The Faith of Interfaith

The Call to be Loving

There are two related questions I’d like to explore in this first full Substack post. The first question is, “What do we mean when we speak of Interfaith as a faith?” The second and very much related question is, “Why suggest that the primary call of Interfaith is a call to be loving?”

First, we want to remember that interfaith dialogue and Interfaith as a faith are different. Different does not mean better or worse. Let’s recognize that our culture is much too often unable to contrast two thoughts without trying to establish a hierarchy: which one is “better”. That’s not what we’ll be doing here. Let’s be counter-cultural.

Interfaith dialogue is hugely important and valuable. If we’re unwilling to speak to each other, there’s no way to communicate. So, our decision to talk about Interfaith as a faith is NOT in any way to disparage or lessen the enormous value of interfaith dialogue. One of the places I’d love for us to arrive at as a culture, as the human family, is realizing that different does not have to mean better or worse. It can just mean … different.

Without value judgement then, we acknowledge that Interfaith as a faith and interfaith dialogue are different. That said, what do we mean when we speak of Interfaith as a faith?

There’s a wonderfully relevant Japanese folk saying. “There are many roads to the top of Mt. Fuji.”

Interfaith, as a faith, acknowledges that as humans we have a huge spiritual mountain before us. Interfaith takes as an article of faith that there is no one “right” way to approach God, or nature, or whatever it is that we hold as holy – that there is, therefore, no one “right” path to the top of our sacred mountain. At the mountaintop dwells the love and community that has called to us for centuries. Interfaith as a faith, has faith in the belief that all of our spiritual paths can lead us to that mountaintop. Interfaith sees our traditions, then, as pathways.

This said, we need to remember that a path to a crucial spring will only lead us to water if we actually walk it.

Our spiritual traditions, like differing spiritual languages, developed in different times and different eras. Thus, they have differing vocabularies. That said, they all seek the mountaintop, the summit of all our traditions, where the sacred dwells – where the universal call to be loving awaits our arrival. Universal? Really?

I am particularly fond of this quote from the Qur’an (translated, as my knowledge of Arabic is nonexistent!). “O mankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female and made you into nations and tribes, that you might know one another.”

We are divided into nations and tribes, says the Qur’an, NOT that we might argue, scream, and war. We are divided so that we might respectfully sit down and with open ears and hearts get to know each other – actually get to know each other. What a concept! And this call to loving unity is not unique to Islam.

From Buddhism, “So what of all these titles, names, and races? They are mere worldly conventions.”

From Hinduism, “When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were their own, they have attained the highest state of spiritual union.”

From Sikhism, “Those immersed in the love of God feel love for all things.”

From the Baha’i. “O contending peoples and kindreds of the Earth! Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you.”

From Taoism, “Love the world as you love your own self, then you can truly care for all things.”

These thoughts, these preachings come from all our spiritual traditions, including, of course, Judaism and Christianity. 

From First John, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.”

 From Leviticus, “The foreigner who sojourns with you shall be unto you as the native-born, and you shall love that person as you love yourself.”

So, it’s settled. Right? Well, sort of.

When I was a child, some sixty plus years ago, I heard a joke about parenting that seemed all too accurate. It was the parent telling the child, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Tragically, this saying holds true for our spiritual traditions as well as parenting. Love, compassion, mutual understanding, and community are all preached over and over again. But time after time what we preach has been overwhelmed by divisiveness.

“Them and Us.” So much hurt, violence and death, all exploding from our willingness to divide ourselves into “Them and Us.” For me, “theming” has been one of the most destructive forces in human history.

It is important to recognize that “theming” is not confined to any one spiritual tradition. It is a trap that has ensnared virtually every tradition at one time or another. Today, theming is practiced worldwide. So many preach love and yet practice at best intolerance, and far too often hate. This is why answering the call of Interfaith, to truly listen to one another with respectful and loving ears, is so important.

We are not asked to leave our spiritual paths behind. Rather we are called to have faith in each other, and embrace that whatever our path, what is important is that we practice what we preach. We are called to let love guide us in our lives. We are called, all of us are called, to be loving. May we not simply echo the call, but, whatever our spiritual tradition, may we answer it. Each on our own path, let us reach the mountaintop.

*** Please note that most of the above quotes from our various spiritual traditions are taken from two wonderful and insightful books: “One Heart” – published by Marlowe & Company (now part of Da Capo Press), and “World Scripture” – published by Paragon House. I strongly recommend them both.