Christians, Hindus, Jews to unite for dialogue

The religions are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, but the conversation is all new – at least in the Permian Basin.

Three religions will unite in dialogue for the Permian Basin’s first interfaith event Thursday at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church. The discussion will feature leaders of the Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu and Episcopal faiths.

The event was initiated by Dr. Padmaja Patel, who said she wanted to create a discussion of a different sort between the religions.

“I wanted to do it for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it,” Patel said. “I expressed my desire to my guru, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. He suggested the way to conduct such an event is to have  discussion of contemporary issues we all face instead of discussing theological issues, because that would not go far.”

Patel asked the religious leaders to each submit one question regarding contemporary issues. The possible topics range from political discourse to philosophical ideas, like how a religion interprets pain or suffering.

The purpose of the questions is to see how different faith groups analyze and confront situations based on their philosophies and doctrines.

“The idea is to understand how our faith allows us to understand,” Patel said.

Patel, who is an internal physician in Midland, was inspired by her daily interaction with patients of differing faiths.

“Being in this profession, where we meet people from all different faith groups, there’s such a common thread we see even though we have different faiths and beliefs,” Patel said. “There are issues that we face, things we all go through and our faith allows us to understand them. This is a very different approach to the interfaith event.”

The event is one of the latest in interfaith dialogue that has grown in practice in the United States in the last decade.

The Rev. James Bridges of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church said the talk will help in getting to know the non-Christian populations that are making West Texas their new home.

Judaism and Hinduism ranked with Christianity among the top five largest organized religions in the United States, according to a 2001 American Religious Identification Survey. Islam and Buddhism also rank in the top five with a large adult population.

“For the first time we’ve had Hindus migrate over here to help with our diocese and in the medical profession, and we’re finding mosques,” Bridges said. “We’re finding people who worship God sincerely but do not have any connection with Christ and are not Christian.”

Although non-Christian populations are growing, Bridges said some Christian adults have had little experience in interacting with non-Christians. Children, however, have learned to accept other cultures through the classroom.

“Children who go to a public school are sitting in their school room with different forms of Christianity,” Bridges said. “And they become tolerant of other religions because their best friends aren’t the same religion they are.”

Though religion can bring up strong emotions and viewpoints, Bridges said, the purpose of the event is not to determine which religion is most correct, Patel said.

“We are not really trying to prove that one faith is better than the other or criticize another religion,” Patel said. “It is a foundation where we can come together and learn something from each other.”

Bridges said that the interfaith event will encourage tolerance and reduce misconceptions of unfamiliar religions and traditions.

“People of good will come into an atmosphere of brotherly love to have an understanding and appreciation of one another,” Bridges said. “It will reduce the judgment that people different from you are of bad will.”

“In a town like Midland and Odessa, this is one event where we can spread some understanding,” Patel said.

@OAlifestyle