Pluralism Is Mutually Enriching

As ethnic diversity has become a reality in Orange County over the past quarter-century, so has religious pluralism and the question of how to respond to it.

Interviews with experts indicate that the county is home to about 75,000 Jews, 70,000 Muslims, 50,000 Buddhists, 10,000 Hindus, 3,000 Sikhs, 2,000 Bahais, 1,000 Jains and 300 Zoroastrians. (Sikhism and Jainism are South Asian faiths with links to Hinduism; Bahai and Zoroastrianism are monotheistic faiths of Persian origin.)

On a tour of religious sites in the county, one would discover 25 Jewish synagogues/temples, 10 Muslim mosques (masjids), 12 official Buddhist temples and dozens of house temples, three Hindu temples, one Sikh temple and one Jain center. Bahai followers worship in private homes organized as spiritual assemblies, with 33 in the county.

Though Orange County remains about 85% Christian, the varieties are also extensive. There is a large Roman Catholic population, estimated at 600,000--40% of whom are Latinos--organized into 54 parishes and five ethnic centers. On any Sunday, 43% of Masses are celebrated in a language other than English. The population of (“Eastern”) Orthodox Christians has also grown, with at least seven parishes.

Among Protestants, conservative denominations are prevalent and parallel the conservative politics dominant here. The county is the birthplace of both the Calvary Chapel movement, with 654 affiliated churches nationally, and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, with 450 affiliates. Both of these denominations are evangelical and biblically conservative, with Vineyard probably stressing the gifts of the Holy Spirit--the charismatic element--more strongly.

The county is also home to two nationally prominent TV ministries, Robert Schuller’s “Hour of Power” and Paul and Jan Crouch’s Trinity Broadcasting Network, with its flagship “Praise the Lord” show. TBN owns more than a dozen television stations nationwide and is building a luxurious production facility in Costa Mesa. Florida-based televangelist Benny Hinn will soon open a production facility in Aliso Viejo.

And there are mega-churches here: Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral, Mariner’s South Coast Church and the First Evangelical Free Church, as well as a mega-revival, the Harvest Crusade, which fills Anaheim Stadium several evenings each August.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) has a strong local presence of some 50,000 adherents organized around 100 wards (roughly equivalent to a congregation or parish). Yorba Linda Friends Church is the largest Quaker congregation in the U.S. It too mirrors the county, with a more evangelical emphasis than among more traditional Quakers.

Orange County’s religious landscape is not entirely conservative, however. There are six interfaith councils (in Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach-Costa Mesa and Rancho Santa Margarita) consisting mainly of religious leaders from liberal Protestant and Jewish congregations. They promote dialogue and cooperation and founded the Interfaith Shelter Network, which cares for homeless people at different congregational sites on a rotating basis. The Fullerton group was instrumental in the creation of the New Vista Shelter, a temporary 48-bed facility for the homeless that helps them transition back to permanent housing.

The Alliance for Spiritual Community sponsors monthly interfaith exchanges on such questions as “What do you mean by prayer?” The alliance joined with the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews) in 1995 to stage a Religious Diversity Faire, the first event of its kind in the nation. It is informational in nature and brings together speakers from a wide variety of faiths and perspectives. The 1997 fair will be at UC Irvine on Nov. 15.

For the past two years, the National Conference for Community and Justice has been sponsoring tours to worship centers in the county as a way of increasing awareness and cooperation among faith communities. A recent tour of the Orange County Islamic Center drew 200 participants.

There are, finally, religiously affiliated universities here: Chapman (which has a “covenantal relationship” with the Christian Church/Disciples of Christ), Hope International (formerly Pacific Christian College), Concordia (affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) and Southern California College (Assemblies of God). Ground has been broken in Aliso Viejo for Soka University of America, which will open in the fall of 2001.

When viewing this varied religious terrain, people of faith might respond in one of three ways.

* With caution. If you stay away from other religions, you won’t jeopardize your own beliefs.

* By trying to convert followers of other faiths. In America, this is everyone’s right, within limits; and it is natural for someone who takes pride in his or her religion to want to get the word out. But educating people about one’s faith is different from foisting it upon another. Jews, who will attend Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) services next Friday evening and Saturday, know what efforts at forced conversion have cost them over the centuries. In fact, the Kol Nidre (“All Vows”) service of Yom Kippur is so named because of a prayer that originated in the Middle Ages which releases a Jewish person from any vow he or she might take under duress during the year ahead.

* With dialogue, cooperation and mutual enrichment. Dialogue brings about understanding, respect and increased wisdom. Cooperation seems essential in a society that considers violent crime, substance abuse, out-of-wedlock pregnancies and homelessness to be rampant.

Mutual enrichment is not a problem for many of Orange County’s faith communities who see themselves as possessing sufficient truth for salvation or enlightenment, but not all the truth. For them it is possible to remain loyal to one’s own belief system while supplementing it with wisdom and practices from another. Anyone, for example, can practice yoga or other forms of meditation without compromising beliefs.

However, for more traditional Christians in particular, this is a difficult issue. Let them at least consider this: Since the likelihood of mass conversion of the world’s non-Christian believers seems remote, there must be a reason for religious pluralism. Perhaps it is to convince us that no religion or culture has a complete lock on wisdom or morality. We have much to learn from one another without compromising our own religious integrity. If not now, when?

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Benjamin J. Hubbard is a professor and chairman of the department of comparative religion at Cal State Fullerton. He recently co-wrote “America’s Religions--An Educator’s Guide to Beliefs and Practices.” He may be reached at bhubbard@fullerton.edu