The Interfaith Center at Miami University
Geneva Blackmer, Interim Director
On May 17 th , 2024, at 2:00pm ET, the Interfaith Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio welcomed author Deborah Levine for a virtual presentation titled “How to Navigate Religious Differences in Our Divisive World”. This presentation, based on the content in her book, “Religious Diversity in Our Schools” drew attention to current cultural trends exasperating fear, anger, and frustration in our local communities. She connected the rise in such tensions to the increased spread of information and misinformation online, the lack of separation between religion and political elections, growing international conflicts such as the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars, and policy changes across university campuses regarding DEI activities. Levine suggested that efforts to promote religious literacy on campus must also inspire goodwill and prioritize common values. This includes the incorporation of multi-faith calendars which observe all major religious holidays, the recognition of sacred food practices, the importance of language, and an understanding of important life cycle events. She recommended unifying diverse groups through mutual concern for community issues, such as participating in service projects at food banks and homeless shelters. Further, she stressed the importance of honoring these works by holding award ceremonies on campus for those leading initiatives with meaningful impact.
Most significantly, she recommended strategies for countering culture clashes on campus that can lead to hate speech, violence, and vandalism, encouraging participants to not blame individuals for international conflicts and to engage in ongoing learning. She suggested a model for engaging in constructive dialogue around the Middle East through the creation of an Abrahamic sub-committee, comprised of faculty and students. She stressed the importance of a limited number of participants, and the creation of a reading list and appropriate guidelines for dialogue. The group should begin with low impact themes and gradually progress towards conflict-oriented themes as trust is built. With time and growth, opportunities for broadened dialogue participation may be cultivated. Increasing polarization has led to dangerously high hate incidents of Islamophobia and Antisemitism across North America, with reports from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Anti-Defamation League citing an increase of 300-400% since October 7th. It is more important now, than ever, that interfaith leaders do their best to mitigate tensions on our local campuses and communities that can lead to religiously motivated violence. To participate in upcoming Interfaith Center programs, please visit https://www.oxfordinterfaithcenter.org/.