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In church, synagogue, mosque, coven, sanga, or gurdwara, clergy and lay leaders know full well how to design worship, create programs, give life to religious education curricula, and organize service projects. In spite of this expertise and experience, though, figuring out what to do following interfaith introductions can be awkward. As an old-timer said, “So you’ve had a beautiful multi-faith Thanksgiving service, but then what are you meant to do?!”
      The first person with his or her hand up usually says, “Let’s find out what we all agree on, the things that make us alike.” People well-read in religious studies can offer fascinating insights into this subject, but the approach is strewn with the dangers of oversimplification and distortion. Simplistic comparisons reduce religious experience—one of the most precious particularities of human experience—to a common denominator.
      The one arena where studying religious convergence is useful and important is ethics. As noted above, the Golden Rule gives us a shared starting point. From there, comparing and contrasting what we teach about public and private ethics, about justice, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, about walking the talk, is fascinating and edifying, a huge opportunity for interfaith dialogue. Lessons for sustaining the human family peacefully start to emerge.
      Download from the Web, for instance, Towards a Global Ethic—An Initial Declaration. It is a 10-page document that 200 religious leaders signed at the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions that we will be examining in chapter 5. A cry from the heart over the violence of the world, the declaration suggests that we can rediscover the sources of peacemaking within each of our particular traditions. By itself this initial declaration provides a rich syllabus for any religious education project. It can be used within your own community but is so much more interesting when half of those in the room are from a different faith.
      A caveat: Issues weighted with political controversy and polarized opinions need to be set on the shelf while people become friends, or dialogue can degenerate into irresolvable acrimony. An example can make the distinction clear. Interfaith groups around the world are studying forgiveness from the perspective of different religions, with remarkable results. They succeed because mutual respect has been established and they stay focused on the issue—forgiveness in each of their traditions. If these conversations veer into an argument about who is right in the Israel-Palestine conflict, or the India-Pakistan conflict, a harsh debate is the best you can expect, and mutual demonizing the worst. Can we ignore these conflicts? Of course not. But milk comes before solids, and friendship—real human connection where people have learned to appreciate each other—comes before tackling problems that have confounded the best and brightest for centuries.
      Before taking on something as ambitious as the global ethic, you might want to implement a getting-to-know-you ice-breaker that creates friendship among people from different religions for no other reason than the satisfaction of doing so. The following sets of questions can be used in various contexts and formats. The most popular way to begin is one-on-one for 45 minutes to an hour, followed by people introducing each other in small groups. Initial interviews work best when the pairs don’t know each other and come from different faiths, but even old friends from the same congregation can enjoy a rich conversation with these questions.

• Thank you for introducing yourself and telling me a little about yourself. Please tell me something about your religion and how you practice it day by day.
• What is most valuable and important to you about your spiritual life and faith family? Perhaps you would share a story about a particularly meaningful religious experience.
• What does your tradition teach about how to treat strangers? Do you have hospitality traditions in your faith—stories or lore or community practices for welcoming the visitor and relating to your neighbors peacefully?
• Let’s put aside for a moment the conflicts communities experience internally and with the world. Could you tell me of a time when you witnessed a situation that moved from conflict to reconciliation and became a positive influence for peace, a bridge-builder among strangers? How did it happen and what did you learn?
• If in 100 years the human race is able to create a sustainable peace among religions and nations, what do you think it would look like? What are some of the steps that might lead us toward that vision, and what part of that vision should we start working on here and now?

The secret ingredient in this interfaith introduction recipe is keeping the questions and discussion focused on assets rather than deficits. Reflect on what works best in your communities and relationships, rather than what doesn’t work. When problems come up, they can be reframed as opportunities, challenging possibilities for doing better instead of roadblocks. The failure of dedicated international peacemakers trying for a century and a half to abolish war suggests that shifting the focus to creating cultures of peace is infinitely more practical, fruitful, and transforming. Positive little steps now, starting in our own backyards, will inspire others to become active.
      The question sets above and many more were used in creating United Religions Initiative (URI), an international interfaith network chartered in 2000 and connecting 240 (and growing) local interfaith groups in 50 countries. Taking time for the questions, encouraging every participant to be a listener and a contributor, is a wonderful introduction to the joy of grassroots interfaith community.
      The kind of interfaith relationships we’ve talked about seem modest but can be deeply satisfying. Once they begin, things may seem to return to normal, but if the relationships are nurtured, the ‘neighborhood’ gradually finds itself with new life, unexpected gifts, a renewed imagination, rich conversations, and the energy to participate in healing the world.


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FOR REFLECTION OR DISCUSSION

• Have you previously heard of or read Towards a Global Ethic—An Initial Declaration? What was your response then?
  
  
• Reading it now, what is your response to Towards a Global Ethic? Do you personally share its outcry about the violence in the world? Why or why not?
  
  
• To make the changes called for in Towards a Global Ethic, the writers of the document call for a change in “the ‘hearts’ of people.” How do you feel about making this change yourself? What kind of impact would such a change make if the majority of individuals took this first step? How would the world be different than it is today?
  
  
• Are there any other parts of Towards a Global Ethic that particularly moved you? Why?
  
  
• Try the exercise that is described on the bottom of page 7 and the top of page 8. How did you find it? Easy? Difficult? What did you learn? What moved you about the other participant’s responses? Did their sharing of their spiritual life allow you to understand anything more about your own faith?
  
  
• Were there times when the conversation strayed from discussing assets to discussing deficits? If a similar thing should happen in another discussion, what could you do differently to steer the conversation in a more positive direction?

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