Presenting for Interfaith Week

 

Thesis presentation for The Gathering Space’s Interfaith Week. 

From April 21st to 25th, The Gathering Space launched its first annual Interfaith Week. The purpose of this event is to celebrate religious and spiritual plurality, and to encourage members of our community to engage with one another’s faith traditions in positive and meaningful ways. The other interns and I, professional staff, and members of our Interfaith Fellows worked diligently to put together a host of programming for those across campus to enjoy. On Monday, we held our kick-off tabling that showcased UMBC’s various religious and spiritual student organizations, followed by the Human Library event which gave curious participants an opportunity to ask about each other’s beliefs and traditions. Tuesday’s Mythbusters event aimed to challenge misconceptions that participants possessed about religion and faith. We held our Interfaith Candy Bar on Wednesday where we handed out treats associated with various religious groups/traditions, in addition to promotional tabling for Queerios, our discussion group that focuses on the intersection of queer identity and faith. The first program on Thursday was my thesis research presentation, one of our preliminary efforts at lecture-style educational programming, followed by a Speed Faithing dinner later in the evening. Friday was full of religious practice gatherings, a nature walk through the Herbert Run Greenway to promote mindfulness, and an ice cream social. In addition to this, I also coordinated a competitive donation drive that ran throughout the week with the participation of four very charitable organizations. All in all, it was a very busy and festive week!

For my presentation, the content’s scope focused on preliminary research I’ve done up until this point for my thesis. Afterwards, I facilitated a discussion with the audience with guiding questions relating to the connection between their faith and sense of civic duty, the state of interfaith relations at UMBC, and what can be learned from historical examples of interfaith activism such as the desegregation demonstrations at Gwynn Oak. All of my participants had a lot of insightful contributions to add to the conversation! One of the Religious Council members, Lisa, talked about the concept of tikkun olam (or, ‘repairing of the world’ ) in Judaism, which drives a sense of responsibility for many Jewish people to pursue an ideal and just society by engaging in various forms of activism. While many shared that their commitment to social activism was grounded in their faith, they also had secular motivations as well. For participants who identify as nonreligious, they shared commentary about how other life experiences and aspects of their identity led them to social activism. 

In regards to interfaith relations at UMBC, there were varying opinions. For the most part, members of our religious and spiritual community coexist alongside one another peacefully—it would be difficult not to, considering how little space we have to share amongst such a diverse group! However, there are some points of contention, particularly considering the currently tense sociopolitical climate. Everyone is protective over their faith, and so when it comes to reckoning with conflict and ideological differences, many are hesitant to engage in these difficult conversations. This feeling is especially heightened due to the fear of punishment for expressing their beliefs, so staying within one’s own community offers a sense of security. This is something I found to be a common theme in many universities across the nation while doing educational programming research, so while it won’t be an easy task, resources like The Gathering Space need to continue to diligently work to find ways to address these issues.

Overall, I would say that my presentation went well; everyone thought that my research topic was interesting, and I managed to facilitate the discussion session better than I thought I would. If there is something that I would’ve done differently in retrospect, it would first be to start planning my event earlier in advance. Particularly this semester, I’ve been experiencing extreme burnout and a lack of motivation to do substantial work in a timely manner. I found myself preoccupied with menial tasks for my internship (ex. general space management and running errands,) but even if I had good ideas for my project work, I feel as though I didn’t put nearly enough time or care into fully developing them to my standard of quality. Despite this, I wish I would have had more faith in my work. I was so scared of facilitating a subpar presentation, I was hesitant to invite more peers and mentors to attend, when everyone who did attend thought I did a good job. In retrospect, I would have definitely promoted it more, not only to have more engagement for the discussion, but to treat it as a learning opportunity as well. I think I place too much emphasis on getting everything perfect from the start without remembering that the internship experience is about developing skills and learning as I go; making mistakes and learning how to course correct is fundamental. In the future, I will remember to give myself more grace and remember that things typically won’t be as bad as I’m expecting them to be, but to also communicate with my faculty and advisors more about these types of roadblocks I’m facing!

The Nonviolence Tradition and Interfaith Activism

From left to right: Howard Thurman, Sue Bailey Thurman, Phenola Carroll and Edward Carroll pictured in their travels to India, known as the Pilgrimage of Friendship, 1935.

In doing preliminary research on the desegregation of Gwynn Oak Park, I found that I had a pretty comprehensive understanding of the various themes that were prevalent in its story: Baltimore civil rights history, the connection between recreation access and equal citizenship, youth activism, etc. However, one gap in knowledge that remained was most things pertaining to religion. This posed a significant problem for me especially since that’s the one aspect of this event that seems to haven’t already been studied in depth, therefore being an obvious gap in the scholarly conversation to fill. At the very least, I was aware of the significance of the Black church in influencing the civil rights movement, with this institution providing spiritual refuge from racial discrimination, as well as serving as a foundation for developing many prominent activists. However, there was a strong presence of white clergymen of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faith who participated in the Gwynn Oak protests as well. How did their faith guide their dedication to advocating for civil rights alongside African American clergymen? And how was it possible for this group of protesters from such diverse racial and religious backgrounds to come together on a common moral ground and participate in an interfaith cause like the Gwynn Oak desegregation demonstrations?

These very questions influenced my desire to pursue an internship with The Gathering Space, who were coincidentally hiring around the time I was facing this dilemma! Admittedly, I had some reservations about the prospect of working there, primarily in regards to where I would fit in such a space as someone who identifies as non-religious. I knew I had academic motivations for wanting to be an intern, but would I come off as an invasive presence to those who have a significantly more personal relationship with religion? Luckily, this ended up not being the case—everyone thus far has been extremely welcoming and willing to engage in conversations with me about their respective faith traditions, which has been an incredibly enriching experience. My advisor, Matt Hoffman, has been particularly helpful when it comes to expanding my knowledge on basic religious concepts and interfaith activism. For this internship, he assigned some interesting readings that have contributed greatly to my thesis research.

The first book we read was Visions of a Better World, which details the life of theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman, and specifically explores his pilgrimage to India in pursuit of knowledge on the practice of nonviolence. One of the most compelling aspects of the book was how the globalization of white supremacy and connection of a shared struggle was established. Both parties learned of each others’ experiences with oppression (i.e., African Americans with racism and Indians with imperialism), which served as the catalyst for the transmission of nonviolent philosophy and tactics from India to the United States. This book also encouraged me to be more of a critical reader. Usually when I read any type of text, I find it difficult to pinpoint where I can challenge the authors’ argument and formulate my own counterpoints. However, one of my favorite discussions of this book had to be when dissecting Thurman’s projections of whether African Americans or Indians could attain equality easier, in which he asserted that it would be more feasible for the former due to the comparatively homogeneous religious and political culture of the United States. Though, this ended up not being the case, as India has managed to gain independence from British rule, while African Americans still experience racism many decades after Thurman posited his argument. So I really had to dive deeper into his theory and life experiences that shaped his point of view, and be able to think of how he arrived at this conclusion and factors that could oppose it. Overall, this book showed me how influential, yet underrated, of a philosopher Thurman is when it comes to his contribution of nonviolence to the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (center) and Abraham Joshua Heschel (2nd from front right), march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, March 21, 1965.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was another theologian I was able to learn a great deal about. In his speech “No Religion is an Island,” he establishes his position on religious pluralism and interfaith activism, arguing that religions can not exist in isolation from one another and that it is imperative for individuals to understand one another’s faith traditions and use that understanding to fight against the ills of society. Being a survivor of the Holocaust, in which he lost his mother and three sisters, the reason for Heschel’s dedication to religious unity and civic engagement is evident. Through studying his career, I learned of how he put this into practice by participating in the civil rights movement and anti war efforts, as well as being instrumental to shaping Catholic-Jewish relations in a positive direction during the development of the Nostra aetate. Clergymen, like any other group of people, possess diverse views when it comes to social action. Some choose to refrain from speaking on such matters, whether it be because they don't want to garner backlash, or possibly because they support injustice and use religion as a vehicle to perpetuate it. Others take a moderate approach, disavowing social evils like oppression and violence in theory, but do not apply their thought to transformative action. Learning about figures like Thurman and Heschel, who translated their philosophy into direct action, was a great experience and gave me plenty of foundational knowledge I needed for what I’m studying in my thesis research.

Educational Programming Initiatives at UMBC’s The Gathering Space

 

The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being logo.

For my Spring 2025 internship, I am working at The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being here at UMBC. Established in August 2021, The Gathering Space is a center under i3b (Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion and Belonging) dedicated to providing campus community members from various religious and spiritual backgrounds with a space to “meet, worship, discuss, and celebrate their individual and/or collective faiths and philosophical worldviews.” As UMBC is a notably diverse institution, we believe that it is imperative that students, staff, and faculty alike are able to find acceptance and belonging, practice and embrace their sense of spirituality, and engage with others across faith backgrounds in order to celebrate commonalities and reckon with differences.

Initially, TGS started out focused primarily on space management, relationship building, and interfaith work. On a day-to-day basis, members of the community come into the space to pray, as well as hold regular meetings for religious and spiritual student organizations like Muslim Student Association, UMBC Hillel, and Catholic Retrievers amongst others. TGS also hosts recurring programming series ranging from crafting events and weekly yoga, to discussion-based groups like Queerios, which explores the intersection between religious and LGBT identities (which I am also a facilitator for!) Starting in Fall 2024, TGS has also launched two programs: Bridge Builders, a dialogue program dedicated to discussing contemporary issues connected to religion and spirituality, and Interfaith Fellows, a leadership program which encourages students to engage in campus projects across religious, non-religious, and spiritual differences.

The educational programming initiative is an expansion of these pre-existing programs, which entails partnering with external offices and scholars to think about how religion is integrated in the lives of others in social and political contexts. In producing educational programming, we ask ourselves, “Why does it matter that TGS exists at UMBC? How does it benefit the campus?” Last semester, I was assigned the task of researching public-facing interfaith programs that religious centers at various universities across the country facilitate. Through this research, I found that these institutions put great emphasis first and foremost on fostering community amongst their religious and spiritual campus population through mindfulness activities, dinners, etc., much like what TGS currently does. Secondly, they aim to promote civic engagement, connecting the campus to the broader community in which it exists through social justice outreach and community programs. Finally, they provide religious and spiritual education by way of programs such as workshops, trainings, lecture series, and conferences. Of course, in adapting these ideas to UMBC, we have to be realistic with our capabilities and what we can accommodate. For example, establishing an entire interfaith academic program like NYU has done would be most likely impossible, but experimenting with their smaller educational programs has proven to be promising thus far. When we hosted a film screening and talkback for the documentary I Will Build This World From Love, it gave our community the opportunity to come across faith traditions to learn about an example of interfaith work in Georgia, as well as have an engaging conversation about how religious plurality can similarly exist at TGS.

Based on this experience, I was inspired to apply it to my own project work. When I started interning at TGS, it was my intention to incorporate my public history background into the work that I would do. For the final project of my internship, I am presenting my thesis research about the desegregation of Gwynn Oak Park in a lecture-style event during our inaugural Interfaith Week. I think it would be interesting to share a piece of Baltimore civil rights history with the TGS community that featured a strong presence of interfaith activism. In return, I want to learn more about how the religious and spiritual members of our community interpret their commitment to interfaith activism and what that looks like contemporarily both at UMBC and beyond.