Faith-based clubs are dedicating to servicing the needs of students within a certain religion, but many also put their time into multi-faith activities that include a diversity of students. Representatives from a few examples of faith clubs on campus were asked why interfaith dialogue is important to them.
Fareedah Abulqadier | Muslim Students Association
Especially on a campus as big as UofT it’s very easy for someone to find their niche and burrow in. But given the controversies of recent years and the systematic exclusion some communities experience, interfaith events and interfaith dialogue are important because they can inspire goodwill between communities. They can also be spaces to have open discussions about systematic faith-based exclusion and discrimination.
Gianni Castiglione | President, U of T Secular Alliance
I believe that any given faith is a product of its respective culture, and I also strongly believe that no single culture contains within it all the creative and deductive richness human beings as a species are capable of. Nor do I believe that all religions, sciences and discourses in the world hold, in sum, all the answers. But I do believe that human culture and diversity are both, on their own, intrinsic goods, and the merger of the two that we see in philosophy, religion, spirituality, and science are all incredibly invaluable products of human interaction and reflection. If we are in agreement, then as humans from different cultures it seems to only make sense that opening up and sharing our diverse cultural offerings to each other would be a valuable exchange.
Sonya Krause | Former Co-Chair, Faiths Act
Interfaith dialogue is important because we live in a world where we frequently interact with people of different faiths, where we encounter and are challenged by others faith practices. It is absolutely important to understand different faiths and world views in order for society to function. People can only respect different faiths once they are understood. Interfaith dialogue is also important for self-growth to help challenge media misrepresentations and personal assumptions about people and their faiths which, when we closely examine ourselves, we all have. Interfaith dialogue is also an exercise in trust and honesty (and diplomacy) because interfaith discussions can be personal and it’s important to learn how to discuss personal and sometimes controversial issues and viewpoints that you may disagree with in a way that still respects the person who is sharing and respects your standpoint as well. (I mean it’s not productive to lie and say you agree when you don’t, just disagree in a manner that is constructive). Interfaith dialogue can also be beautiful because it illuminates a world that you’ve never seen before. You suddenly understand practices, see sacred spaces and witness people connecting to something larger than themselves. And it’s a great way to make new friends. Faith Acts is an interfaith social justice group on campus.
Jacob Liao | Light House Christian Fellowship
A lot of strife in the world today stems from an inadequate understanding of the differences between civilizations (to borrow Samuel Huntington’s oft-criticized heuristic category), resulting in misconstrued fear and anger. Some see violence as the means to their particularistic goals. I’m a radical in the sense that I too subscribe to a form of particularism, but I see more hope in constructive dialogue than destructive coercion. Interfaith dialogue also allows affirmative action to be taken in tackling some of the world’s urgent problems, including poverty, modern slavery, environmental concerns and human suffering. In short and in a utilitarian sense, interfaith dialogue results in a better world!
Carina Newton | Hillel U of T board member
Interfaith dialogue is a great way to broaden the narrow mindedness of a lot of people and introduce myself and others to the workings and real-life facts about other faiths.
