Out of the Many, One
Faith in the Public Square
May 27, 2007
Before “In God we Trust” became our national motto, America's defining mission statement was “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of the Many, One). I trust in God, but I prefer our original national motto because it defines our national purpose and reminds us that we're a nation diverse in ethnicity, languages, cultures, and religious identities. That we can be one people in the midst of such diversity is a bold idea that must not be taken lightly.
The question is: How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity? Answers to this question generally fall into two categories that can be best understood by way of analogy: Melting pot and salad bowl.
The melting pot image has long been popular - through assimilation our various identities melt away to create something generically American - but a more realistic analogy might be the salad bowl. The melting pot ideal may have worked in earlier days, when most immigrants were British or Northern European, but even then there were problems, as can be seen in the legacy of slavery and the Trail of Tears.
The salad bowl analogy is more realistic, because it recognizes that our differences don't easily fade away. We may be Americans, but we're also something else - African, Italian, Asian, English, Arab, Latin American. ... We're Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant, or perhaps none of the above. A good garden salad has lots of great ingredients that retain their identity even as they're tossed into the salad - tomato, green onion, spinach, baby arugula, radicchio, romaine, radish, carrot, croutons, maybe some blue cheese, and the dressing of one's choice. Each ingredient adds flavor and texture to the salad. It's true that over time assimilation does happen, but even with intermarriage and a standardized education, we remain products of our heritage and common experiences, just like a salad.
By most accounts the United States is among the most religious nations in the world, and we're also among the most religiously diverse nations. This means that peaceful coexistence requires something from us that's often proven difficult to come by. It requires an ability to honor and respect our neighbors' religious identities, even when they're quite different from our own. We needn't agree on everything, nor must we lessen our devotion to the principles of our faith, but at the very least, we must accord others the right to practice their faith in peace and in dignity.
This brings me to the purpose of this week's column. Today is Pentecost Sunday (for Christians), which is the church's birthday. It's also Pluralism Sunday, a new, rather small, grassroots effort sponsored by the Center for Progressive Christianity (www.tcpc.org), that's intended as a celebration of our nation's religious diversity. Not mere toleration, but celebration. The center's announcement states:
“Progressive Christians thank God for religious diversity! We don't claim that our religion is superior to all others. We can grow closer to God and deeper in compassion - and we can understand our own traditions better - through a greater awareness of the world's religions.”
I expect that the way participating churches celebrate this event will vary from congregation to congregation, and the reason I invited our congregation to observe this event is because I see it as a call to humility and service to others.
Through conversations with people of other faiths I've discovered that they have wisdom and insights that can enhance my own faith. Their experiences remind me that most of us are seeking something that transcends our own life experience. Indeed, most of us are seeking some type of connection with the divine. Our experiences and understandings may differ and even be irreconcilable. Resurrection is quite different from Nirvana or reincarnation, and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity differs from the strict monotheism of Judaism and Islam or the monism of Buddhism.
Important conversations can be had on the merits of these belief systems, but our differences needn't lead to strife and division. We needn't show disrespect or dishonor to someone whose beliefs differ from our own. Perhaps we could even recognize that God might speak through religious traditions that are quite different from our own. It's possible that we'll even discover that our own understandings and experiences are less than complete, and that God is greater than our own ability to comprehend the meaning of God's existence. To me, Pluralism Sunday is a reminder that we need to listen more and talk less!
Dr. Bob Cornwall at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com/ and can be contacted at lompocdiscples@impulse.net or First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93438.
May 27, 2007
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