can we acknowledge the importance of religion in the lives of students without establishing a particular religious point of view as normative? + And… “How can we create campus cultures that validate and support the religious elements in the lives of students from a wide variety of traditions? + Finally, “What is spirituality, and how does it relate to religion? Is spirituality also affected by secularization?” + According to Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion, Harvard, University, A commitment to “pluralism” may be the answer. What is pluralism? She explains, “First, pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity. + “Second, pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking understanding across lines of difference. + Third, pluralism is not [making all points of view equal or valid] but the meeting of commitments. + [Pluralism] does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind … It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another. + “Fourth, pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences. + “Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table -- with one’s commitments.” + In brief, To create a respectful and rewarding interfaith community, including secularists, we must: Acknowledge our diversity. Interact across the lines that usually divide us. Talk to one another. Seek understanding. How much do we know about each other? Take the Pew Center’s Religious Literacy Survey. + + Ready? + Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt? Job Elijah Moses Abraham + Answer: Moses What was Mother Teresa’s religion? Catholic Jewish + Buddhist Mormon Hindu Answer: + Catholic + In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures? Islam Hinduism Taoism + Answer: Hinduism + What was Joseph Smith’s religion? Catholic Jewish Buddhist Mormon Hindu + Answer: Mormon + According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not? + Answer: Yes, it is permitted. + What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves? Buddhist Hindu Muslim Christian + Answer: Muslim What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation? Martin + Luther Thomas Aquinas John Wesley + Answer: Martin Luther + Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion? The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Answer: The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus + Christ. When does the Jewish Sabbath begin? + Friday Saturday Sunday + Answer: Sabbath begins on Friday + Do not commit adultery Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do not steal. Keep the Sabbath holy. + Answer: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. + Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering? Islam Buddhism Islam Hinduism + Answer: Nirvana is a concept in Buddhism + Bahá’í In mid-nineteenth century Iran, “Twelver” Shi’ite Muslims recognized a line of leaders called Imams: successors within the family lineage of Muhammad who became the spiritual guides and authoritative leaders of the Muslim community. They expect the twelfth Imam—Muhammad al-Mahdi, who disappeared in the ninth century—to return to establish a rule of truth and justice in the last days. Source: Pluralism.org + Shintō The “way of the kami,” is a tradition indigenous to Japan. Some may translate the term kami into English as “god,” “deity,” or “spirit,” but kami eludes an easy translation. The kami are everywhere and myriad. They are known by both presence and power, the sense of “divine presence” that rests upon or dwells in a particular place, the “holy power manifest in nature or abiding in a shrine. In the shrine, the kami are not depicted in image form but symbolized most commonly by a mirror. + Christianity The common source of its denomination is the life, teachings, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Source: Pluralism.org + Buddhism Seeks understanding of the suffering of living beings and Buddha’s teachings about overcoming suffering through moral living, meditation , and insight into reality. Source: Pluralism.org + Native Traditions Today’s Native peoples link themselves to a long, rich heritage on this land through ceremonies performed and stories recounted, through herbal healing and sacred foods, and through particular sacred places, such as Eagle Butte in South Dakota or the ceremonial kiva buildings on the plazas of New Mexico’s Pueblo villages. Source: Pluralism.org Humanism Humanists seek goodness and wisdom without a God. + Source: Pluralism.org + Judaism Simply put, Judaism is the way of life of the Jewish people. In the English-speaking Western world, “Judaism” is often considered a “religion," but there are no equivalent words for “Judaism” or for “religion” in Hebrew; however, there are words for “faith,” “law,” or “custom." The Jewish tradition is much broader than this. As a way of life, it includes the social, cultural, and religious history of a widespread and diverse community, including people who do and do not think of themselves as “religious.” Judaism is perhaps best conceptualized as a triad with three points of reference: God, Torah, and the people Israel (that is, the Jewish people). None is central; all are interdependent, with varying degrees of emphasis at various times. Source: Pluralism.org Paganism Worship of deities associated with human, animal, and plant fertility around the world. + Source: Pluralism.org + Hindu The people who today call themselves “Hindus” have many forms of practice, both in India and around the world. On the whole, none considers the other heretic. There are commonalities: The universe is permeated with the Divine, a reality often described as Brahman; the Divine can be known in many names and forms; this reality is deeply and fully present within the human soul's journey to full self-realization which is not accomplished in a single lifetime., but takes many lifetimes; and the soul’s course through life after life is shaped by one’s deeds. Source: Pluralism.org + Islam The call of Islam begins and ends with prayer, shaped by the conviction that God is one and has sent messengers to guide humanity on an authentic and purposeful journey. Contained in this call is the shahadah, the “witness” to the two fundamental convictions upon which Muslims stand: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” Source: Pluralism.org + Afro-Caribbean This group includes Cuban “Santería,” Haitian Vodou, Jamaican Revivalism, and Rastafarianism. The presence of these Afro-Caribbean traditions in the U.S. has contributed to new forms of African-influenced religious life among African-Americans. Source: Pluralism.org Universalists Universalists believe that God is too good to damn people, while the Unitarians believe that people are too good to be damned.” Gradually, both traditions have broadened to include postChristian theists and, beginning in the twentieth century, “humanists” who avoid all ideas of the divine or of the supernatural. + SOURCE: PLURALISM.ORG