Interfaith Insight - 2021
Permanent link for "Can we share a morality during division and polarization?" by Doug Kindschi on December 7, 2021
“Whether or not you believe in God, religions accomplish something
miraculous: They turn large numbers of people who are not kin into a
group that is able to work together, trust each other, and help each
other. They are living embodiments of e pluribus unum (from many,
one).” These are the words of Jonathan Haidt, leading author, social
psychologist, and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University.
Now whether that working together leads to establishing hospitals
and schools, feeding the poor and peacemaking; or whether it inspires
division, polarization, and even terrorist activity, is a topic in our
current discussion. Most religious traditions include a minority
whose religious fervor can become extreme and even violent. This
religious devotion, however, is often, and in fact, usually directed
toward constructive goals. It is our task to direct the power and
energy of religious commitment to working together for the common good.
Jonathan Haidt has written two very popular and best-selling
books, The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient
Wisdom, and The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided
by Politics and Religion. In both books, he is not seeking to
evaluate the truth of various religious claims, but to understand how
religious and moral beliefs form the way in which the human mind
evaluates the competing claims. Religion and morality are no longer
the exclusive domain of the philosophers and theologians. Cognitive
scientists, psychologists, political scientists, biologists, and
social psychologists are now bringing experimental and scientific
findings to the topic.
Haidt’s own work identifies five basic dimensions that are built
into the emotional and intuitive sense of most humans' needs, and are
more basic than just rational analysis of morality. The dimensions of
avoidance of harm and justice as fairness often predominate. The other
three factors are also important, namely loyalty, reverence, and respect.
We address the emotional and intuitive side of a person as the
way to introduce dialogue and further discussion. Haidt quotes a
successful businessman as saying, “If there is one secret of success
it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see
things from their angle as well as from your own.” It is a good
lesson for anyone interested in interfaith understanding or in
addressing political division.
When it comes to religion Haidt admits, “I used to be very
hostile to religion. And then, in doing this research on moral
psychology and … looking at the social science evidence on the effects
of religion, well, it’s pretty clear… In the United States, where we
have a competitive marketplace and religions compete for adherence …
they create moral communities that encourage people to not just focus
on themselves.”
In an interview with Krista Tippett, he explains how his research
led him away from a polarization that led to anger. “The feeling of
losing my anger was thrilling. It was really freeing. When you get
people to actually understand each other, and they let down their
guard, and they learn something new, and they see humanity in someone
that they disliked or hated or demonized before, that’s really
thrilling. And that, I think, is one of the most important emotional
tools we have to foster civility. Because once you get it started,
it’s kind of addictive.”
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book Morality also seeks to
recover a communal sense of morality. It can be based on our various
religious values, but also on a deeper realization and awareness of
human dignity. Knowledge, travel, and communication have expanded our
world, and our society becomes more diverse. We are also increasing
our awareness of how there are a variety of ways we can be moral.
Likewise, there are multiple visions of the ethical. There can be an
ethics of duty, often seen in cultures of the East. Ethics of honor
are often found in Mideastern cultures and religions. In the
Judeo-Christian cultures we find an ethics of love. In classical
civilizations we observed a civic ethics which is focused on service
to the city-state, with an emphasis on virtues like wisdom, prudence,
and courage.
Sacks urges that we respect the variety of moral understandings,
but that a commitment to one’s own moral sense is important. While
liberal democracies in the West provide assurances of “freedom from”
various abuses, morality seeks a “freedom to.” That is, to do what is
right, keeping in mind our responsibility to what is beneficial to
others and their well-being.
This has been our mission for interfaith understanding and it has
taken many forms. Yes, there have been conferences and educational
programs, but we have also fostered dinners, visitations to other
places of worship, and the developing of personal relationships around
common interests. Haidt urges us to “do the long, slow work of
getting people to have something of a human relationship — and
especially, sharing food is a very visceral, primal thing. Once you’ve
eaten, shared food with a person, there’s a deep psychological system
that means, ‘We are like family.’”
While our continual struggle with the pandemic has limited the
ability to engage lots of personal interaction and especially eating
together, we can still seek the understanding and acceptance for all
who share our human family. May this be on both the rational and
emotional level as we seek to love our neighbor.