A Jew, a Mormon and an atheist walk into a room. What happens next?
If that room is in Medbury Hall, then the three are treated to an intelligent and respectful conversation. The talks are part of the Drake Interfaith Dialogues (DID) meant to address the similarities and differences of religions. DID is seeing what it means to coexist and put it to practice.
The new student organization started last year as part of a Wednesday night series at St. Kate’s Catholic student center. Kyle Lechtenberg, the director of worship in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, started the program.
“The interfaith dialogues are especially imp o r t a n t , ” Le ch t e n b e r g said. “In the college environment, it can be the first time people talk with others from all faiths.”
Me e t i n g s are open to all students’ religious ideologies. Most participating students are monotheistic, but approximately 20 different faiths are represented, including Judaism, Mormonism, Jainism, Ba’haism, Islam and Christianity. A big challenge for the group is ensuring that students who consider themselves agnostic or atheist are given a voice.
JAMIE SCHENKER, ELIZABETH FEINSTEIN, SAMARA SILVERMAN, COLIN FAUX AND JEREMY SCAVO are speakers in the Drake Interfaith Dialogues. Photo: Tiffany Krause
“(Our goal is) to civilly discuss diverse religious topics,” said Colin Faux, copresident of DID and a Mormon.
From the beginning, the discussion participants recognized the importance of being respectful. Lechtenberg structured the meetings formally, starting with introductions that included names and religious affiliations. Students wishing to share followed a method that allowed them to express their own viewpoint. Each opinion started with, “In my perspective as a Roman Catholic,” or “In my perspective as someone who is Jewish…”
“The initial fears were that one person or one group will try and apostatize, or convert, the rest of the group,” Lechtenberg said.
Jamie Schenker, copresident of DID and a Jew, thinks it’s important to spread the right ideas about religion.
“We want to hear about religious faith from individuals of those faiths, not rumors,” Schenker said.
Lechtenberg was pleasantly surprised with the level of interest of the program in its first year, and it quickly became a successful Wednesday night program.
As attendance grew, some concerns about the location of the meeting were brought up.
“We started moving the meetings on campus because we didn’t want students to feel a push towards Catholicism,” Schenker said.
The move also helped connect the group’s goals with the university’s.
“DID is seeking to help Drake fulfill its mission to build global citizens, by involving students in this active part of world culture,” Faux said. “The ramifications of religion is a global reality,” Faux said.
DID is now in its second year and is in transition into becoming an on-campus student organization. Brad Crowell, professor of religious studies is slated to be the faculty advisor.
Lechtenberg is excited to see collaboration with students and professors.
“It’s the only place on campus where students are not expected to belong to a certain religion,” Crowell said.
The group meets once a month to discuss a chosen topic. November’s topic was “The Laws and Writings of Our Faiths.” It was both a show -and-tell where members could bring in religious texts and discuss what makes texts sacred.
“One thing that I learned about the sacred texts are that missionary religions, like Mormonism and Islam, pass out copies of their sacred texts frequently, as a way to get people to join the religion,” Schenker said. “I hadn’t realized that part of proselytizing was passing out sacred texts to anyone, mainly because this is definitely not Jewish custom. I find it useful to compare other religious traditions to my own traditions in order to better understand my own faith.”
Along with stimulating discussion, the group tries to visit different places of worship. The monthly field trips transport students to different faith realms, like a Muslim Masjid—a mosque, a Mormon church and a synagogue.
In April, the group plans on inviting the rest of the university to an interfaith panel discussion. The question and answer session would share topics discussed over the year.
Benefits of interfaith discussions have also translated into the community. In his work with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Lechtenberg utilized his experience to schedule an event for the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Iowa. The event included an interfaith discussion between 11 different religious leaders and people of Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths worshiping together.
“Coexist, within the religious context, means to share the space we live in, despite our religious differences,” Faux said. “A very important concept to learn today, because we are now a global community where religious differences stare us in the face.”
Within the walls of Medbury 116, there is religious dialogue that will result in tolerance, not conflict. DID proves that it is possible to learn from one another to gain new insight to coexist.
