Religion is frequently blamed as a cause of violent conflict, yet dialogue between faith communities, and faith-based approaches to peacemaking, have been shown to be invaluable in promoting understanding and reconciliation. With the rise in radicalization and extremism in the post 9/11 environment, interfaith dialogue is a form of peacemaking that is increasingly recognized for its relevance to 21st century conflict, in areas where there is armed hostility, and also among ethnic communities worldwide that are impacted by those hostilities miles away.
I am pleased that over the last thirty years, I have been part of several dialogue programs, including the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims, the Women’s Intercultural Network and an Arab/Jewish dialogue group. It is clear that the key to the success of any dialogue program is the development of trust amongst the participants, the development of ongoing relationships, and the ability of the participants to develop communication skills conducive to conflict resolution.
It has long been known by psychologists that direct contact reduces intergroup prejudices. Recent studies have even shown that just imagining a positive interaction with a member of another group can also reduce prejudice. Another key factor that reduces prejudice and enhances understanding is empathy, or the ability to “put oneself in the other’s shoes.” The North American Native expression “never judge a person until you have walked a mile in his moccasins” is similar to the Hebrew sage Hillel’s admonition “separate not from thy community… and judge not another person until you have been in his place.” Regretfully, many dialogue programs fail because most of the time people end up talking past each other, continue to be defensive, and fail to try to see things from others’ points of view. People too often recognize human rights violations against their own group, and understand when they (or their people) are the victims; but they fail to recognize when they (or their people) are the perpetrators of human rights abuses against the “other”, because they may be in a position of power and privilege on another dimension (e.g. gender, race, religion, sexual orientation). Relations within our own faith groups are often so complex and challenging that many people have great difficulty in such discussions with members of their own group; so they also have difficulty in seeing how people of different faiths or ethnicities can come to love and respect those whom they see as being on “the other side”. However, when dialogue sessions are properly facilitated, and participants have had prior preparation and practice with empathetic communication, the use of “I messages”, and active or “compassionate” listening, they become less ‘ethnocentric’. When they can come to understand one another’s feelings of hurt and pain, never again will they think it is only ‘perception’ that there is racism, antisemitism…or any other of the ‘isms’ or ‘phobias’. In dialogue, it is important to listen to what others are saying and feeling, and try to understand it.
In Canada, Dr. Victor Goldbloom, a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the Province of Quebec, has been involved in inter-faith dialogue for almost 60 years. He urged the Christian/Jewish Dialogue (that was begun in the 1950’s) to become more inclusive, particularly including Muslims, since members of the three Abrahamic faiths continue to struggle with the rise of hatred and extremism in the Middle East. As he put it in his recent autobiography, Building Bridges: each religion says ‘Ours is a religion of peace.’ Each religion says ‘Those who invoke our religion to explain and justify violent extremism are perverting it.’ And each community says ‘Our community should not be stigmatized and stereotyped because of a minority of extremists.’ But as sincere as these statements may be, the implication is that we are not responsible for our co-religionists. Although we are not directly responsible, it is the teaching of hatred that fuels the extremism that is destabilizing the world. We can all take responsibility for teaching differently and for redressing the imbalances that exist in the teaching of hatred. Interfaith and intercultural dialogue is a good place to start, and the earlier we start the better.
Increasingly, international governments have witnessed the need to understand religious sensitivities as a way to maintain international relations and cooperation with different states, and there have been several international conferences in recent years that have strengthened this point. The importance of youth engagement in interfaith dialogue cannot be overstated – neither can the importance of turning words into action.
A specifically worthy example is the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA) that strives to use the power of religion as a force for peace and compassion instead of conflict. They believe that if religion is part of the problem, it must – and can – be part of the solution. Over the past 12 years, they have brought together people from different faiths and cultures to build lifetime bonds through sharing their cultures, beliefs, and traditions, and by creating a “safe space” for friendly disagreement. Reaching out to a wide spectrum of each population, they are building a broad-based, popular movement for peace, by bringing people together and breaking down the barriers of hatred toward the ‘other’. They believe that without this grassroots component, political efforts cannot succeed, and that religion, which so often is misused to divide and inflame, can also serve as a potent unifying force that helps to tear down walls of ignorance and fear.
There are many organizations that use interfaith dialogue to strive to provide strong foundations for a greater understanding of different religions in an effort to promote peace. They need the support of liberal and progressive people everywhere, to maintain momentum with continuous calls for peaceful coexistence, and to counter the tendency of some faith communities to use and abuse religion to justify violence. Interfaith dialogue serves to highlight a key role religion can play in global affairs by promoting shared values as a means to achieve peace. It is important also to take an egalitarian approach, ensuring that women, youth and other minority voices are heard within and between groups.
As my Australian colleague Jeremy Jones puts it, interfaith dialogue and cooperation is prompted by common interests, common concerns and common passions – but above all by common sense. Religion is an essential component in the identities of so much of humanity. But when so formulated, it is a source of antagonism and conflict. If we want a world founded on harmony, mutual coexistence and justice, true religious leaders will be in the forefront of framing the public discourse in a way promoting positive ideals, not divisive ideologies.
The success of several interfaith dialogue programs in hostile environments gives credence to the idea that religion, which is so often used to divide and inflame, can also serve as a unifying force to help tear down walls of ignorance and fear. It takes courage to participate in interfaith dialogue in times of conflict; but we must continue to dialogue with compassion, empathy and hope — even at the most difficult times – putting words into action, because it is through meeting and knowing the ‘other’ that the conflict will finally end.
Dr. Karen Mock is an educational psychologist and teacher educator. She is the former Executive Director of the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada, and of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, a federal Crown Corporation. Dr. Mock was a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the last federal election. She is currently a Director of the Ottawa-based Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy.
