Teens Discuss Faith With Open Hearts, Minds

“We concentrate on things that are alike in our different religions and not our differences like most people do.”

--Saori Hirata, 17, Buddhist

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Worried about today’s youth?

Relax and listen to 25 teenagers--of a variety faiths--putting together the inaugural Interfaith Youth Conference 2000 this spring at Chapman University.

The group, operating under the umbrella of the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference for Christians and Jews), has met monthly since October to plan a daylong event they hope will attract more than 1,000 youths.

“We all have prejudices about one another’s faiths, which is why the conference will be so great, to help dispel those prejudices,” said Genevieve Hakanson, a 17-year-old Methodist from Fountain Valley. “It’s something you don’t experience too often, a roomful of open-minded people.”

Daniel Brown, a senior at Garden Grove High School, said it will be important for conferees to provide solid information on the sometimes mysterious subject of religion.

“I think there’s a lot of untruths and rumors about religions, and it would be good for everyone to learn the reality,” said Brown, a born-again Christian. “It’s best to try to get it into people’s heads when they’re young, so that’s why this is so important.”

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“Learning about a different belief or way of life will open so many more horizons for us to explore.”

Afreen Malion, 17, Muslim

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The event is the brainchild of Bill Shane, executive director of the local chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice, a nonprofit group designed to promote “understanding and respect between all races, religions and cultures.”

Each summer, Shane’s organization holds a two-week conference for high school juniors who hear guest speakers talk about social responsibility in a variety of areas, including the media, judicial system and technology. Last year, religion was a surprisingly popular topic.

“I was skeptical they would even be interested,” Shane said. “But the response was just incredible. It’s been: ‘We love it. We want more. Teach us more.’ ”

Shane took the idea of an interfaith youth conference to leaders of the interfaith councils his organization had set up throughout the county, and they loved it. Word spread, and he soon had more than two dozen teenage volunteers ready to go.

Shane facilitates the planning meetings, but ideas for the youth conference flow entirely from the students. Sitting around a table eating pizza and drinking soda, the teenagers throw around ideas with energy, humor and a surprising gentleness--making sure they don’t offend a person whose faith they don’t know much about.

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“We’re growing to not see the stereotypes of the religions. We are all people of God and we’re all connected by that.”

Hilary Thompson, 18, Roman Catholic

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With four months to go before the April 2 event, some things have fallen easily into place.

The teenagers whipped up a Web site (https://iyc2000.jumpeducation.com) almost overnight (though they warn it’s still under “heavy construction”), and they’ve settled on a lot of the basics: plenty of music, ethnic food, workshops and a “Jeopardy”-like trivia game that will test knowledge of world religions.

Challenges do loom. The biggest of which is to find the perfect keynote speaker, someone who can speak to a religiously diverse crowd and also excite teenagers.

But in typical teenager fashion, the organizers don’t seem particularly worried, though they understand what lies ahead.

“It’s an incredible sense of responsibility to have a committee of teenagers plan a conference of such a high caliber,” said Todd Kirschen of Fullerton.

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“There is always more to learn. People can become more tolerant. . . .”

Todd Kirschen, 18, Jewish

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Serving on the conference’s organizing committee--which has met at a synagogue, a Mormon church and the Diocese of Orange--are Buddhists, Muslims, Mormons, Roman Catholics, Jews, Baha’is, Jains (a Hindu religion) and Protestants.

“I’ve never been in an organization that wasn’t connected by school or by sports teams,” said Fatima Khwaja, a 17-year-old Irvine resident and Muslim. “It was strange at first, but I really like everyone now.”

“I’m absolutely inspired by these young people and their desire to truly learn about one another and leave behind a world where they only deal with their own kind,” Shane said.

“They can’t figure out why all of their parents and grandparents were afraid of each other. They don’t get it.”

Still worried?

The Interfaith Youth Conference 2000 welcomes any volunteer help from Orange County teenagers. Call Bill Shane at (949) 252-5388 for more information.

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William Lobdell, editor of Times Community News, looks at faith as a regular contributor to The Times’ Orange County religion page. His e-mail address is bill.lobdell@latimes.com.