Religious diversity is a true blessing

As we observe another day of national Thanksgiving, I made a list of things related to our religious diversity for which I’m thankful:

>> For the freedom of religion that is guaranteed in our Constitution and the wisdom of the authors for including it.

>> For the diverse culture of Hawaii that has nurtured my spiritual journey from traditional Methodism to progressive Christianity and being a spiritual seeker of all faith traditions.

>> For the exemplary model of our national congressional delegation that includes a Buddhist senator, a Jewish senator and a Hindu representative.

>> For two annual interfaith events in November — the service of Thanksgiving held by the faith traditions of Nuuanu valley (the longest-running in the U.S.), and the awards banquet held by The Interfaith Alliance Hawai’i that honors community leadership.

>> For America’s evolvement from our origins of Puritan Christianity to a nation of many faiths.

From my perspective, there is tremendous strength within the unity of our diversity. There is richness and uniqueness in the variety of approaches to religious belief and practice and we manage this with minimal violence and hostility; we’ve had our “growing pains” and there is still a lot of work to do.

In addition, there is increasing acceptance of, and cooperation with, those who choose not to affiliate with a particular tradition; those who are spiritual or agnostic or humanist or an atheist. I’m thankful for the unifying ideal of being people of good moral character.

Regarding America’s “growing pains,” I can see a definite connection between the diminishing participation in faith communities and the way we have dealt with our biggest failings:

>> Our failure to completely accept each new group of immigrants;

>> Our horribly inhumane treatment of Native Americans and African-Americans;

>> Our failure as stewards of the environment;

>> Our failure to maintain a moral center in regard to business ethics, health care, economic disparity, education and family dysfunction;

>> Our failure to create good relationships with other nations (why don’t they like us?); and

>> Our failure to provide the guidance necessary for good manners, good decision-making, healthy relationships and being good citizens.

There is probably a direct correlation between the involvement of faith communities in these issues and the participation of believers.

The growing edge of faith requires careful, constant discernment and we’ll need to live with a certain amount of discomfort and challenge. Not going to church or temple or not affiliating with a particular tradition could be perceived as a big problem or simply a movement away from “the way it’s always been done,” especially when it’s considered rigid authoritarianism or religious absolutism.

Change is difficult while maintaining focus on mission and clarity of dreams. Sometimes people need support while living with questions and uncertainty; sometimes structure and guidance is important but we all need personal space to make decisions and chart our unique paths.

Americans need a stable, united front as we engage the challenges of prejudice, violence, greed and white, male privilege.

I’m confident that our nation will to do better and remain hopeful of our intentions to accept our differences and disagreements. I’ll always be thankful for the “great American experiment” that offers these possibilities.

John Heidel, of Kailua, is a retired chaplain and former president of The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii.