Finding a Way to Talk Faith

Merrit Martin is a regular opinion columnist at the Daily Texan and a sophomore involved with Austin Agape! The article below was published in the Daily Texan on Friday, May 1st and can be accessed here. In her article, Merrit discusses the value of interfaith dialogue and respectful debate:

"On Tuesday evening, I attended “Was Darwin Wrong?,” a debate sponsored by the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Outside, some people handed out pocket copies of the New Testament. Others were pushing “Stand up for Science” stickers. One person held a sign reading “What’s to Debate?”

Unfortunately, that sign summarized the night’s proceedings. I’d hoped that the debate would be an exploration of evidence for and against a scientific theory, but it turned out to be more about the validity of biblical creationism. There was relatively little scientific discussion.

Emotions were running high in both camps. One speaker mocked the creationists’ “nonsense,” while at another point someone cried out with an impassioned declaration of faith from the audience. In such a hostile and emotionally charged environment, neither side could listen to the other. The message was clear: What’s to debate?

This event has come on the heels of Jon Meacham’s April 13 Newsweek piece on “the end of Christian America.” He noted that the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans has doubled since 1990. He argued that faith is becoming less important in American politics, though not in Americans’ lives. A 2005 Gallup poll showed that 83 percent of Americans said religion is “very important” or “somewhat important” in their lives.

According to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey, about 40 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans even say that “religion is at least somewhat important in their lives,” and roughly a third report that they “just have not found the right religion yet.”

Also, the Pew Forum survey found that most people who change religious affiliations first do so before age 24, so this issue is of particular importance to college students.

Clearly, many Americans think faith is important and that it’s something worth discussing.

Interfaith dialogue has always been important where different religious traditions coexist.

It is no less essential in today’s America, where diversity of belief and unbelief flourishes and where many young people are starting to explore spirituality on college campuses.

Earnest, open communication is key to fostering the kind of society in which freedom of religion can meaningfully function. Communication is important for easing the tensions that inevitably arise between faith groups (for the sake of brevity, I will use the term “faith” to refer to both theistic and non-theistic worldviews). And it also serves an important introspective function within faith communities and within individuals’ lives. But we should remember that dialogue is conversation, requiring both speaking and listening. The most important thing we can do is to make a concerted effort to hear each other.

This is not to say that the dialogue should degenerate into a forum for some all-encompassing, generalized spirituality or moral code — though that should certainly have a place in the discussion. The purpose of these conversations shouldn’t be to dilute one’s faith, and neither should it be to condemn it.

A true interfaith dialogue should generate an attitude of genuine respect for others’ beliefs, which doesn’t entail glossing over the differences between their beliefs and one’s own. Rather, dialogue should help people understand what others value most in their lives and allow people to carefully consider what exactly they most value themselves.

So why isn’t there more real, honest discussion of faith? Part of the reason is not that people are certain their faith system is complete — or that others’ systems are patently ridiculous — but because they are afraid of facing the parts of their faith that they don’t understand, agree with or believe in.

Ambiguity is uncomfortable. Both sides of Tuesday’s “debate” certainly seemed to be uncomfortable with it. But the desire to be incontrovertibly right creates conflict where there need be none. It turns what are gray areas into black-and-white zones forcing everyone to take a side. It polarizes, kills dialogue and prevents us from really listening.

Austin is already home to many open forums on faith that open up an honest dialogue.

The University Interfaith Council, for instance, allows campus religious leaders to meet and discuss issues pertinent to their ministries. The Institute of Interfaith Dialog holds lectures and discussions with representatives from different local faith communities. Just this month it hosted one forum on the financial crisis and another on meditation.

The next step is to extend a hand to non-believers. Honest dialogue can help make American society a place where religious diversity is respected and faith exploration is possible."