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Respect and the interfaith treadmill

by Frank Kaufmann, October 25, 201
!here are people "ho go to church and other places of "orship all their li#es, e#ery day or e#ery "eek,
practically "ithout e$ception%
!here are important "ays in "hich "hat happens at church, or in the yoga class that &'#e attended for
years, e#ery single time is (the e$act same thing%)
!his aspect of repetition should not be seen as a negati#e% People in#ol#ed in spiritual gro"th in
religious communities, recogni*e that they benefit from repetition% Repetition ser#es the communal
religious e$perience positi#ely% !here is comfort in kno"ing "hat to e$pect% +e "aste less energy
laboring to command the unfamiliar% +e can soar to greater heights seeking uncharted hori*ons in more
rarefied realms, unencumbered by an$iously and helplessly looking left and right to figure out "hen
&'m supposed to stand and "hen to sit% !o the outsider this looks like (the same old thing%) !o the
faithful practitioner it is kno"n as a supporti#e ground for deep le#els of progress%
!he fact that religion and religious e$perience can flourish in circumstances that look repetitious to the
naked eye is something of "hich interfaith acti#ists must take #ery careful note%
&nterfaith acti#ism is relati#ely ne" in our current history% ,epending on ho" one reckons, it is only
bet"een -0 and 110 years old% . legitimate criticism of interfaith acti#ity is that it seems to make
essentially no progress at all% /#en people in#ol#ed 0if they are honest, or at least reflecti#e and a"are1
"ith embarrassment note and recogni*e ho" e#ery meeting is 2ust like the last, a parade of e#er aging
and tiring platitudes, a dull drone of the same "eary ("e musts,) only "ith ne" beards and ne" hats%
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Respect and the interfaith treadmill
by Frank Kaufmann, October 25, 201
&n the mean time religious #iolence and militancy gro"s in leaps and bounds% !his seeming
(groundhog day) of passing microphones around for people to say "ith enlightened sounding
inflection and demeanor, let's get along is part of "hat renders this all important "ork 0of interfaith1
mocked or ignored% & "rote of this fact during the 2003 4elbourne Parliament "hich gathered o#er
5,000 participants on site, "ith nary a mainstream article on the meeting to be found%
!here are t"o things to note about
this #ery important reality facing
the interfaith task% !he first is a bit
of a defense, but still it carries
obligations to its leaders, and the
second is simply a strong call for
interfaith leaders to do far better%
1. One of the reasons "hy interfaith meetings actually feel good, feel progressi#e, and hopeful, and are satisfying, enriching,
and genuinely re#itali*ing, e#en though they seem like (the same old thing,) is because the interfaith acti#ists are in fact a
spiritual community% !hey are kind of a religion, and like all religions, "hat looks like non6progressi#e repetition to the
naked eye, is actually a #ersion of the #iable religious structure in "hich the secure and reliable grounds of constancy
pro#ide the basis upon "ith spiritual gro"th and progress in fact occurs% &n this aspect, the labor and obligation for the
interfaith community is to be a"are of this parallel to traditional religious e$perience and spiritual gro"th, and to be
articulate this fact to people outside the community% Failing that "e deser#e the derision and irrele#ance "ith "hich
interfaith is treated%
2. !he second matter is more serious% &nterfaith is 7O! merely a ne" religion that ser#es like a church or a yoga class,
"hereby it is 2ust fine to go there e#ery "eek 0or year, or e#ery years or "hate#er1, and smile, and be happy, and feel
good, and offer your money% &nterfaith is a #ital and necessary element in "orld affairs that should address murder, rape,
crucifi$ions, domestic #iolence, and countless other dark and demonic shado"s that flourish in the "orld of (religion%) &f
interfaith acti#ists do not establish reliable, uni#ersally testable measures of true success and progress, then the real bu**
and real edge in attention and resources "ill continue to ignore the interfaith effort, and instead de#ote its billions to tech, to
t"erking entertainers, to athletes both #irtuous and #ile, to medical scares, and to instruments of "ar%