How Interfaith Leaders Can Disrupt Interfaith (for the Better)

Things are shaking up, not only in America’s current sociocultural climate, but also in the world of interfaith.

And the regular methods of interfaith dialogue or diplomacy as a solution just isn’t cutting it.

As originally stated in this Huffington Post article, it is evident that, as the landscape of today’s America continues to shift, interfaith leaders have to generate an equally disruptive response to today’s turbulent society. Gone are the days where interfaith application was limited to gestures or sharing food, blessings, and other tokens of culture.

In this urgent time in American society, interfaith leaders need to reengage with the issues, causes, and trials of society and disrupt the landscape by moving past interfaith dialogue towards interfaith action.

Here are a few ways interfaith leaders can disrupt today’s interfaith work (for the better).

Orient your approaches towards pluralism.

Interfaith action needs to become inclusive of other schools of thought and belief, including the beliefs of those who are non-theists, secular humanists, or indigenous traditions, as mentioned in the article.

Draw from thought leaders and their posture on society.

Leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged societal structures while committing to build a more equal and just society. Draw from their postures and apply said postures to your interfaith work.

Public civility must be recognized and worked towards.

As said by Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Silence is a large factor in contributing to existing oppressive systems, and interfaith leaders must actively work to uphold public civility.

There are 3 more methods absolutely crucial for interfaith leaders to employ in order to disrupt today’s interfaith landscape from dialogue towards action. You can read the rest of those methods and the full article below.

Read the full article here.

Photo credit: © Ene | Dreamstime.com – Flower in desert