Patel covers religious pluralism in Thursday afternoon lecture

Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, discussed religious pluralism in a talk titled “Defeating Intolerance: Social Science Research and Strategies for Interfaith Cooperation” in a lecture in Guyot Hall on Thursday afternoon.

Patel referred to his talk as “a rough draft” of a strategy for religious pluralism that he began developing following a recent meeting with a philanthropist whom he had approached for funding. The philanthropist loved the project, Patel said, but refused to fund it due to the lack of “strategy.”

“In the world of interfaith cooperation, we talk a lot about vision and we talk a lot about activity, but we don’t talk enough about strategy,” Patel explained.

Before discussing potential strategies, Patel first explained the nature of “religious pluralism,” which he defined through the basic principles of “respect, relationships and common action.”

“Pluralism is an achievement,” Patel said. “Diversity is a neutral fact. It can tend toward conflict or cooperation.”

Patel elaborated on this dualism, noting that the United States has incredible religious diversity and religious devotion, a potentially “flammable” tension that could cause violence.

Still, diversity can be transformed into a positive phenomenon, Patel added, with the caveat that “you have to do something with that diversity” to create religious pluralism.

Patel then explained the methodologies in social science for measuring religious pluralism, which examine attitudes, knowledge and relationships. He noted that such methods are not absolute.

Nonetheless, Patel affirmed the importance of improved knowledge in fostering more tolerant attitudes. He cited the research of Steven Porthero and the Pew Forum, which showed that most Americans were highly uninformed about religion.

Particularly disquieting were American views about minority religions, he said. “The knowledge they have skews negative and comes largely from the media,” Patel explained.

To illustrate this observation, Patel, a Muslim himself, gave the example of a question often posed by his audience members: “What the hell is wrong with Muslims?”

He recalled how at one of his talks, he responded by asking how one would perceive Kansas City from the “five o’clock news.”

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“City full of thugs and murderers, that’s all I would know,” he said. “That is the equivalent of what you know about Islam — the first minute of the CNN or Fox News broadcast.”

Meaningful interfaith relationships can also encourage tolerance, Patel added.

To emphasize this point, Patel provided the example of Jews and Catholics in the United States, once targets of discrimination. “Barely 50 or 60 years later, these are the religious communities with the highest favorability ratings in America,” he noted, attributing this change to the fact that “people got to know Jews and Catholics.”

The cultivation of such relationships is at the forefront of the IFYC’s mission. “What would it look like for young people of different religions to be coming together for service projects?” Patel said, articulating his founding vision.

Patel’s vision targets college campuses, which he said provide two vehicles of change: the institution and the students themselves. Patel noted how institutional priorities, such as an emphasis on volunteerism or second language acquisition, have effectively shaped young people’s attitudes. He said that he believes similar success is possible with religious toleration but that such action must be “deliberate.”

Even considering the organization’s achievements, Patel said he remained concerned about broadening its scope to the rest of the United States. “How are you getting the 300 million? You don’t get there 30 people at a time,” he said.

Patel concluded by engaging the audience in his discussion, addressing questions such as how interfaith programs can avoid alienating the non-religious. Patel explained that “methodology” is of critical importance and added that service, the central tenet of the IFYC, is universal.

Patel is also a Rhodes Scholar and was a member of President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships. His talk was this year’s last installment of the Religion and Global Culture Lecture series.