Religion Fair Finds Unity in Difference

“Roots and Visions” was the theme Sunday of a Religious Diversity Faire at UC Irvine that featured representatives of two dozen faiths from all over the world and drew almost 500 participants from Orange County.

Leaders of panel discussions talked about religious pluralism in the new millennium, trends in institutional religions, the differences between ancient sacred texts and how teaching ministries will evolve.

“It’s so important to get exposed to people of different faith traditions at this point in time,” said Kay Lindahl, founder of the Alliance for Spiritual Community in Laguna Niguel. “We live in the most religiously diverse place in the world.”

The question whether interfaith dialogue promotes watered-down beliefs or leads instead to a reinforced faith was addressed by veteran religion reporter Bob Abernethy, host of the PBS television series “Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly.” Abernethy delivered the keynote address, “The Implications of Religious Diversity,” at the fair, the sixth such annual gathering at UCI.

“I respond with great hope to all those who have discovered the paradox of being open to all religions by going deep into their own,” he said. “Not in watering down any religion, but by plumbing the historic depths of all. I strongly suspect that if we are to learn how to proceed from tolerance to understanding to respect, it will not be in spite of our deepest beliefs but because of them.”

Steve La Fond, a Mormon from Garden Grove, agreed and said he’s committed to learning about every religion, even if it’s intimidating or unfamiliar.

“Once we learn, it’s not scary,” he said. “We need to try to celebrate what we have in common instead of nit-picking what we don’t share.”

Panel discussions focused on topics such as reincarnation, international religious freedom, interfaith ministry, mysticism, modern prophets and labyrinths. They also addressed specific traditions, such as Sikh, American Indian, Unitarian Universalist, Buddhist and Roman Catholic.

In “Teaching Ministry: Yesterday and Tomorrow,” moderator Dr. Donald Miller, professor of religion at the University of Southern California and founder of the Center of Religion and Civic Culture at the school, predicted that megachurches, which have a stronghold in Orange County, will wane.

“We shouldn’t get too infatuated with megachurches or Baby Boomers who will die in thirty years,” said Miller. “There is already a reaction mounting against the megachurches among Generation X.”

Miller said that the younger generation is already starting to demand more ritual in its worship services, keeping the avant-garde music that their parents ushered into the sanctuary but adding the incense and traditions with “roots” back into their faith experience.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Chugay of Newport Beach agreed that the ritual of Catholicism, his lifelong faith, is most important to him and anchors his worship.

“I put God first,” he said, adding that he was there to learn about other religions, but also to put in some of the community service hours required by his high school.

The point of the conference wasn’t to proselytize but to educate, said organizers.

“It’s important to personalize religions and meet people who practice different faiths,” said the Rev. Chris Schriner of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach.