Does Religion Matter?

Does Religion Matter?  13 Workshops | 13 Months | 13 Religions
Ten years from now, there will not be a work place, school, college, lab, restaurant or a public place where you will not find people of different faiths working, playing, eating,  doing business, and marrying together. It is bound to create conflict and we have to prepare ourselves for such eventualities to move on with life with least frictions.
It is 2 hours intensive seminar to learn about each faith, so you can proudly share your opinions based on firsthand knowledge from the practitioners of the faith.  Don’t feel embarrassed about not knowing anything about your friend’s faith or festivities.
Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance of a different point of view. If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
13 Faiths in 13 Seminars in 13 months: Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Humanism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native Traditions, Pagan/Wicca, Scientology, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.
For details, please visit www.Centerforpluralism.com/Workshops
The Center for Pluralism is committed to promoting understanding between peoples of different religious affiliations.  We would like to thank the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office for hosting the series of events. In support of Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of another faith.  If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the genetic uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
The following events are Planned:
Understanding Atheism – October 2016   – Click and Register for the event 
Understanding Baha’i – November 15, 2016
Understanding Buddhism – December 2016
Understanding Christianity – January 2017
Understanding Hinduism – February 2017
Understanding Humanism – March 2017
Understanding Islam – April 2017
Understanding Jainism – May 2017
Understanding Judaism – June 2017
Understanding Native American Traditions – July 2017
Understanding Scientology – August 2017
Understanding Sikhism – September 2017
Understanding Wicca, Paganism – October 2017
Understanding Zoroastrianism – November 2017
We believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of another point of view.
By the end of 2020, there will not be a major city in America, and perhaps in the world, where you will not find people of different faiths, cultures, ethnicities, races, nationalities and social backgrounds working, eating, playing, marrying, and doing things together.
We need to prepare ourselves for those eventualities to prevent possible conflicts, and lay a good foundation for nurturing goodwill and effective functioning of the societies. Exclusive communities will become a thing of the past.  If you live amidst others, you must also respect the otherness of others, as you expect them to do the same for you.
The goal is to bring people of different faiths together and provide a platform for them to share about their beliefs, their systems and rituals, while expanding the knowledge zone of each group.
You are who you are, and I am who I am. As long as we don’t mess with each other’s space, sustenance and nurturence, and mind our own business, we all will do well. If we can learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God-given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.
We are committed to building cohesive societies, where no human has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of a fellow being.
We have crystallized the definition of pluralism as, “respecting the otherness of the others and accepting the uniqueness of each one of us”. Pluralism is not a set of rules or a system like democracy, secularism, theocracy, fascism, authoritarianism, socialism, communism or capitalism, it is merely an attitude of live and let others live, and it is applicable in every aspect of life including culture, society, religion, politics, gender, food, ethnicity, race and other uniqueness’s.
We hope each one of us would walk in with an open mind and an open heart towards understanding other faiths, and walk out feeling connected with our fellow beings who are different than us.  No matter what faith we believe, we have to live together, and as responsible citizens we have to create an environment for each one of us to live without apprehension.
It is difficult to shed the prejudices, but once we do, there is genuine freedom (Mukti, Moksha, Salvation, Nijaat and Nirvana.) in it.
We had tremendous success in the program before, and we hope to improve upon it.   A Scholar from the given faith/tradition will present the program moderated by Pluralist Mike Ghouse.  This is not about rituals or theology, but how each faith contributes to the well being of an individual and the society, how does it contribute to common good.  In the coming years, we will follow it up with theology and rituals aspect of each faith/tradition.
___________________
The programs are designed and presented by Dr. Mike Ghouse, a thinker, speaker, writer, and an activist committed to building cohesive societies, and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.  More about him in 65 links at www.MikeGhouse.net