Youth Interfaith Conference Raises Interesting Questions
Over three weeks in July, the World Council of Churches sponsored the interfaith “Ecumenical Institute” in Bossey, Switzerland, outside of Geneva, to bring together Christian, Muslim, and Jewish youth from around the world to discuss how the three major religions could move forward and increase positive relations. 22 young people from four continents came together to “share their thoughts, meals and prejudices with each other”, and to break down barriers which may have existed in their home countries.
The conference’s goal was to build an interfaith community, and featured “a moment of prayer and spirituality, prepared alternately by the Christian, the Jewish and the Muslim participants” at the beginning of each day. The dialogue led to varied reactions from the participants, including one Jordanian Muslimah, whose viewpoint seemingly changed as a result of the dialogue:
“I have realized I have much more in common with a Christian from Palestine than [with] a Muslim from the West” – , said Razan Abd el Haque, a Muslim from Jordan, when asked what she would take back home from the seminar. “The differences are mainly cultural, not religious.“
Additional interviews are available through the conference’s press release.
Do you agree? Is Ms. Abd al-Haque accurate — that differences between the “major world religions” really aren’t religious differences at all? Our cultures affect us in many ways — and of course, our cultures affect the way that we practice our religions and the way we interact with one another. I can’t say that “I have more in common with an American Muslim than I do with a French Jew” — for me, I don’t identify as strongly with “American” culture as much as I do with faith. Perhaps this is not the case in the rest of the world — and perhaps some people identify more culturally than religiously.
It is always interesting to see what comes out when we sit across the table from those who are different. Conferences such as these do make the world a better place — all through simple conversation and prayer.
Join the Conversation
I think Religion and culture are very much related. Culture can affect the way people interpret their religion and religion can provide a basis for cultural norms and a way of experiencing popular culture. Its hard to tell how they are intertwined. How separate are the they? I think that if one is more devout, he or she will differ from others more along the lines of faith while if he or she is more secular, culture will be the differentiating factor. Basically, I agree with your way of viewing that statement.
Also, it could be that the Jordanian Muslim and The Palestinian Christian get along well because their religions and cultures are similar (though obviously not the same) while the Jordanian Muslim and the American one do not have as much in common because they are only similar in religion. In that case, they Jordanian and the Palestinian have more shared personal characteristics. In addition, the difference in culture could also affect how they each practice Islam – further separating the American Muslim and the Jordanian Muslim.
Interesting topic.
There is you, and there is me. There are aspects of our lives which draw us closer to one another, and aspects which draw us farther apart. To the extent that we compartmentalize oursevles, we will draw closer to those of similar categories. And to the extent that we keep who we are more open to interpretation, then to that extent, we would be more likely to experiment with our relationships, and get to know others whom we would otherwise shut out.
I realize that religion and culture are thought of as heavy duty, almost sacrosant categories, compartments that we comfortably fit ourselves into. But isn’t it more accurate to say that we are all human, and like it or not, we are forced to either share the same earth, or kill one another to defend our little piece of it?
The hope for mankind lies in breaking down some of the neat little walls we’ve erected around ourselves, and to get to know people of a different persuasion. If we dare to do that, we may find that we share much more in common, than divides us. With such an epiphany may come the inclination to cooperate with one another in bringing order to this fragile and often chaotic world.
The fact that we were born into a certain religion, and that we come to believe in this or that, or that we participate in certain cultural practices, do not make us who we are. Our connection to one another, and our willingness to bring meaning into our lives, are far more descriptive of who we are, and far more predictive of who we can become if we so choose.
Hmm…There are more than 3 religions last time I checked…Not very interfaith.
True, Zoroastrians and others were left out. But the point still stands — do you think our differences are more cultural or more religious?
Yezidis, Baha’is, and many other minority religions who continue to be discriminated against and whose members are abused are much more important to include in interfaith conferences than these three main faiths. In fact only including these largest 3 religions justifies a lot of the abuse that minorities have to face, especially in countries like Egypt and Iran where the governments do not officially recognize any religion other than these three.
I also think that interfaith conferences from now on should represent the large and growing number of agnostic, non-religious, or atheist youth who are isolated and shunned simply for their choice not to follow any specific religion – I believe they deserve space in these “interfaith” platforms. They are part of our societies and we would need how to coexist with them too.
I think our differences are also political, neither cultural nor religious. Culturally I believe Jews, Yezidis, Baha’is, Muslims and more are very similar, it’s politics, war, discrimination and historical grudges that keeps us apart. I never saw cultural and religious differences as a barrier to coexist with any religions, I’ve only seen religious elites and leaders pretend to support their politics through religious texts, but in my opinion it’s always been politics.
Just wondering, are we talking about interpersonal relationships here or relationships between groups of people? I think Esra’a may be referring to the latter whereas the situation described in the post is more of the former. On that note, I agree with Esra’a on the way things work globally. But when it comes down to an individual level, the influence of politics is not as strong. People have an easier time developing friendships when they have shared values (like-minded people). In that case, religious and cultural differences are crucial, as they both affect a person’s moral compass. The force that dominates in importance is the one from which a given individual gets most of his or her values. This is not to say that political differences will not be a factor in individual human relationships, it just depends on how any random person treats politics – to what extent they make it a factor in their lives.
Keep in mind, people with different priorities and values cans still be friends or get along well, they just may have a harder time building and maintaining that relationship.
I agree. In my experience, most of the people I met care more about their religious and political ideologies than the value of any person and relationship. I personally have lost many childhood friends simply because of the way I think, and I met many who have also gone through this.
But the complicated thing is that this is not just amongst religions, but also from within the religion itself (I have a harder time getting along with Muslims who have a radical interpretation of Islam than a moderate Christian or Yezidi for example.) In this manner I am closer to those not within my faith.
These superficial people exist in America too. However, do they judge others in this manner because they are ignorant or hurt or because they are actually malicious individuals?
I have had a similar experience. Though I do not follow a specific set of religious traditions, I tend to behave more conservatively, and as a result, I often get along better with more religious individuals who do likewise. I am closer, sometimes, to people whose spiritual beliefs differ from mine.
Also, about Yezidis (off topic), are they considered to be a type of shia muslim or are they something else entirely? I have heard people say that they practice a form of Shia Islam that contains many shamanistic traditions. I have also heard people say that they have their own, unrelated religion.