‘Speed-faithing’ shows diversity of campus religious traditions

As the story goes, a new convert once asked the rabbi to teach him all of Judaism “on one foot” — in other words, for the time the man could stand on one foot. “Do not do unto others that which you would hate to have done unto you,” Hazony quoted the rabbi as saying. “The rest is commentary; go and learn.”

Hazony and 13 other students tried to explain their religious beliefs “on one foot” to about 50 students who gathered in Murray-Dodge Hall for “Speed-Faithing” on Monday afternoon. The students delivered presentations as brief as two minutes long on nine different religious traditions, ranging from Sikhism to secular humanism. The event, hosted by the Religious Life Council as part of Religion Week, lasted roughly 90 minutes and offered students a chance to learn about others’ religions in an informal setting.

Speakers described relatively less familiar religions like Zoroastrianism and Mormonism, along with more widely practiced faiths like Christianity and Judaism. Buddhism, Christianity and Islam featured multiple speakers: one to give a general introduction to the religion and others to explain different beliefs within that general tradition.

Presenters said trying to describe their religious beliefs so quickly was a worthwhile experience, even though they couldn’t give a thorough account in such a short time.

“Obviously, the impact is limited,” said Shehzad Ukani ’12, who described “devotional” forms of Islam, such as Shiite and Sufi practices. “What I feel is most important is being able to give a historical, philosophical, ideological context.”

Mike Wang ’10, who attended the event, thought the speakers effectively explained their religions, even given the short time period allocated to them.

“I thought most of the speakers were really good about getting down to basics,” he said.

Melekot Abate ’11, who presented on Orthodox Christianity, said hearing people describe Christianity in simple, unfamiliar terms rather than the ones he would normally use gave him some insight into his own beliefs.

“When you sort of strip away the halo we attach to our Lord, that’s what it sounds like to a non-Christian,” he said.

Students who attended the event said that though they had already been familiar with the religions presented, the event enriched their understanding of other faiths.

Wang said he hadn’t known as much about the differences within religions.

A secular humanist, Wang said he was interested to hear how his outlook, which “doesn’t espouse a particular story of the world’s creation,” would be described.

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He said he was pleased with how secular humanism was presented “as an approach rather than an answer.”

Students said they were impressed and surprised by the variety of religions practiced at the University, as well as the audience’s enthusiastic response to the presentations.

“I was definitely surprised by the diversity,” Ukani said, adding that he “was able to agree with something that each person was able to offer.”

“It was really surprising, I think, to see how interested people were in other religions than their own,” said Miriam Rosenbaum ’12, one of the event’s co-organizers.