InterFaith Works of Central New York

Affirm Dignity

What's in a Name? Why InterFaith Works?

“There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the religions of the world.”
-Hans Kung, Catholic Theologian

I have a new business card. This is my opportunity to tell you what is new about it, and why and about the journey that got it to the printers. In the second part of my remarks I will present some of the larger context of the interfaith movement both nationally and internationally to help situate InterFaith Works of CNY.

Part 1. What’s New

The new name of our agency is InterFaith Works of CNY. It replaces the name “the InterReligious Council of Central New York, the name which the agency used for the last fifteen of its 30 year history. It was founded in 1976 under the name Syracuse Area Inter-religious Council. Thus, the announced topic for today is “what’s in a name?” InterFaith Works. InterFaith Works!

What the agency is and has done over the years is not basically changing, but it will be significantly intensifying. We do expect the agency to expand its work in behalf of faith communities and the larger community. The deliberative process in which the Board of Directors and the senior staff members participated called upon a larger context, viz., the interfaith movement both nationally and internationally, so the two parts of this presentation are interdependent and interactive.

We reached a decision to change the name as part of a strategic directions process in which the Board of Directors and senior staff members have been participating for over a year and a half, and that work is continuing. The first issue with which we dealt was to revise the agency’s mission statement. We came to a new one after extensive conversation. It is:

The InterReligious Council , through education, service and dialogue, affirms the dignity of each person and every faith community and seeks to create relationships and understanding among us.

The change of name eventually emerged from that mission. Subsequently, ‘InterFaith Works’ was unanimously adopted at our Annual Assembly on January 24, 2007, and inserted into the mission statement. And we adopted a new conversation starter: Affirm Dignity, which is imprinted on the button I am wearing. Later in my remarks I will refer to a larger on-going conversation in the world regarding human dignity.

Here are some of the reasons that led to our renaming the agency. I will be mentioning inclusivity, demographics and diversity, dynamism and hope. First, the term “faith” is a more inclusive term than “religion” and we think it better conveys the desire of InterFaith Works to be as inclusive as possible. That may not be obvious to everyone. Let me offer a few comments by way of explanation. It starts with people having a mysterious experience of someone or something outside their ordinary experience of the natural world or human relations-- something transcendent. When humans acknowledge the power of such an experience and say yes to that someone/something outside them, mysterious as it necessarily is, a word for what they are doing when that response occurs is faith. Then over centuries and in various social and cultural settings, certain ideas take root and develop in diverse ways in efforts to characterize mysterious transcendent reality. Many different names have been given to it—Yahweh, Brahman, the Tao, God, Allah, the Ground of Being, the Great Spirit, Mother Earth, et al., are but some examples. In efforts to maintain contact with the mystery called by such names and to respect and honor the teachers who perpetuate and explicate the implications of those names, people develop rituals, ethics, sacred writings, formal leadership patterns and patterns of community that they continue, generation after generation, sometimes ever more rigidly. This is how humans create religion in many different forms and expressions.

Forgetting that situation in which the primordial experience arises is mysterious, inexhaustible and beyond definition, some humans disagree, argue and fight over their varied ideas and practices, sometimes insisting that their religion and theirs alone is universal and exclusively true. Although faith may give rise to and be incorporated into some or another religion, it is neither necessarily so, nor inevitable. Thus, some people understand themselves to be persons of faith, but not religious. People can honestly say that no religious community or tradition sufficiently resonates with their faith for them to become affiliated with any of them. But, even so. their faith may be deeply important to them. We seek their participation in InterFaith Works as well as the most devout participant in every religious community.

We invite everyone to affirm with us the dignity of each and each person and every faith community! We are involved in profound issues that engage our minds and our hearts so that when we act we will do so based on deep reflection and passionate conviction. That is why we seek both the experience and wisdom of the elders among us and the enthusiasm, energy and insights from young people in our communities in our desire to be as inclusive as we can be. We intend to be an inclusive community of conscience.

Second, the demographic diversity of faith communities in Onondaga County has changed. It is dramatically different from what it was thirty years ago. Within the distance of short drives anyone who wants can find

a visible and active Native American nation with its deep spiritual foundations,
an Islamic Society,
at least two Buddhist communities,
two Hindu communities,
Sikhs,
Baha’is,
a Neo-Pagan covenant,
as well as varieties of Judaism—orthodox, conservative, reform and reconstructionist, and
many different expressions of Christianity including several Orthodox congregations, independents, mega-churches, main-line denominations, different evangelical communities,
Unitarian-Universalist,
Christian Scientists,
Mormons, and
many others unaffiliated with InterFaith Works.

Under its new name InterFaith Works will continue to be and do what it has done over the years, and will intensify and expand its efforts to serve and engage the faith communities and the larger community. Mentioning these demographic data is a constant reminder that we need to acknowledge the change that has occurred since 1976 when only Jews and Christians founded this agency. InterFaith Works is open to people from all of them and eager for them to participate in and contribute to deepening interfaith relationships and understanding.

Third, the term “works” in InterFaith Works is dynamic and underscores the active nature of this agency. Faith without action is limited. Through educational outreach, service to selected people, many of whom are marginalized in our society, and dialogue—both interfaith and inter-racial—InterFaith Works is constantly in action. We act out of our commitment to raise consciousness in and among the community’s diverse faith communities of the reality, dignity, and the value of each person in our community and of every faith community. InterFaith Works is not a passive observer of the parade of faith perspectives by which we are surrounded! Rather, it seeks as many of them as it can find ways to attract to work with us. We invite all of them to participate in opportunities to meet people from other faith orientations and engage them in various ways--explicitly educational undertakings, including our dialogues, and through the service ministries that InterFaith Works provides the community.

Finally, with the record of thirty years of accomplishments in education, service, and dialogue, InterFaith Works boldly insists that “interfaith works!” This agency has a record of demonstrated value to the larger community and it is committed to continuing and expanding its role and its contributions. Our new name underscores the dynamic actions that it fosters in the community. Jews, Roman Catholics, Protestants from many denominations, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is and others already participate in InterFaith Work’s Cabinet of Faith Leaders. They make significant contributions to the cause of deepening interfaith understanding, collaboration and cooperation.

But, InterFaith Works is determined not to rest on the laurels of its past accomplishments. Rather, in renaming the agency it is challenging itself to deepen and expand its contributions to each other as people of faith, and no less to the larger civic community whose leaders all too often pay little attention to, sometimes even ignore, faith communities in making decisions that affect us all. InterFaith Works is committed to be an even more active participant in and contributor to such decision making circles. As all this happens, it will be further evident that “Interfaith works!” In short this agency regards its new name as a challenge to itself more extensively and deeply to actualize its name by ever widening inclusiveness and drawing more and more people into the orbit of deepened understanding and relationships.

Part 2. The Context of the Name

New agencies come into being quite frequently and some disappear from time to time. Others change their name, often without the reasons being very clear. So why is our case different? Answer: the world historical context within which we find ourselves today is different and in many ways unprecedented and we are moving in the spirit of some of those changing circumstances.

First, in the not very distant past, serious thinkers and cultural analysts often declared that religion was passé and that a secular world view would soon completely displace it. However, as Father Richard John Neuhaus succinctly put it in an essay published in the Boston Globe on Christmas Eve 2006: “Contrary to the older theories predicting the unstoppable course of secularization, the world is becoming more religious and more religiously assertive.” (“Faith and Reason,” Dec. 24, 2006) Western Europe may be the major exception to this judgment. But it is entirely accurate regarding the United States, the nations of the southern hemisphere and many other parts of the world.

The reality to which that statement points presents its own set of problems. Religious communities and traditions often are sites of profound insularity, exclusivism and intolerance. Far from affirming the dignity of each person and every faith community, some spokespeople for one or another religion vigorously insist that the truths they propound and the ethics they promulgate, and those alone, are True with a capital “T.” Not only do such people insist that if you are not for the view of reality to which they are committed, you must necessarily be against it. And therefore you must be resisted and by the lights they have, you are going to suffer eternity in hell because you do not submit to the truth they believe they possess. Such people tend to be extremely literalistic in their understanding of their own faith orientations.

In response to the diversity of faith communities in our midst, instead of trying to convert them, yet others advocate tolerance as the necessary value to be embraced against the kind of literalistic perspective I have just mentioned. Anybody who is merely observant can learn the facts of demographic diversity and tolerate what they learn. But that is just not good enough! One can be tolerant of the existence of other faith communities and yet know nothing about them. In short one can be tolerant and completely ignorant about the meaning embraced in other faith communities. That allows people to retain stereotypes and prejudices about people who have different faiths. Tolerance is a kind of lowest common denominator, minimally necessary for there to be any hope for even the most basic kind of civil order and society. Intolerance is unjust and tolerance is just not enough!

Valuing and embracing diversity, however, requires engagement with and openness to learning about and from people who are different. That is work that requires far more than merely tolerating them. Beyond that and much more hopeful is for us all to Affirm Dignity! If there are to be exemplary instances in the world of robust civil societies, it seems essential that among their many values there must be a mutual and deep affirmation of respect for, acceptance of, and valuing of people who hold diverse faith perspectives and orientations. Affirming dignity demands no less. Hans Kung, quoted at the outset of these remarks, put it very forcefully when he wrote:

A human person is infinitely precious and must be unconditionally protected. That means that every human being - without distinction of sex, age, race, skin color, language, religion, political view, or national or social origin - possesses an inalienable and untouchable dignity.

These ideals are affirmed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America; also in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights in which these words are boldly proclaimed in the preamble: “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” Among the thirty articles that comprise the body of that document, there appears:

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

In both documents ideals are expressed that all too often are far from the practices of many nation states. Further, alas, they are ideals all too often rejected by some representatives of some traditional religious communities. At the root of some of the most oppressive condemnatory dogmatic pronouncements—regardless of the religious community from which they come—is, as I remarked a few moments ago, literalism. In my view it is not too much to characterize many purveyors of such literalistic interpretations as demagogues. They are masters of “impassioned appeals to the prejudices and emotions of the populace,” which is the definition of demagoguery. And some teachers and leaders in many different religious traditions have been in the past and others are today exceptionally powerful practitioners of such rhetorical skills. They indoctrinate rather than educate. Few forces in the world contribute more to the widespread different kinds of polarizations that surround us than such zealous ideologues. Their influence must be challenged with equal determination.

In wonderful contrast to such demagogues, every culture has produced highly influential teachers and leaders who are truly educators. Their provide insights and depth of understanding in ways that invite those who learn from them to challenge and test those very insights and understandings through critical questioning, further reflection and imaginative interrogation. Think of Socrates, Lao Tsu, Confucius, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Mohammed. They value and promote genuine education. Regarding education, rarely does one hear reference to Article 26 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The first statement in the first clause of that Article boldly declares:

Everyone has the right to education.

The second clause expands that declaration in this way:

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups.

I assure you that in reaching InterFaith Works’ new mission statement, in which we declare that education, service and dialogue are the means and methods through which we work, there was never a single explicit reference to this Universal Declaration. Rather, I think, there is a growing, albeit still relatively small, number of people who agree that war, conflict, and enmity, particularly as motivated by religious leaders who promote hate and devalue others, have to be challenged and education is one of the necessary ways in which to do that. Some have come to their views in this emerging consensus through political analyses. Others have gotten there through reflection regarding the role of faith in human lives. It is quite remarkable and very hope inspiring to see such convergences happening from various sources around the world.

There is something abroad in the world often referred to as the interfaith movement. It is characterized by a profound conviction that people from diverse faith orientations who are willing to engage each other in serious, sustained explorations of their different understandings of the world, can reduce conflict and discover possibilities of rapprochement. They can and do learn about each other and then begin to learn from each other. And very often they begin to recognize and affirm the dignity of each other. There will be peace among the faith communities of the world when and only if participants in these sometimes very different faith orientations commit to the difficult work of face to face conversations with each other and share in service. They must minimally respect the depth and authenticity of each other’s faiths. And when that happens, often they discover the humanity of the other person; from that appreciation for, understanding of each other may emerge. Respect, appreciation and acceptance of each other follow. Several months ago Elizabeth Wiggins and Danya Wellmon spoke to TMR and told this audience about a new organization they founded called Women Transcending Boundaries. That extraordinary group, that is constantly expanding, demonstrates in many different ways what is possible in genuine interfaith engagement. Relationships grow among them in ways that transcend the real and continuing differences between and among them. In this way, what Rabbi Jonathan Sachs has called “the dignity of difference” can be affirmed by all the parties involved in such engagements.

In a world beset by wars and rumors of war, by conflicts within and among adherents of various religions, it is tempting to conclude that there has not ever been and will never be peace in this world. For the vision of InterFaith Works and the worldwide interfaith movement ever to succeed it is absolutely dependent on our sincere effort, our openness to encounter with people different from us in many ways, our commitment to community and cooperation, and our “willingness to believe…that dialogue might win out over the manifest forces of cynicism and despair.”

InterFaith Works of Central New York has declared in its mission statement that it affirms the dignity of each person and every faith community. Further, it indicates that education, service and dialogue are the means through which these goals are being pursued. The ends to which InterFaith Works aspires are relationships and understanding among us.

Please embrace the new name and help the larger community to recognize that in re-naming it, all that it has been and done up until now is continuing and going forward. Change, however, is a synonym for life and it is intended that this change of name will even more powerfully convey to each person and every faith community, and the larger community, that InterFaith Works is committed to being a resource and a participant in enhancing our common life, now and in the future.

Dr. Jim Wiggins
January 2007

Originally for Thursday Morning Roundtable, Syracuse, NY, 2-1-07

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InterFaith Works of Central New York - 3049 E. Genesee St. - Syracuse, NY 13224 - Tel: 315.449.3552