I’ve just started my third online course in Harvard’s Religious Literacy project.  This is good stuff. And fascinating. And absolutely vital as we seek to live well together within this diverse, global human family.

Two core tenets guide this continuing education project: one, that the culture of a people cannot properly be understood apart from its religious influences. And two, that no religion can be properly understood without knowing something about the culture that shaped it. The two are inextricably connected. Religion and Culture: two sides of a coin.

I know there are plenty of purists who will want to argue this thesis, but it rings absolutely true for me.

As a recovering Fundamentalist Christian, I am ever so grateful for the larger perspective that I gained about my own faith when I began to name the White Southern Patriarchal cultural influences that created the small Christianity of my childhood. Recognizing the reality that my religion had been shaped by its culture has freed me from a blind allegiance and allowed me to move into a wider, rainbow experience of faith. I have come to believe that there is no such thing as a “pure” religion. Across history, across the far reaches of the globe, my religion and all religions have been molded in deep ways by the various environments in which they are rooted and grown.

This is not a bad thing. Religious faith ought to be multicultural.

Some years ago, when I lived near a popular mosque and would visit there with my Muslim neighbors, I recognized how the one basic religion of Islam has multiple manifestations based on the nations and cultures from whence these people had come. I learned that the dress and the customs and the piety are different for faithful Muslims who come from different nations. I found the faith of Islam to be as diverse as my own Christian faith.

So I’m looking forward to learning more about this religion of Islam and the Scriptures that nearly a quarter of the people on the planet hold dear. I grow weary of non-Muslims quoting the Quran as if they know what they are talking about. As if they are experts. As if there is only one way to interpret the complex sacred texts of a complex people. This kind of presumptuous arrogance does nothing to facilitate greater understanding across our differences.

These classes are helping educate me about some of the ways a people’s religion intersects with a society’s culture. These studies are reminding me that the authentic practice of religion will always lead its practitioners to seek the common good of all humanity. These insights are giving me more appreciation for the wisdom we humans need in order to maintain a healthy balance between the two sides of this coin.

So the Religious Literacy courses are adding lots of new knowledge and a new appreciation for the rich diversity of our human community. My faith is wider, richer and more gracious than it ever was before. My faith is both more confident and (at the same time) more humble.

There is a desperate need for people to do a better job of talking to – and listening to – each other across our divides.

More of us need to be students, learners, listeners. The world is a very big place and we all have much to learn. It is possible to be both confident in our own beliefs and curious, open and respectful of other beliefs. This kind of open, humble curiosity fosters a rich climate for talking, listening and understanding.

The courses in the World Religions through Their Scriptures series are offered free of charge. (Free to audit; $50 for a certificate) Follow this link to learn more about Harvard’s edX courses in the Religious Literacy Project.

https://www.edx.org/xseries/world-religions-through-scriptures

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle lives in Paris TX and blogs about intersections of faith, culture and politics on her website and Intersections Facebook page. She frequently shares her thoughts with Coffee Party USA as a regular volunteer.

Charlotte is an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also blogs about Scripture from a progressive Christian approach in her Living in The Story Musings.

Dear Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate,

I’ve read your letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell stating your intention to block any vote on a nominee for the Supreme Court until next year.  Senator McConnell said (long before Merritt Garland was even nominated) he would not even meet with a nominee. You and your fellow Republicans refer to this commitment as an “exercise of constitutional power” designed to “protect the will of the American people.”

There is a fundamental problem with your logic:

since the American people elected President Obama twice by wide margins knowing at the time there was a high probability there would be some Supreme Court appointments during his terms, then please understand that the majority of “the American people” already have made our will perfectly clear: we want President Obama to choose the next justice for the Supreme Court.

The American people want you and other Senators to receive the President’s nominee respectfully. We want you to offer fair hearings. We want to you allow the “full and robust debate” that this constitutional process is designed to produce. We want you to advise and consent based on the merits of the nominee, not on your particular pet ideologies. THIS is the “constitutional power” entrusted to you.

Our Founders created this impressive document in the midst of great debate and diversity.  It represents a commitment to the principles of compromise and collaboration. It models a wise, ongoing approach of respectful negotiation between strong differences of opinion. Its spirit of e pluribus unum sets the stage well for our life together as an increasingly diverse community.

Claiming “constitutional authority” to obstruct the constitutional process of “advice and consent” dishonors the very Constitution you purport to serve.

It is “the will of the American people” that you respect the Constitution and do your job. Protect that.

Respectfully yours,

Rev. Charlotte Vaughan Coyle

Here is a link to the Senate Judiciary Committee members. You can find contact information for each of the senators from this GovTrack.us website.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/SSJU

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle lives in Paris TX and blogs about intersections of faith, culture and politics on her website and Intersections Facebook page. She frequently shares her thoughts with Coffee Party USA as a regular volunteer.

Charlotte is an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also blogs about Scripture from a progressive Christian approach in her Living in The Story Musings.

Dear Senator Cruz,

I’ve read your recent letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell stating your intention to block any vote on a nominee for the Supreme Court until next year. You and your fellow Republicans refer to this commitment as an “exercise of constitutional power” designed to “protect the will of the American people.”

Senator Cruz,

since the American people elected President Obama twice by wide margins;

since we voters understood at the time that there was a high probability there would be a Supreme Court appointment during his term;

since “a full and robust debate” is exactly what this constitutional process is designed to produce,

then please know that “the American people” already have made our will perfectly clear: we want President Obama to choose the next justice for the Supreme Court.
Continue reading Charlotte’s Letter to Sen. Cruz on Advice and Consent →

I visited an exhibit recently that featured ancient Persian and Islamic art.  As I walked through the room admiring intricately crafted metals, skillfully fashioned porcelains and elaborately penned texts, the word that came to my mind was “stunning.” While I marveled at the beauty of these objects, I heard another admirer remark: “This is absolutely stunning.” Indeed it was.

Later, as I thought back over my experience and what I had learned about the history and culture of Islam; later as I pondered the vitriol and ugliness of our current public conversation about the people of Islam, another thought came to my mind: “There is some absolutely stunning arrogance out there.” Continue reading Absolutely Stunning →

Dear Senator Cruz,

As a constituent from Texas, I received your latest email touting the recent amicus brief you filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Texas House Bill 2. You described H.B. 2 as an effort “to defend commonsense safety standards,” “to enact medical protections for women,” and “to protect the sanctity of life and the health of women.”

Let’s talk some more about protecting women’s health and their sacred lives.

Continue reading Charlotte’s Letter to Senator Cruz on Protecting Women’s Health →

Dear Senator Cruz,

I’ve written numerous times before. I am a constituent of yours here in Texas but since I am not a big donor and not a big fan, I’m guessing you’ve ignored all my previous letters.  I won’t be silent though; I love my country too much and I see so many ways that you are damaging and dividing us. Your fear mongering is a very foolish strategy and I have no doubt it will come back to bite you.

Have you seen David Brooks latest op-ed in the New York Times?  It’s strong. And in my opinion, right on.

Cruz lays down an atmosphere of apocalyptic fear.

Cruz manufactures an atmosphere of menace…

Cruz exploits and exaggerates fear.

Cruz … sows bitterness, influences his followers to lose all sense of proportion and teaches them to answer hate with hate.

This is what I see as well, what many of us see. Politicians who peddle fear may win some votes from those who are fearful, but this tactic completely disqualifies you from being president of the United States of America. True leaders acknowledge real problems and don’t shy away from real challenges but a true leader will always seek to motivate us citizens to deal with our fears by finding our courage. True leaders will model hope and will lead all the rest of us toward a hopeful future.

Continue reading Charlotte’s Letter to Sen. Cruz: Foolish Fear Mongering →

I had a strange dream recently. I had just finished a course of antibiotics and noticed that during those ten days I was having lots of crazy, vivid dreams. (I googled nightmares and antibiotics and evidently that’s a real thing.)

I can recognize where several of the images came from: the Lego ship my five year old grandson was showing off during our last FaceTime; the incessant coughing and congestion from my recent sinus infection; the State of the Union address; President Obama’s reference to walking on the moon and his bold call to finally find a cure for cancer… I can recognize some of the images but no one ever knows how the living gears of our subconscious will process the unnoticed and unimportant moments of our lives in order to create an intriguing new story that can tumble the tops off our neat, known boxes.

Continue reading Maybe Not Such a Crazy Dream After all →

When you pray, move your feet. It’s an old African proverb.

It means: for the love of God, DO SOMETHING.

Politicians, Elected Officials, Leaders of our communities and our nation:

Do Something about this crippling gun violence.

Do Something to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Do Something to check the backgrounds of owners.

Do Something to monitor weapons sales.

Do Something to limit these deadly assault rifles.

Do Something about the tyrannical lobby of the NRA.

Do Something to protect us.

We’re tired of hearing you say you will pray for the victims and their families. We’re tired of your pious platitudes. We’ve heard them over and over and over again.

America is filled with praying people, good people who care about their neighbors. Devout people who believe in the value of life. Compassionate people who will once again comfort the broken hearted and offer salve to their wounded bodies and souls. Americans will weep with those who weep and bury our dead with dignity.

So how about this: How ‘bout we regular people do the praying for the victims and their families and you politicians get off your duffs and DO SOMETHING.

Do Something non-partisan for a change: dismantle this national political intransigence.

Do Something productive for a change: offer real solutions that will make a difference in our real lives.

Do Something courageous for a change: stand against the moneyed manipulators that are destroying our society.

Do Something ethical for a change: stand with integrity on behalf of the citizens you are supposedly representing.

We didn’t elect you to pray.

But if you really feel like you need to pray, then pray for yourselves that you will find the courage and integrity to actually serve and protect the people of this good nation.

Here is a graphic that shows our 1,516 mass shootings in 1,735 days  January 2013 – October 1, 2017 (on the average, every 9 out of 10 days in America)

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle lives in Paris TX and blogs about intersections of faith, culture and politics on her website and Intersections Facebook page. She serves as national president for Coffee Party USA and contributes regularly to the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page.

Charlotte is an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also blogs about Scripture from a progressive Christian approach in her Living in The Story Musings.

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This is my working hypothesis: whenever we really get to know and care about other people, a real love for real flesh and blood people will trump all our theories, generalizations, presuppositions and stereotypes. Strangers will become sisters. Issues will become bridges. Fear will be transformed into friendship.

Anthropology trumps ideology.

I read a newspaper article about a small group of churchwomen who are living this truth in Columbus, Ohio. The Dublin Community Church displays a banner that proclaims the United Church of Christ motto: “God is Still Speaking.”  Some Muslim neighbors were curious about what that meant and so they walked into the church to find out more. When these women were introduced to the weekly women’s study group, they all decided to venture friendship and see what might come of it. That was ten years ago. Today their bold experiment has blossomed into solid relationships of shared trust and mutual respect. Columbus Dispatch journalist JoAnne Viviano describes this unusual community of women.

The key to the success of the collaboration has been a radical open-mindedness that allows the women to accept differing beliefs without arguing or feeling the need to change one another.

“Always, in this room, we treat everyone with respect and acceptance — not just tolerance,” group leader Barb Anderson said. “It doesn’t mean we have to agree… The main thing is that we respect differences, we focus on what we have in common and we concentrate on doing things that are good for all people.”

Zeliha Celiker, a Muslim woman from the Northwest Side, said she has learned much and grown much through her participation in the group.

“It’s nice to get to know more, because when you know more, you love more,” she said.

“When you know more, you love more.”

We Liberals often hear criticism and sometimes even derision when we talk about love as an answer to the world’s problems. The criticism is unfair.

When I speak of love, I don’t mean a warm fuzzy feeling. I don’t mean we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I’m talking about hard work; I’m talking about persistent purposeful efforts to break down barriers and build bridges. I’m talking about stubborn patience, enduring hope and never ending grace. This kind of love is not easy. This kind of love is the same painful, sometimes bloody work of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Jesus Christ.

And even though our newsfeeds are rife with hopelessness, this kind of hopeful respectful work is going on all across the globe. Efforts to build loving authentic community across divides are happening in all sorts of places. The Dublin Community, for one, shows us how.

One goal is to try to see all sides of issues and realize that things are not black and white, but complicated, the Rev. Lisa Bowersock, Dublin Community Church’s associate minister, said.

Zeliha Celiker offered a perspective from the Quran, Islam’s holy book:

“God says that ‘I have created you into different nations, so you can meet and get to know each other.’ So I think that shows us how we should be living in this very diverse world.”

Amen Sisters.

Of course, tragically, sometimes the reverse is true: sometimes ideology trumps anthropology.

Sometimes parents disown their gay or transgendered children. Sometimes friends are estranged because of politics. Sometimes family members let their religious interpretations judge and alienate the ones they love the most.

I grieve these divides. I yearn for us to find harmony in our diversity, to deepen our unity as we celebrate our variety. I yearn for the day when all God’s children will actually, more truly demonstrate what it means that all humanity is created in the image of God. We are inextricably bound together within this human family; the sooner we recognize and honor that truth, the better.

So here’s my take away from the Dublin Women of Religious Diversity, the WORD group:

1) Treat all people with respect and acceptance. Respect and acknowledge our differences but focus on what we share in common.

2) Accept the diversity among us a gift. We are smarter, stronger, wiser, better together than we ever could be apart.

3) Get to know someone who is different. Be curious. Listen. Learn. Understand. Venture friendship and see what might happen.

4) Do something together. Build something lovely. Grow something strong. Give something good. Do something helpful for others.

5) Don’t be afraid. Because when you know more, you love more.

Baby shower for one of our friends from Turkish American Society of Ohio,

October 2015

Dublin Community Church (United Church of Christ)

http://www.dublincommunitychurch.org/women.html

Thanks for this great story JoAnne Viviano

@JoAnneViviano

[email protected]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/11/05/diverse-women.html

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle lives in Paris TX and blogs about intersections of faith, culture and politics on her website and Intersections Facebook page. She is national secretary for Coffee Party USA and contributes regularly to the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page.

Charlotte is an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also blogs about Scripture from a progressive Christian approach in her Living in The Story Musings.