Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.

Anonymous

Growing up in a city like Miami, I hit the jackpot for religious diversity. I had Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostic, Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, and Atheist friends. But I realized that we were friends because of the things which brought us together—our classes, our quirks, our general misfit personalities. My community of friends never discussed those religious differences much, instead bonding over our similarities. This caused me to consider: what was the value of that diversity, if I never stopped to embrace the differences between us? 

Coming to college and exploring my interest in interfaith led me to hear many times over that religion is a diversity issue that often goes unnoticed. I could not agree more. I had seen firsthand how easy it was to gloss over those differences, those polarizing issues that we all tiptoe around because we don’t want to “burden” each other with the details of our lives. 

A person’s worldview or faith is not necessarily the most integral aspect of their identity—some people experience a religion in its more cultural sense—yet I do believe that every such ideology has some bearing on the way we think, behave, and interact with others. Fostering an understanding of not only each other’s worldviews and faiths, but also each other, with every intermingling identity, is incredibly valuable to opening those paths of communication. 

I had seen firsthand how easy it was to gloss over those differences, those polarizing issues that we all tiptoe around because we don’t want to “burden” each other with the details of our lives. 

I am Protestant Christian, and the teachings of my religion, as well as my faith in Christ, are apparent in the way that I openly share my faith with anyone who will engage with me. My denomination being evangelical, I often carry the burden of people assuming my intentions. Many assumed that interfaith work was a front for conversion, as I couldn’t possibly be interested in actually learning about people and their worldviews, especially if they were so different from my own. I was often asked, “Why do interfaith work? What’s the point if you believe in only one faith tradition?”

I always think back to a panel I attended where chaplains from different religions were each discussing faith in the context of different themes, such as love, trauma, and reason. At one point in the conversation, I remember one chaplain making the statement: “Of course, I believe that my view is right and everyone else up here is wrong.” Each chaplain shook their head in agreement. “But I want to learn about other religions to strengthen my own faith, and to create conversations.” I would add that a large motivating factor for my interfaith work and study is to understand others’ beliefs, which will in turn help me understand their way of thinking and ultimately facilitate productive conversations between us. Understanding others is not so much about gaining the ability to persuade them on arguments, nor is it used to adjust one’s tone toward others, treating them differently. Understanding is about fueling a new way of explaining ideas and relating concepts in a way people will have a greater connection. Interfaith work, in its most basic sense, aims to connect my ideas with your ideas. However, there are many that believe this is impossible and that religion functions only as isolating bubbles.      

I’ve always been interested in delving into philosophy, and when I compared the theories of stoicism, asceticism, absurdism, postmodernism, and a host of other -isms, I recognized how each philosopher had magically discovered the secret to life. Philosophy, in my mind, contained theories on the best way to live. Of course, philosophical theories distinguished themselves by providing people with a set of tools for evaluating and testing these ideologies. Yet so many philosophical thinkers bashed religion as simple blanket ideology that serves as a hurtful, thought-control experiment designed only to feed our creature-comforts. 

Having faith in yourself does not mean losing faith in everyone else.

The truth is, philosophy provides a lens for observing and critiquing social interactions. It’s usually not a singular and complete step-by-step guide on how to live one’s life. Religion, faith, and worldviews serve a similar function; they provide resources such as prayer, texts, and faith to help people make daily decisions. This is where religion, faith, and worldviews differ from ideologies. While all-encompassing (as they touch every aspect of our lives), they are not oppressive or forceful. Having faith in yourself does not mean losing faith in everyone else. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: the more we invest in learning about and aiding others, the greater our sense of self. In the interdependent world of today, our subjectivities are not merely a mesh of all of our competing identities and groups, but also of the people we rely upon for friendship, brotherhood, and family. Interfaith work is how I learn from my peers.

Yet too often do our close support groups consist of the same people from our social buckets. We only associate with people that we have things in common with. Yet this raises a problem. Growing up I associated with people of all faiths, but only held conversations on the things we had in common. While we had riveting and harmless conversations about music and interesting novels, I fear those who associate only with a group of those within their religion. Confirmation bias is a real threat. When we do not question the practices of our religion, faith, or worldview and instead engage in rote practice, only then do these become an ideology. The downfall for philosophical theories is the downfall for religion— the failure to raise questions, the failure to critically consider and engage with other philosophies, religions, and worldviews will lead to a simplistic pedagogy in place of self-discovery. 

After becoming a fellow of the Boston Interfaith Leadership Initiative at Hebrew College, I was able to interact with people of different faiths and worldviews in more intimate ways, sharing stories of times of rejoicing and of limit-reaching. This helped me to become comfortable challenging others, and to become comfortable being challenged by others. Religion, faith, and worldviews are a form of philosophy. While we accept the truth of our respective texts and teachings, interfaith work allows us to challenge specific aspects of practice that have come into being and apply our worldviews in a much more personal and individualized way. Community is important in religion, but above all is our individual faith and connection with our spirituality, or God.