Division vs. unity

By Eboo Patel

In the late 19th century, the forces of religious division in America targeted Catholics. Josiah Strong's book Our Country: Its Possible Future and Present Crisis referred to Catholics as "the alien Romanist" who swore allegiance to the pope instead of the country and rejected core American values such as freedom of the press and religious liberty. The book remained in print for decades and sold nearly 200,000 copies.


In the early 20th century, the forces of religious division in America targeted Jews. Harvard scholar Diana Eck writes, "In the 1930s and early 1940s, hate organizations grew and conspiracy theories about Jewish influence spread like wildfire." In 1939, Father Charles Coughlin's Christian Front filled Madison Square Garden with 20,000 people at a vitriolic anti-Semitic event complete with banners that read: "Stop Jewish Domination of America."


Today, the forces of religious division demonize Muslims. Tennessee's lieutenant governor, Ron Ramsey, says Islam — a faith of 1.5 billion people founded 1,400 years ago — could well be a cult and not a religion. Therefore, he continues, constitutional religious liberty guarantees might not apply to Muslims.
Mosques and Muslim community centers are being vociferously opposed from New York to Tennessee to California. A church in Florida proudly posts a roadside sign that reads, "Islam is of the Devil," and is planning an event called "International Burn a Quran Day."

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Theology school integrates studies of different faiths
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"Christians attend school with Christians, Jewish with Jewish and Muslims with Muslim," said Rev. Jerry Campbell, president of the Claremont School of Theology. "Educating people in a segregated environment is not a way to teach them to be peacemakers. It only steeps them in their own religion and with their own people."

"It is our responsibility as religious leaders to show that religion can be a powerful force for unity and love in the world, instead of it being captured by a spirit of divisiveness, based on fear of the other and ignorance of the other," said Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, president and dean of the Academy of Jewish Religion CA.

"It could be a breeding ground for conflict, but it should be a place where students can develop skills for a multifaith environment, and what better place to do it than with their education?" said Najeeba Syeed-Miller, the Muslim professor. "When they're in practice, they have a tool box ready to respond to the conflicts that come up. To me, that's at the core of why it's unique and exciting."

"God is the God of all people, and we want to get back to the notion of treating people the way you'd want to be treated," Gottlieb said. "That is the basic principle of all religions, instead of an entity that divides people and creates friction and acrimony."

I have a great desire to learn about others, and in the learning it clarifies who I am and how I'm different and how we're connected," she said. "It can only serve to make us better leaders."

I can see a future need for an education like this,"

Professors will be able to cap the number of students from other faiths in their classes.

"We could be swallowed up by a larger school," Gottlieb said. "This is an attempt to respect each other's boundaries."