An Effort to Foster Tolerance in Religion

[rug]

CHICAGO — For a guy who is only 35 and lives in a walk-up apartment, Eboo Patel has already racked up some impressive accomplishments.

A Rhodes scholar with a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, he has four honorary degrees. His autobiography is required freshman reading on 11 college campuses. He runs a nonprofit organization — the Interfaith Youth Core — with 31 employees and a budget of $4 million. And he was tapped by the White House as a key architect of an initiative announced in April by President Obama.

Mr. Patel got there by identifying a sticky problem in American civic life and proposing a concrete solution. The problem? Increased religious diversity is causing increasing religious conflict. And too often, religious extremists are driving events.

He figured that if Muslim radicals and extremists of other religions were recruiting young people, then those who believe in religious tolerance should also enlist the youth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/us/14patel.html

[trotsky]

1. Religions naturally cause conflict?

WHO KNEW?!?!?!

[rug]

2. Of course that's what he said.

Oh, no, he didn't. My bad.

"Increased religious diversity is causing increasing religious conflict."

[trotsky]

3. Oh so it's pizza that's responsible then.

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

[rug]

4. Why yes, that is precisely what I said.

It must be peaceful living in a world of your own making.

[trotsky]

6. "Increased religious diversity is causing increasing religious conflict."

But it's not the fault of religion. Totally get it. Talk about living in a world of your own making.

[rug]

7. That's much better.

Discussion flows more smoothly when the actual words are addressed.

[trotsky]

8. Dang.

Lost another irony meter. I gotta find a better supplier.

[Jim__]

5. It's much harder to hate someone when you are working with them to resolve a problem.

Interfaith activism could be a cause on college campuses, he argued, as much “a norm” as the environmental or women’s rights movements, as ambitious as Teach for America. The crucial ingredient was to gather students of different religions together not just to talk, he said, but to work together to feed the hungry, tutor children or build housing.

Sounds like a good plan. The real haters, of course, will never engage in this activity. But, people who do engage in it will be far less likely to pay attention to the haters.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. I suppose that finding tolerant people involved in discussion

would be the key. And that means leaving the extremists out of the conversation. And isn't that what we say about the Muslim situation---it is the extremists who are the problem. Same with Christians, but isn't it funny that the extremist Christians are the ones pointing fingers at extremist Muslims. Go figure.