Interfaith leaders have the ability to lead a group of people who view religion differently.
A person's religion is a big aspect of their life. The function of religion in a person’s life is to provide purpose and meaning. Because people will have different ways they view and use religion, it is seen as diverse. When it comes to the intersectionality of these diverse groups individuals must use pluralism to respect differences. Pluralism is the the best way to respond to religious diversity because individuals are able to maintain their own convictions while learning and respecting others. The main goal of becoming an interfaith leader or just interacting with others of difference is to recognize diversity as a fact and to work towards pluralism. Now that we have recognized that religion is diverse let’s talk about the different aspects of religion through Kessler’s “Studying Religion”.
The first thing Kessler talks about is sacred powers. Sacred powers are extraordinary, invisible and inaudible. He talks of the difference between polytheism, or believing in multiple gods, and monotheism, believing in one God. Another point Kessler makes is how many religions believing in the idea of animism which is spirit and souls inhabiting people and objects. According to Kessler a myth is “ a particular type of story, a story some people regard as sacred”(60). There are many different types of myths, nine in total according to Kessler, and they all have types of functions because they do something for people either explicitly/obviously or hidden/implicit. The story of Moses serves a numinous religious function because it tries “ to elicit and reinforce a sense of awe and finitude with respect to the divine”(70), the best example of something that has a numinous religious function would be the ten commandments. The other functions myths have can be social, psychological, expressive or ideological. Kessler then talks about religion which he uses in regards to people's sacred actions. Examples of rituals can start at an early age like going to church, learning to pray and celebrating holidays “Most people learn their religion by doing it, and as long as they do it, they remain committed to it” (83).
When people perform their rituals they are entering into a sacred space. This is when profane time becomes sacred.There are three functions of sacred space, one is to provide spatial and temporal openings to superhuman power. The second function is to establish spatial and temporal boundaries and the third is to orient people in time and space. According to Kessler, religious experience is “any kind of experience, from vision and voices to intense feelings of love and devotion, that the person having the experience believes to be religiously significant”(128).
I believe myths are a perfect way for different religions to illustrate examples of their most important components. Telling myths to other religious groups would be the best way to share knowledge between them. Observing sacred experiences, which includes the space and time used for it, helps to understand other religious groups ways of experiencing these extraordinary (sacred) events. . I believe that I was able to connect to these different aspects of religion on a spiritual humanistic level. Because I don’t regularly practice things that people see as religious I am still able to relate my experiences to more sacred things in life.
Kessler talks about the relationship between religion and morality because religion is often seen as an answer to the question of how we should live. Religion can identify and legitimate moral norms. Religion also motivates people to follow moral norms, renew their moral commitments and criticizes moral norms in the name of higher morality. Confucianism is a religion that is seen more as a moral philosophy. Confucian ideas include acting kindly towards other (Ren), not doing what you do not want done to you (Shu and Zhong), and acting appropriately (Li). Kessler states that Confucianism is “designed to develop the right kind of person” (195).When it comes to figuring out if things are morally good are not, is the natural law theory. “Are things natural ?”, if the answer is yes then it is morally good and if it is not then it is morally wrong. Retribution answers the question of why people should be moral and means that good people shall be rewarded and the bad people be punished.
I wouldn’t consider myself a religious person but I can relate to confucianism because it is a moral philosophy. I base my decisions off of what is right or wrong depending on what is beneficial to to other people. A time where I was faced with a moral decision is one time i was standing in line at a food cart in the mall and i realized the lady in front of me had dropped a twenty dollar bill. I realized my options were to either pick it up and keep it or pick it up and let the woman know she had dropped it. Using the natural law theory, my final decision was to pick it up and let the woman know she had dropped it. I then received retribution because the lady let me keep the money for being morally good.
In order for a group to function well they must meet five challenges successfully: recruitment and reproduction, socialization, satisfactory levels of goods and services, preservation of order and preservation of a sense of purpose. I believe that organization is an important element when it comes to the functioning of any type of group. I think the most important challenge out of the five is the preserving a sense of purpose because it is important to remember why you are doing what you are doing, reflecting the benefits of your actions.
A question/problem is usually followed by a solution. Many times I wonder where I will end up after death. Being born to christian parents that later became separated and also being a homosexual really caused me to turn away from religion. I see religion as American philosopher William James described is, that there is a situation that you are in and then you call upon God to come help fix the situation. This would be me having a religion of salvation opposed to a religion of sanctification which seek reward or forgiveness after the fact.
In order for religions to tolerate each other there must first be an effort to understand. Putting forth the effort to understand includes active listening, which means listening with the intent to ask more questions and learn more, opposed to listening to respond with our own opinions. The next step towards religious tolerance is to inform. Knowledge that people share across diverse religious groups can create empathetic feelings which can fuel the connection needed to achieve pluralism. Religious groups use this information they share as appreciative knowledge. Active listening paired with appreciative knowledge are the two key components to becoming a great interfaith leader and can be very beneficial. Being a good interfaith leader builds up a strong social network, knowledge base and sets you up for success in your career.
The sentence I chose to summarize Kessler’s chapter on religious differences is“ We do not have to agree in order to learn”(Kessler 316). I felt it was perfect because it is because of our differences that we are able to learn more perspectives and methods of thinking. I conclude with the last thing my track coach told me during our Barton day of service interview. “We will always have people of different faiths, walks of life, understandings and the best thing that I can do to kind of fulfill my walk of faith is to make sure everyone understands that it's okay to be who they are”.