LOUD FAITH Presented by the Housatonic Community College Diversity Awareness Committee November 12 2014 11am 1230pm Beacon Hall Events Center Guest Panel Imam Nasif Muhammad AlAziz Islamic Center Bridgeport CT ID: 579282
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Slide1
OUT LOUD: FAITH
Presented by the Housatonic Community College
Diversity Awareness Committee
November 12, 2014
11am – 12:30pm
Beacon Hall Events CenterSlide2
Guest PanelImam Nasif Muhammad Al-Aziz Islamic Center, Bridgeport, CT The Rev. Cass L. ShawPresident and CEO Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport Virginia Smith Congregation President, Unitarian Universalist
Church of Greater Bridgeport
Rabbi Daniel Victor
Congregation
Rodeph Sholom, Bridgeport, CTSlide3
Welcome!Slide4
Question: Can many belief traditionspeacefully and respectfully coexists? Slide5
Question: Do faith communities have an obligation to peaceably exist together? Slide6
And… What about the secular community? What obligation, if any, do they and the faith community have to each other?Slide7
On college campuses… In Can Religion and Spirituality Find a Place in Higher Education, Religious Studies scholar Peter Laurence asks, “How can we acknowledge the importance of religion in the lives of students without establishing a particular religious point of view as normative? Slide8
And… “How can we create campus cultures that validate and support the religious elements in the lives of students from a wide variety of traditions? Slide9
Finally, “What is spirituality, and how does it relate to religion? Is spirituality also affected by secularization?” Slide10
According to Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion, Harvard, University, A commitment to “pluralism” may be the answer. What is pluralism? She explains, “First, pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity.Slide11
“Second, pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking understanding across lines of difference. Slide12
Third, pluralism is not [making all points of view equal or valid] but the meeting of commitments. Slide13
[Pluralism] does not require us to leave our identities and our commitments behind … It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another.Slide14
“Fourth, pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism. Dialogue means both speaking and listening, and that process reveals both common understandings and real differences. Slide15
“Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table -- with one’s commitments.” Slide16
In brief, To create a respectful and rewarding interfaith community, including secularists, we must: Acknowledge our diversity. Interact across the lines that usually divide us. Talk to one another. Seek understanding. Slide17
How much do we know
about each other?
Take the Pew Center’s
Religious Literacy Survey.Slide18
Ready? Slide19
Job Elijah Moses AbrahamWhich Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt? Slide20
Answer: MosesSlide21
What was Mother Teresa’s religion? Catholic Jewish Buddhist Mormon HinduSlide22
Answer: CatholicSlide23
In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures? Islam Hinduism TaoismSlide24
Answer: Hinduism Slide25
What was Joseph Smith’s religion? Catholic Jewish Buddhist Mormon HinduSlide26
Answer: MormonSlide27
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not?Slide28
Answer: Yes, it is permitted. Slide29
What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves? Buddhist Hindu Muslim ChristianSlide30
Answer: Muslim Slide31
What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation? Martin Luther Thomas Aquinas John Wesley Slide32
Answer: Martin LutherSlide33
Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion? The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Slide34
Answer: The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Slide35
When does the Jewish Sabbath begin? Friday Saturday SundaySlide36
Answer: Sabbath begins on FridaySlide37
Do not commit adulteryDo unto others as you would have them do unto you.Do not steal.Keep the Sabbath holy.Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments? Slide38
Answer: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.Slide39
Which of these religions aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering? IslamBuddhismIslamHinduismSlide40
Answer: Nirvana is a concept in BuddhismSlide41
Bahá’í In mid-nineteenth century Iran, “Twelver” Shi’ite Muslims recognized a line of leaders called Imams: successors within the family lineage of Muhammad who became the spiritual guides and authoritative leaders of the Muslim community. They expect the twelfth Imam—Muhammad al-Mahdi, who disappeared in the ninth century—to return to establish a rule of truth and justice in the last days. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide42
Shintō The “way of the kami,” is a tradition indigenous to Japan. Some may translate the term kami into English as “god,” “deity,” or “spirit,” but kami eludes an easy translation. The kami are everywhere and myriad. They are known by both presence and power, the sense of “divine presence” that rests upon or dwells in a particular place, the “holy power manifest in nature or abiding in a shrine. In the shrine, the
kami
are
not
depicted
in
image
form
but
symbolized
most
commonly
by a mirror
.
Source: Pluralism.org
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ChristianityThe common source of its denomination is the life, teachings, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide44
BuddhismSeeks understanding of the suffering of living beings and Buddha’s teachings about overcoming suffering through moral living, meditation , and insight into reality. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide45
Native Traditions Today’s Native peoples link themselves to a long, rich heritage on this land through ceremonies performed and stories recounted, through herbal healing and sacred foods, and through particular sacred places, such as Eagle Butte in South Dakota or the ceremonial kiva buildings on the plazas of New Mexico’s Pueblo villages.Source: Pluralism.orgSlide46
Humanists seek goodness and wisdom without a God.Source: Pluralism.org
HumanismSlide47
Judaism Simply put, Judaism is the way of life of the Jewish people. In the English-speaking Western world, “Judaism” is often considered a “religion," but there are no equivalent words for “Judaism” or for “religion” in Hebrew; however, there are words for “faith,” “law,” or “custom." The Jewish tradition is much broader than this. As a way of life, it includes the social, cultural, and religious history of a widespread and diverse community, including people who do and do not think of themselves as “religious.” Judaism is perhaps best conceptualized as a triad with three points of reference: God, Torah, and the people Israel (that is, the Jewish people). None is central; all are interdependent, with varying degrees of emphasis at various times. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide48
PaganismWorship of deities associated with human, animal, and plant fertility around the world. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide49
HinduThe people who today call themselves “Hindus” have many forms of practice, both in India and around the world. On the whole, none considers the other heretic. There are commonalities: The universe is permeated with the Divine, a reality often described as Brahman; the Divine can be known in many names and forms; this reality is deeply and fully present within the human soul's journey to full self-realization which is not accomplished in a single lifetime., but takes many lifetimes; and the soul’s course through life after life is shaped by one’s deeds. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide50
Islam The call of Islam begins and ends with prayer, shaped by the conviction that God is one and has sent messengers to guide humanity on an authentic and purposeful journey. Contained in this call is the shahadah, the “witness” to the two fundamental convictions upon which Muslims stand: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” Source: Pluralism.orgSlide51
Afro-Caribbean This group includes Cuban “Santería,” Haitian Vodou, Jamaican Revivalism, and Rastafarianism. The presence of these Afro-Caribbean traditions in the U.S. has contributed to new forms of African-influenced religious life among African-Americans. Source: Pluralism.orgSlide52
Universalists believe that God is too good to damn people, while the Unitarians believe that people are too good to be damned.” Gradually, both traditions have broadened to include post-Christian theists and, beginning in the twentieth century, “humanists” who avoid all ideas of the divine or of the supernatural.Source: Pluralism.orgUniversalists