Monday night I attended the Duke Chapel Faith Council's third annual Spring dialogue. The Faith Council is a group of campus chaplains, Religious Life advisers and clergy who represent the various faiths on campus. The goal of the group is to establish and support a conversation across the different faiths that is both relevant and productive.
This year's panel discussion was called "Saving this Earth: What Can Faith Traditions Tell Us About the Environment?" Among the five guest panelists, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam were represented. Each panelist had a faith-based background as well as ecological or environmental experience and interests.
You might think-as I did while driving over to the Freeman Center for the discussion-why this topic? Of all the things to be talking about right now on an interfaith panel, why the environment? I didn't know what to expect from the panelists or the discussion.
When I arrived, tables were set up at the entrance to the Freeman Center with representatives from different campus environmental causes, and the main level of the Center was packed with attendees. Most of the audience was composed of graduate school students and adults from the community, but I was happy to see some undergraduates in the crowd.
Rabbi Michael Goldman welcomed the crowd and answered my question about the choice of topic. He said everyone in the room was committed to our planet. Despite differences in religious beliefs, all those in attendance were here to discuss the environment and that fact united them.
Throughout the discussion, which was moderated by Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells, I heard insights not only on the environment but also on the human condition and the world we live in today. At one point, Umesh Gulati, Hindu scholar and former professor at East Carolina University, said, "You and I are not 'we,' you and I are 'one.'" The sentiment is oddly profound in the context of environmental awareness.
I realized that religious teachings of most faiths often relate to nature and our treatment of our surroundings, and the panelists' religious backgrounds-academic or personal-gave them unusual yet relevant perspectives.
For example, Stephanie Kaza, professor of environmental studies at the University of Vermont and a practicing Buddhist, said that Buddhist thought promotes a non-dualistic view of nature. She used the Chinese concept of yin and yang to explain the relationship between man and nature as complementary opposites. Seeing man not at odds with nature, but instead as part of the same continuum, changes how we interact with our surroundings.
Yet the discussion was more than sound bites or prepackaged ideals. The panelists engaged each other and freely admitted the influence of different faiths on their study and work. Norman Wirzba, professor of theology, ecology and rural life at the Divinity School and the panel representative for Christianity, said he appreciated the meditative and contemplative nature of Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as the emphasis on prayer and law within Jewish and Muslim tradition.
Each member's distinct personality allowed him or her to speak for an entire group while maintaining an individual voice, with humorous comments interspersed to keep the tone light. And it was all surprisingly relevant.
During the question portion, an audience member flatly asked the panel about the separation of church and state. The questioner wondered how the panelists' words could be translated into actions and if activity had to have a strong theological basis. Rabbi Arthur Waskow answered practically, explaining that the religious community could bring a "profoundly religious commitment" to environmental issues, much in the same way religion has touched social issues.
I learned far more than I expected to and was consistently surprised by how important this dialogue was. Though based in different faith traditions, the conversation somehow transcended these differences and addressed civilization as a whole. It wasn't preachy or proselytizing, it was instead a social and cultural discussion among concerned individuals.
For that night, it didn't matter who you were or what you believed (or didn't believe). I began to see the subtle yet powerful work of the Faith Council. It seems the hardest part is simply getting people there.
Wells said the Faith Council starts conversations that wouldn't otherwise happen. That's exactly what Monday night's event did. I was forced to think in a new way, which is pretty impressive considering I had arrived armed with skepticism and confusion.
And, as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, said at the end of the discussion, nature will ultimately have the final word.
Stephanie Butnick is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Wednesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.