Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 12:12am
Hopeful signs of religious tolerance
Column: All Paths
For me as an interfaith minister, there were two events in the past two weeks that have given me a great sense of hope and pride in America. This may shock many of you, since I am always writing about how Americans are preoccupied with and fear differences. I have said many times before that we tend to see differences first. We look past one's basic humanity and the fact that one is a member of the creator's human family and see race, religion, gender and sexual orientation first.
It troubles me that as an overwhelmingly Christian country, there is a tendency in the United Nations to devalue or not honor other faith traditions. Honoring other faith traditions is fundamental to being an interfaith minister. So I was delighted to see that on Oct. 13, when I was in New York for a spiritual retreat, that the spire of the Empire State Building was all aglow in green lights to honor Eid-al-Fitr, a three-day celebration in which Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sight to see.
This special lighting event is significant because much of our national energy is focused on the war against terrorism and the Islamic radicals involved with it. Perhaps some of us are beginning to realize that our problem is not with Islam as a religion, but with a few who misapply its teachings. It is one of the great religious traditions of the world, and all of us should honor it.
The other event was the Dalai Lama receiving the Congressional Gold Medal last week. Congressional Gold Medals require approval from at least two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and, of course, the president has to sign the legislation.
So there was a non-Christian major religious leader receiving praise as a man of compassion and deep spirituality from members of both parties in Congress and President Bush, who has met with the Dalai Lama four times. The president said, "Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away."
To see a non-Christian religious leader in the Capitol Rotunda surrounded by our president and congressional leaders is symbolically potent and sends a strong message that some of our leaders are serious about addressing intolerance and are capable of seeing the world without looking through a Christian filter. The same can be said about the spire of the Empire State Building being adorned in green lights to celebrate a major Muslim holiday
It is easy for us in America to assume that the world is all Christian, and that everyone celebrates Christian traditions and cultural expressions. Well, that is not the case. Hopefully these two events will inspire the rest of us to learn more about and honor other faith traditions. Who knows, some green lights, and a lama in the Capitol might help America change.
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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.
It troubles me that as an overwhelmingly Christian country, there is a tendency in the United Nations to devalue or not honor other faith traditions. Honoring other faith traditions is fundamental to being an interfaith minister. So I was delighted to see that on Oct. 13, when I was in New York for a spiritual retreat, that the spire of the Empire State Building was all aglow in green lights to honor Eid-al-Fitr, a three-day celebration in which Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan. It was a beautiful and heartwarming sight to see.
This special lighting event is significant because much of our national energy is focused on the war against terrorism and the Islamic radicals involved with it. Perhaps some of us are beginning to realize that our problem is not with Islam as a religion, but with a few who misapply its teachings. It is one of the great religious traditions of the world, and all of us should honor it.
The other event was the Dalai Lama receiving the Congressional Gold Medal last week. Congressional Gold Medals require approval from at least two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and, of course, the president has to sign the legislation.
So there was a non-Christian major religious leader receiving praise as a man of compassion and deep spirituality from members of both parties in Congress and President Bush, who has met with the Dalai Lama four times. The president said, "Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away."
To see a non-Christian religious leader in the Capitol Rotunda surrounded by our president and congressional leaders is symbolically potent and sends a strong message that some of our leaders are serious about addressing intolerance and are capable of seeing the world without looking through a Christian filter. The same can be said about the spire of the Empire State Building being adorned in green lights to celebrate a major Muslim holiday
It is easy for us in America to assume that the world is all Christian, and that everyone celebrates Christian traditions and cultural expressions. Well, that is not the case. Hopefully these two events will inspire the rest of us to learn more about and honor other faith traditions. Who knows, some green lights, and a lama in the Capitol might help America change.
— — —
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.