Connections Quarterly Winter 2018 - World Religions | Page 30

CR EAT IN G JUSTICE TO GE TH ER
Continued from page 27
where people could “Believe or disbelieve
as ye list—we shall at all times respect every
honest conviction. But be one with us where
there is nothing to divide—in action. Diversity
in the creed, unanimity in the deed!” In more
modern words: it’s okay to believe different
things about God, the universe, death, or any-
thing else. But let’s find a way to take action, to
do justice, together.
“...it’s okay to believe
different things about
God, the universe,
death, or anything else.
But let’s find a way to
take action, to do
justice, together.”
It’s funny sometimes to work in interfaith set-
tings when the premise of the movement I
serve is, in some core way, essentially inter-
faith itself. My congregants identify as human-
ist, atheist, agnostic, theist, Christian, Jewish,
Buddhist—they run the whole gamut. Of
course they also share some core values, most
of which would be called progressive or radi-
cal, and all of which center on the insistence
of the inherent worth of every person and the
idea that we are all connected. They choose
to be part of a community where they know
they won’t necessarily believe the same things
as the person next to them, but they want to
focus on the actions they can take together.
Page 28 Winter 2018

On one hand, this means that my tradition
can be a particularly good partner in inter-
faith settings, or even a model for how to “do”
interfaith work. In fact, my experience has
been that just as social justice is the connector
within our tradition, it can also be a powerful
connector outside our tradition and between
different movements and belief systems.
Young children are often taught about the
Golden Rule, and the idea that it is articulated,
with slightly different wording, in almost ev-
ery world religion. Although that can lead to
somewhat simplistic thinking (“all world reli-
gions are the same!”) that ignores important
differences of orientation and practice, there’s
also some beautiful truth in it.
For several years, I’ve taught a class at the con-
gregation I serve called “The Humanistic Im-
pulse in World Religions.” It’s a bit of a world
religions survey, and a bit of trying to help my
congregants—who are often either refugees
from a more traditional religious setting, or
people who were raised in a totally secular
environment—see that we’re not so different
from our better known cousins in faith. We talk
about the different histories and philosophies
of world religions, and I draw the parallels to
some of the values we hold dear. For instance,
Ethical Culturists and Unitarian Universalists
both talk about affirming the worth of every
person. That has connections to the Christian
concept of imago dei, or being created in the
image of God. And we see that connection
show up when we work on the same side
of an issue, for instance supporting LGBTQ
rights, with Christians. We may use different
language to describe our values and why we
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