Eric Wind, Honorable Mention
Breaking the Chains of Religious Intolerance
How a University and Students Can Advance Interreligious Understanding
It was pitch black and the stench was overbearing. The cold iron chains on the two men’s arms and legs were so tight that their skin was chafed to the point of bleeding. Their bodies ached and were weak from lack of exercise as well as improper nutrition.
The men were Father Andrew White and Father Philip Fisher (alias of Thomas Copley) of the colony of Maryland; their case being a modern echo of the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in Philippi many centuries earlier. One can hardly imagine the circumstances that these Jesuits faced in 1645 when they were taken in chains to England under the levied charge of high treason. Their treasonous act was being Catholic priests. Father White and Father Copley laid the foundation for Georgetown University, but their story is certainly not unique in world history or even today.
We live in a world fraught with interreligious misunderstanding. Even though we are living in the 21st century, wars and conflicts continue to be waged on religious grounds across the world. Many people have given up hope that there can ever be peace and understanding between the diverse religions of the world. Others feel that promoting secularism and encouraging humanity to move beyond religion is the best avenue to peace. Yet, there are many that realistically believe interreligious understanding can be achieved. One education institution in particular has taken up the banner of this effort.
Georgetown University is at the global forefront of promoting interreligious understanding. It is uniquely situated in the capital of the United States as a Catholic and Jesuit educational institution with international standing. There have been a plethora of successes here from large international conferences to great classes on the topic to promote interreligious understanding. Campus centers such as the Berkley Center for Peace, Religion, & World Affairs and the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding lead the charge under the direction of Georgetown University’s President, Dr. John J. DeGioia.
Dialogue is one of the best ways to achieve interreligious understanding. In today’s modern world many people believe that they are too busy to listen to others. Instead they rely on stereotypes, preconceived notions, and myths to drive their thinking. Clearly, this mode of thought is dangerous. When leaders think this way it often transfers to their followers, only further perpetuating the problem. A structured dialogue is often an important starting point. However, in the midst of this dialogue we must not forget the core values that animate and drive us. It is critically important to be honest about our beliefs, even if they run contrary to the beliefs of others. We are not seeking a unified world religion, but rather interreligious understanding.
Myriads of people dismiss academic institutions as being out-of-touch ivory towers where academics and students are protected from reality. This charge certainly has had some merit historically, but increasingly this is no longer case. Many students have broadened their knowledge of the world through international travel and studies as well as new mediums of information such as the internet. In addition, academics increasingly have “real-world” and “practical” experience through working in the field. Any efforts by universities to isolate themselves from the real world today fail miserably.
Throughout recent history some of the most important political movements, both in the U.S. and abroad, have been led by students and universities. Even the unjust Apartheid government of South Africa felt the pressure of students and universities encouraging divestment from that racist regime. Academic institutions should stand up for what is right. They are not meant to be apolitical. We live in a world where many governments prohibit their citizens from freely holding or exercising their religious beliefs. This is unacceptable as intolerance only breeds further intolerance.
Thus, one of the most important aspects of promoting interreligious understanding is encouraging international religious freedom. When people have friends and acquaintances of other faiths, the likelihood of violence and intolerance is certain to decrease. Universities such as Georgetown should seek to promote religious freedom. To sit back and not encourage religious liberty around the world would go against the Catholic and Jesuit values that animate Georgetown University.
Of course, there are different approaches to doing this. One approach is to boycott and bash countries whose standards are not up to our definition of par. Another option is to work with countries to encourage a smooth transition to religious freedom. This seems to be the case in Georgetown University’s partnerships with China’s Center for Religious Studies of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), which was the first agreement of its kind between a university in the United States and SARA. This unique opportunity holds great promise for Georgetown to encourage China to allow religious freedom for its 1.3 billion citizens
Ultimately, no amount of books, reports, articles, or conferences purely by themselves will lead to interreligious understanding. Rather, it will take a new generation of educated leaders to advance the cause. The rough chains that bound Father White and Father Copley exist today in many forms and in many places. Georgetown University and our students should not sit by idly. As institutions and people we should seek to break those terrible chains and facilitate honest dialogue in order to advance interreligious understanding. Father White and Father Copley would want us to do no less.