Berkley Center

For the first time, I attended the International Higher Education Interfaith Leadership Forum and the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge and greatly benefitted by listening to experts and meeting people from across the world. This was also my first time sitting together and conversing with Jewish scholars and activists. Our togetherness for four days has helped me to look at issues and problems from different perspectives. In many ways, this conference and these conversations helped me to broaden my horizons on interfaith and community service—the same issues and challenges exposed to new thinking, perspectives, and actions.

In our globalized world, many share concerns about interreligious conflicts and feel the need for improved interfaith relations. The increasing presence of diverse faith communities all over the world can be seen as positive, as people are encouraged to celebrate diversity. But such multicultural diversity is also viewed as dangerous because it can question traditional certainties about faith and religious/cultural identity. In the Indian context, there are instances of peaceful coexistence of different faith communities but also of dangerous conflicts, especially attacks on minority faith communities. In a multifaith and secular context, everyone has the right to be understood and the duty to understand. Good understanding of neighbors of other faiths helps us grow in maturity. It is a journey of mutual enrichment. Peace among faith communities is the corollary to peace among people. Therefore, it is important to recognize interfaith dialogue as a fundamental aspect of Christian ministry and witness.

For the majority of Indian Christians, evangelism and conversion is the top priority while interfaith dialogue is looked at with suspicion. In a multifaith and multi-scriptural context, Christians in general and Indian Christians in particular are called to re-read scripture with new eyes and gain insights for interfaith relations, dialogue, and action.

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, where I serve as principal (academic dean) and teach religion, has had theological education and ministerial formation as part of its curriculum for a long time. Research in religions at master’s and doctoral levels is encouraged and resources are provided. Seventy-five percent of our bachelor of divinity (B.D.) graduates return to their respective churches to serve in congregations as pastors or priests.

During their four years of B.D. studies, students are exposed to different worship places as a part of their practical work. Many students have shared this experience as both liberating and challenging. With the motto of “Speaking the truth in love,” the Gurukul Programme on Interfaith Dialogue was inaugurated some years ago. Soon, efforts were made to forge good relations with individuals and groups from other faiths. We feel that such relationships are important to realize Christian witness in a multifaith context. The United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, of which Gurukul is the theological wing, has started the Ecumenical Dialogue Centre where importance is given to interfaith dialogue at the grassroots level or what is known as “living dialogue.” 

Another strength of Gurukul is its commitment to the cause of Dalits—the oppressed, marginalized, discriminated, and most exploited Indian community. The women and children are the most affected victims of atrocities against this community. During their studies, the students are exposed to the problems and struggles of this community and are challenged to address them as an important issue in their ministry.

Christian commitment to justice and peace calls for a prophetic dimension of Christian living, known as prophetic diakonia. The real service to the oppressed masses is in how we involve ourselves with restoring justice and peace in society. Transformative justice is pivotal to Christian engagement in issues of social justice.

Transformative justice deals with the past in the present. Its goal is to overcome class divides and casteism to achieve healing, reconciliation, and the re-establishment of relationships. It focuses on justice for culturally and ethically oppressed peoples irrespective of one’s faith affiliation. In such a context, we at Gurukul believe that different religious communities have a valuable role to play in the areas of nationbuilding, social transformation, and communal harmony. For such action, we need proper understanding about people from different faith communities, which should liberate us from ignorance, wrong judgment, and misrepresentation. Such understanding contributes to the health of a multifaith community.