To the Editor:
We would like to respond to Michael Fitzpatrick's column highlighting the New York City subway campaign stimulating conversation around atheism ("Good without God," Nov. 10). As members of the Multi-Faith Council, we were particularly compelled by Fitzpatrick's sincere hope that "religious groups take advantage of the ad campaign to foster friendly discussion between atheists and theists." We would like not only to assert that we are certainly interested in fostering just this kind of discussion, but also to explain how we see atheist perspectives as vital in the larger context of building religious pluralism.
We define religious pluralism as three things: first, building respect for religious or spiritual identity (including atheistic beliefs); second, building mutually enriching relationships among people of different faith backgrounds; and third, common action for the common good. This phenomenon is largely not theological, but rather sociological. It is about challenging the narrative of inter-religious conflict around the world by creating a counter-narrative of cooperation for the betterment of society.
There is much work to be done building religious pluralism at Brown. While discussions of "diversity" are quite common, engagement with religious identity in public discourse is notably absent. Students have felt misunderstood as practicing Catholics, Jews observing high holidays, or atheists ("The secret life of Catholics at Brown," Sept. 17; "Not just a day off," Sept. 25; "The secret life of atheists at Brown," Sept. 24). As an institution that values diversity and aims to empower students to bring their individual identities to the table, we are missing out on a unique opportunity to truly ask each other and ourselves, "Who are we?" and "What do we believe?"
Whether we see ourselves as "good without god," or "good due to god," or anywhere in between, we are all searching to define that "good" and act as we feel compelled to do good in the world. There is no doubt that we have much to learn from one another. To begin envisioning what a Brown community uniting the religious and atheistic should look like, we hope to host an open conversation with Brown Freethought and others. We hope this forum provides a starting point for continued conversation and engagement.
Rachel Cohn '10,
Brown Hillel
Chelsea Waite '11,
Brown Unitarian
Universalist Group
Nate Johnson '10, Brown Christian Fellowship
Nov. 15
