If you have been reading this column, you know that I have a problem with labels. I think labels divide us and build barriers. Most of us attach labels to our beliefs and don't fully understand what they mean. For example, you have people in this country who claim to be liberal, conservative, spiritual, religious, etc., and cannot tell what any of these things mean. Yet they rigidly adhere to the beliefs that go with these labels and never question them. This is sad, because if you claim to be something, you ought to know what it means both in a historic and contemporary context.

I think we should always look beyond labels and find out what's really behind them, especially as it relates to religion. Once you look beyond labels, you will find a lot of shared beliefs, which can be celebrated. It's not about who's right and who's wrong. It's about realizing that while you have a set of beliefs and values by which you define your relationship with God, you can also allow for others to live according to their own set of beliefs, which may vary from yours, without judgment.

So in this column I want to let you know that I am going to claim a new label today. Now many who know me, and read this column regularly, know that I, the Rev. Jay Speights, am an interfaith minister. I will explain this label again for those of you who don't know what this means. Keep in mind that there are a lot of other interfaith ministers out there. So my definition only applies to me. That's the beauty of interfaith. As an interfaith minister or person, I honor all religious paths and spread the good news that there are common threads running through most religions that link all of us to the divine presence of one God.

These common threads are shared moral values and community concerns. They are fundamental beliefs about how we should live our lives and relate to all other living beings on this planet of ours. Having said all of this, I am claiming a new label today. I want you all to know that I am a fundamentalist. Yes, me the Rev. Jay Speights ... a fundamentalist. Now, I know you have heard this term before from folks like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. No, I have not lost my mind. I can proudly say that I am a fundamentalist.

You see, according to Wikipedia (not the greatest source, but everybody else willy-nilly choose various sources to affirm their beliefs), a fundamentalist is one who adheres to any set of basic ideas or principles; or, in the words of The American Heritage Dictionary: "a religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism."

Yes, that's me, the interfaith fundamentalist, who believes in non-judgment, a divine benevolent universal presence, and that each and every person has the right to live life, and that all faith traditions honor the rights of others to express their religious and cultural traditions without fear. These are the principles that I choose to rigidly adhere to. I hope you join me in adhering to my brand of fundamentalism. I won't tolerate anything else.

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Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at the United Nations at the New Seminary website or at harmoniousday.webexone.com. His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Jay Speights.