Sitting in a hospital waiting room recently, I was struck
by the diversity of the people there.
Our community, like so many across the country, is an interesting mix of
people of varied ethnic backgrounds. This
is the new reality where there will be no clear majority population in the
United States. We will be a nation of
minorities! Along with this ethnic
diversity comes an interesting mix of culture, religion, and non-religion.
This mosaic of cultures challenges churches and religious
institutions to look at ministry in new ways.
We are no longer “Protestant, Catholic, Jew”—the neat categories Will
Herberg used in the fifties to describe the American religious landscape. At
that time, “interfaith marriage” was often between members of Protestant
denominations (Baptist and Methodist, for example) rather than Christian and
Muslim or Buddhist and Christian.
How will we address this challenge?
First, many seminaries are already embracing this
opportunity. The minister of the 21st
century must be equipped to relate to, work alongside, and dialogue with
leaders from a number of religious and ethnic groups. This should be a necessary part of ministry formation. Seminaries often offer or require
cross-cultural experiences so that students move out of their comfort zones and
learn about other cultures. Within the
classroom setting, seminaries may enlist instructors who are not Christians to
teach classes, offering their unique perspective to the subject matter.
Second, on the local level, clergy leaders are developing
interfaith groups where they can find ways not only to understand each other
but to interpret other faiths to their own congregants. This may result in interfaith forums and
dialogue groups open to the general public and shared worship experiences.
Third, the second response of local dialogue will
certainly result in more cooperative endeavors where faith leaders call their
congregants to work together to address community issues such as hunger,
homelessness, and justice. No matter
what one’s faith may be, we are all concerned about our brothers and sisters in
need. This commitment is part of all
faith traditions.
As Christian leaders engage in these activities, they are
not being asked to compromise their beliefs or values, but to find to new ways
to find common ground and embrace shared values. This is a good thing.
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