Permanent link for Interfaith and Democracy: Finding Healing Through Conversation | By Kyle Kooyers on August 19, 2024

As I reflect on the intersection of interfaith work and democracy, I am reminded of Stephen Colbert’s observations on the night of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. While doing The Late Show and simultaneously watching the results come in, he noted the Pew research which showed how more than half of the Democrats (55%) say the Republican Party makes them afraid, while 49% of Republicans say the same about the Democratic Party.

“So, how did our politics get so poisonous?” he asked. “Maybe we overdosed,” he suggested. “We drank too much of the poison…You take a little bit of it so you can hate the other side. And it tastes kind of good. And you like how it feels. And there is a gentle high to the condemnation. And you know you are right.”

As we navigate this current election season, we are acutely aware that our country and communities, have become increasingly polarized. As we find ourselves entrenched in survival-based tribalism and echo chambers, our propensity to develop and vehemently protect in-group identities galvanizes our resistance to moving towards those with whom we disagree. These “us/them” categories, fueled by anxiety and defensiveness, color the lenses through which we view and even demonize our neighbor.

If multi-faith dialogue has taught us anything, it’s that all too often we allow ourselves to be afraid of people who are different, even hate them, because there is a “gentle high” we find in condemning, especially in our desire to “win,” or to be right. The consequences of this are very real, especially when it comes to negative or even violent interactions between individuals or groups of people who see the world differently. So, to help confront and heal toxic polarization and division on GVSU’s campus and in our West Michigan community, the Kaufman Institute is focusing on the intersections of interfaith work and democracy over the course of this coming academic year.

First and foremost, we are excited to be partnering once again with the Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse, the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, and WGVU Public Media for a second year of  Talking Together: Strengthening Our Communities Through Conversation. As with the previous Talking Together year, the primary objective is to interrupt toxic polarization and foster instead a culture of conversation on campus and in local communities. This program line-up, with a focus on, deep listening and story-telling from a multiplicity of perspectives, will be bookended by two powerful programs.

One Small Step, an initiative of StoryCorps, is an effort to remind the country of the humanity in all of us, even those with whom we disagree. The initiative brings strangers with different political views together to record a 50-minute conversation—not to debate politics, but to learn who we are as people. Audio recordings of each interview are archived at the Library of Congress. We are currently recruiting conversations participants, so if this sounds intriguing you can sign up here:  https://www.wgvu.org/onesmallstep/

Michigan Listens, part of the America Listens project of Boise State University, will bring to together a wide range of people for an evening of storytelling and listening over dinner. On April 2, 2025, this event will pull together everyday people from across our state –farmers, restaurant workers, business leaders, veterans, students, etc. to speak about what they value and why to an audience that remains silent. Occurring after the presidential election, this gathering will offer a path for healing the relationships that have been strained or fractured by the campaign season’s corrosive rhetoric.

As a supplemental component, of the Talking Together initiative, on September 24, we are bringing  One America Movement’s nationwide Faith Over Division Tour to Grand Rapids. This event, in the spirit of inspiration and healing, will bring together people of faith to find hope and a shared future in the midst of toxic divisiveness. This conversation will explore how we can lean in to our respective religious, secular, and spiritual values as we seek to heal toxic polarization through relationship and understanding. This event will highlight the wisdom and experience of Rev. Randy Kyle Callender in conversation with One America Movement and Kaufman Interfaith Institute.

Our Interfaith Book Group will begin on Wednesday, September 11, featuring  The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith and Refounding Democracy by Jim Wallis .   This is not just about Christian extremes but about all faith traditions and the danger of extremes. Along with this theme, later this December our Triennial Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue will include Mustafa Akyol, Elaine Pagels, and Donniel Hartman in conversation about religion, power, and morality. 

We are also pleased to announce that the Kaufman Interfaith Institute will be welcoming Sikh author and activist Valarie Kaur back to Grand Rapids as a part of the  2024-2025 Revolutionary Love Bus Tour. This healing odyssey across the U.S. offers an immersive experience of storytelling, music, song, ancestral wisdom, and community-building. Each stop uplifts local leaders, artists, and advocates who catalyze hope, equipping participants with the tools needed to lead with love and courage in our daily life.

Now more than ever, the Kaufman Institute, is committed to creating spaces for human connection - to learn about one another, to learn what we each other believes or hold to be true, and to learn how those views, principles, or ideas impact our everyday lives. True dialogue, like any relationship or journey is nuanced and complex, challenging and deeply rewarding. It doesn’t mean that I must agree with or accept your perspective as true for me, nor does it assume my perspective or experience ought to be true for you. Rather, it welcomes us into a place of respectful inquisitiveness and empathy. In this way we really begin to experience the beauty, complexity, and humanity of one another. That’s how we win. That’s how we strengthen our communities through conversation. Join us!

Posted on Permanent link for Interfaith and Democracy: Finding Healing Through Conversation | By Kyle Kooyers on August 19, 2024.