Creating a Safe Space for Dialogue
February 26, 2015
This week in the news there have been criticisms of Chapman University for hosting Elder Jeffrey Holland, a member of the Quorum of Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because of the Mormon Church association with Proposition 8. We want to clarify that The Fish Interfaith Center staff at Chapman University is deeply committed to offering a safe, open and affirming space for LGBT and all students, staff, faculty and community members. We work with students of all religions and spiritualities, and in this case are supporting our Mormon students.
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As an Interfaith Center we walk a careful walk – it is one that champions justice, forgiveness and compassion, and seeks to work with our interfaith partners toward these ends wherever we find common ground. We do not always agree on particular issues with our interreligious partners. Yet in a world where Coptic Christians are beheaded by those who falsely claim to represent Islam, and synagogues are attacked in Copenhagen, and school children of every faith at one time or another are bullied by those of a different faith in our own country, the work of building alliances for peace across religious lines is not just incidental, it is absolutely essential. We must reach out to advocate religious freedom and to support one another when our religions are falsely under attack, because we believe the vast majority of people within them live faithful lives. We believe that the best way to bring about an end to violence of all kinds is to build interfaith relations across religious lines.
ElderJeffrey Holland’s visit is not just a public talk, although that is what hits the news – it is about building interfaith relations and finding those things we agree upon to help move toward a better world, where religious freedom is respected and we support one another.