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First, Sen. Harry Reid and the United States Senate should be congratulated and supported for inviting Chaplain Rajan Zed, a Hindu American from Nevada, to deliver the opening prayer at the opening of a Senate session. America is one nation with many faiths and many beliefs. All of our great religions and belief systems share the highest values, ethics, and morals. And Chaplain Zed’s prayer fit perfectly in that tradition.
Certainly, I agree with the Dalai Lama’s statement that “All major religious traditions carry basically the same message: That is love, compassion and forgiveness.” But I trust also that he would agree that religions are not essentially the same, as some people like to say.
Most religious traditions hold many values in common and those values help us connect and work together. But each religion or set of beliefs expresses “love, compassion, and forgiveness” in very different ways.
I will be honest, I had not planned on responding to this question. As a Christian, I don’t know that I am the best person to comment on “Jewish Identity.” However, after reading Arun Gandhi’s response to the question, I felt compelled to respond. Though Arun is a valued friend of many years with whom I have worked on bridging various divides, in this instance, I find myself in strong disagreement with him.
Having dedicated much of my life to promoting interfaith understanding and learning from Arun Gandhi how best to meet the challenges of that work, I was surprised both by the tenor and substance of his words related to “Jewish identity.”
Essential to understanding the corporate concept of Jewish identity as it exists among a variety of Jewish individuals is an accurate understanding of the meaning of the Holocaust among Jewish people, and the relationship between Jewish people and the Government of Israel. Never have I experienced or heard about the Jewish community using the Holocaust to impose a giant guilt-trip on anybody. Never have I assumed or been the subject of persuasion to believe that the government of Israel represents the views of Jewish people from around the world.
What the United Kingdom does about English law accommodating aspects of Islamic Sharia law is up to the people of the United Kingdom. However, had the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested such accommodation within America law, I would oppose that recommendation as strongly as I would any suggestion that American law accommodate the separate laws of any religion or denomination.
This Pew Forum study underscores the fact that America is the most religious pluralistic nation in the world. In fact, Interfaith Alliance is made up of people from over 75 different faith traditions, as well as many people who do not have a faith tradition.
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