Dialogue between and within Religions:

Dialogue between and within Religions: Overview What this section covers: Jewish attitudes to: o Exclusivism o Inclusivism o Pluralism o Intra-faith communication o Inter-faith dialogue The relationship between religion and society including: o National identity o Proselytization Attitudes towards non-religious worldviews including areas of agreement and disagreement between Judaism and: o Secularism o Atheism o Agnosticism o Humanism 1

Jewish attitudes towards each other and others It is estimated that around 84% of the world s population identifies with some religious belief. In Britain there is a diverse ethnic and cultural society, with many religions represented. Religions are defined by their attitudes and teachings towards a variety of issues including how they believe in G-d, origins of the universe, the meaning and purpose of life, the afterlife, as well as how to respond ethically to situations such as inter-human relationships and the environment. Of all the major religions, or non-religions, in the world, the smallest in number is the Jewish religion. This is shown in the table below: Religion Percentage of world followers Christianity 33 Islam 21 Non-religious 16 Hinduism 14 Primal-indigenous 6 Chinese traditional 6 Buddhism 6 Sikhism 0.36 Judaism 0.22 This would seem part of the biblical prophecy that states in Devarim 4:27, And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations to where the Lord will lead you. Exclusivism Exclusivism is where one religion believes it is correct, and all the other religions are wrong. For example, as far as Christianity is concerned, exclusivists believe that salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus. Christian exclusivists will also believe that people who follow other religions, reject Christianity, or even those who belong to some Christian denominations, as being destined for hell, or at best, not heaven. As we will see below, Judaism does not follow an exclusivist approach. 2

Inclusivism Inclusivism is the idea that while there is one correct religion, this does not stop those who are not part of that religion from getting close to G-d. Judaism is an inclusivist religion, in that it believes that any human can gain a reward from G-d either in the physical or spiritual world. There are many references to this idea including: Belief that G-d created the first humans (and therefore humanity as a whole) as direct creations, before any organised religion began When G-d created the first humans, He created them (and therefore humanity as a whole) to reflect His image [Genesis 1] Various references by the prophets including from Malachi 2:10 Do we not all have one father? Did not one G-d create us? However, Judaism does insist on the accountability of all humans before G-d. an example of this can be found on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the prayers that speak of all mankind passing before G-d to be judged. This basis of this accountability is found in the Noahide Laws. These laws are not specifically set out in the Torah, but are generally agreed by Jewish sages to be the laws that G-d set out for humanity after the Noahide flood. These laws are: Belief in One G-d: Acknowledge that there is a single G-d who cares about what we are doing and desires that we take care of His world. Do not use G-d s name falsely: No matter how angry you may be, do not take it out verbally against your Creator. Do not murder: The value of human life cannot be measured. Do not be cruel to animals: Respect the life of all G-d s creatures. Do not steal: Make sure that none of the benefits you gain are at the unfair expense of someone else. Do not be sexually immoral: The family unit is the foundation of human society. Sexuality is the fountain of life and so nothing is more holy than the sexual act. So, too, when abused, nothing can be more debasing and destructive to the human being. Create a system of law & justice: With every small act of justice, we are restoring harmony to our world. Judaism maintains that any non-jewish person who lives by these laws will gain a spiritual reward. 3

Intra-faith exclusivism Inter-faith exclusivism means that one section of the religion believes it is correct, while believing that the other sections of the religion are wrong. Whilst Judaism is not interfaith exclusivist, within Judaism there are definitely intra-faith exclusivist views. A wide spectrum of belief that represents a whole range of views has grown in Judaism over the past 300 years. This Jewish religious spectrum can be summed up as follows: Liberal Reform Masorti Modern Orthodox Ultra-Orthodox Less traditional more traditional Do not believe Torah is direct from G-d Believe Torah is direct from G-d The biggest issue regarding intra-faith exclusivism in Judaism is between Orthodox and non-orthodox Judaism. Orthodox Judaism holds an exclusivist view. This means that Orthodox Judaism does not believe that non-orthodox Judaism is a valid representation of Judaism, because non-orthodox Judaism have non-traditional methods of interpreting Jewish texts and laws. There are several issues that arise from this. The biggest practical issues are that Orthodox Judaism does not recognise the religious validity of non-orthodox Judaism in the following areas: Marriage Divorce Conversion Role of women as ritual leaders In a practical sense, it is very possible that marriages, divorces and conversions that are conducted under non-orthodox Judaism will not be recognised as religiously legal by Orthodox Judaism. Non-Orthodox Judaism recognises the religious validity of Orthodox Judaism. Pluralism 4

Pluralism rejects the idea that G-d has revealed Himself only through one religion or one saviour. Therefore, pluralists disagree with both exclusivist and inclusivists, because both those views depend on there being only one true religion. Pluralists believe that G-d reveals Himself through all the world s religions, and that each is a valid response to G-d. The person who is most closely associated with pluralism is the English theologian John Hick. Hick argues that all major faiths have two things in common: 1. No religion can prove that it is the one and only religion 2. Individuals from all faiths have experiences that they say come from G-d Hick therefore concludes that all religions have some truth in them, or that they are all equally close to the truth, and therefore they all deserve the same respect. Critics of Pluralism point out that Hick ignores the contradictions between religions i.e. each religion has aspects of it that are unique and therefore cannot be a different version of the same truth. They also point out that no religion considers itself to contain only some truth, or be close to the truth, but rather every religion considers itself to be the sole truth. Judaism, whilst holding inclusivist views, does not agree with Pluralism. Judaism maintains that the Torah is the only version of G-d s Revelation in history. This is summed up in the view of Maimonides (medieval Rabbi, philosopher and physician) who writes as the ninth of his thirteen Principles of Faith that a Jewish person must declare about the Torah that, I believe in complete faith that this is the Torah, and it shall not be changed and it shall not be replaced with another from the Creator, blessed be His name. Intra-faith communication As mentioned above, there is a sharp divide within Judaism between Orthodox Judaism and non-orthodox Judaism on matters of Jewish law. Orthodox means traditional and is therefore the section of Judaism that follows traditional interpretation of Jewish law that goes back to Moses. Non-Orthodox is non-traditional, which means it has a nontraditional interpretation of Jewish law. Since the major differences are around how Jewish law is to be interpreted, this means that it is very difficult for traditionalists (Orthodox) to accept non-traditionalist (non- Orthodox) positions on Jewish law. Since this is the case, there are separate Courts of Jewish Law (Bet Din) for Orthodox and non-orthodox Judaism. 5

However, these differences are less pronounced in social areas. Since less than 1% of the British population is Jewish, there are important social reasons why Jews of all persuasions work together with the wider British society. Therefore, there are some organisations that represent British Jewry as a whole, regardless of Orthodox or non- Orthodox belief. Arguably the most important of these is the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD). The BoD represents the British Jewish community in areas such as politics, tackling antisemitism, defending Jewish schools, promoting Israel, defending Jewish equality and freedoms in society, and interfaith matters. Inter-faith dialogue The differences between the religions of the world can lead to tensions between them. These tensions can take, and have in the past taken, the form of intolerance, prejudice and discrimination. They can develop ultimately into violence and war. In the UK, differences between religious groups have sometimes resulted in conflict. Inter-faith dialogue is not an attempt to remove differences between religions, but rather to understand the differences and respect them, while remaining true to one s own faith. Those who promote inter-faith dialogue believe that tension between religious groups can be reduced through communication, and that communication can bring about peace. Within the UK, there are several interfaith initiatives that include Jewish representation. As mentioned above, the BoD is heavily involved, strengthening ties between the Jewish community and Christian, Muslim, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Another major interfaith group is the Council of Christians and Jews, which was formed in 1942. Among its stated aims is to: celebrate the history and diversity of both the Jewish and Christian communities, facilitate constructive dialogue, enable meaningful learning experiences provide opportunities for transformative change The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was founded by the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. It aims to stop religious conflict by building understanding, breaking down religious and cultural differences between school students. Religion and Society: National Identity Religious beliefs and practices are closely linked to ethnic groupings and national borders. Belonging to a people meant sharing their beliefs in the same geographical location. Nowadays, people move around a lot more than they used to, but they may 6

still identify with the beliefs and geographical place where they, or their ancestors, came from. This can, on occasion, create a situation of divided loyalties. For instance, how might a Muslim person who moved to, or was born in the UK, react to British soldiers fighting in a Muslim country? Or how might a Jewish person who moved to, or was born in the UK, react to British political leaders criticising Israel? Today, religions are still associated strongly with some countries: Israel is defined as a Jewish State even though it is ruled by secular (non-religious ) law. Exactly how this Jewishness is defined is still open to discussion, but for many Israel represents the Jewish religion, Jewish culture, Jewish ethnicity, Jewish history or a combination of any or all of these. Like Israel, other countries may also be associated with a religion by tradition, even if they are secular states such as Sri Lanka (Buddhism) Iran is a theocracy. A theocracy is a country run by its religious leaders. In Iran, the Shi a tradition of Islam is the official religion, and the Supreme Leader is a Muslim cleric. As we have seen, the UK is closely associated with Christianity, even though the number of people actively practising Christianity has fallen. It should also be noted that studies have shown that some Sikhs and Muslims in Britain identify themselves as being British more strongly than some white Britons do. A British Social Attitudes survey showed that of the nine factors suggested to define what it means to be British, being a Christian was seen as least important, well behind speaking English, holding British citizenship, and respecting British institutions and laws. Religion and Society: Proselytisation Proselytisation is when someone encourages others to become part of their faith. This can often become a matter of imposing faith views on someone. There is a fine line between sharing the teachings of a faith with others, and making them accept it. Judaism holds two main views: 1. Judaism is not in favour of the proselytisation of those outside the religion into it. A reason for this, as we have seen, is that Judaism does not feel it is necessary for someone to be Jewish in order for them to get close to G-d. Therefore, Judaism does not impose its teachings on those not of the Jewish faith, but merely requires non- Jews to accept and keep the seven Noahide Laws. 7

8 In fact, Judaism goes to great lengths to put people off who would be potential converts to Judaism. The halacha (Jewish law) is that should someone initially ask to convert, they need to be told they cannot up to three times. If someone is sincere about their wish to convert (and are therefore not put off by being told no three times), then they need to go through a formal conversion process. In Orthodox Judaism this will consist of an intensive learning programme, along with spending some time with a practising Jewish family and, for a male, a brit milah. This conversion process may take several years. 2. Judaism has a more protective view of those who are already Jewish, either by birth or through conversion. The general rule is, once Jewish, always Jewish. This means that even if a Jewish person were to formally go through a conversion process for another religion, or that they do not believe in Judaism, they are always considered as Jewish. In this regard, Judaism believes that it is the duty of every Jew to learn as much about the religion as is possible. In the Mishna it states that, Talmud Torah K neged Kulam the study of Torah is equivalent to all (other mitzvot). In this way, Jewish people are constantly encouraged to gain a greater insight into the religion. Jewish attitudes towards non-religious worldviews Non-religious worldviews believe the existence and meaning of the universe can be explained without G-d. As science and technology have improved, so the need for religion and G-d as answers to the big questions of life has decreased. People with these views will feel less need to have religious faith. There are various types of non-religious views. Here are some of them, and how they differ, and sometimes are in agreement, with Judaism: Secularism: Secularists believe that everyone has the right to freedom of belief, whether that belief is religious or not. They insist that beliefs are private and should not affect other people if they do not want to be affected by them. This would mean that central organisations such as a government should not be influenced by religion, nor should it use religion to influence law. This view would be incompatible with Biblical Jewish belief, as the leader of the Jewish People was also meant to be the religious leader. So much so that there is a special mitzvah for a king to write his own Sefer Torah that travels everywhere with him, as a reminder that he, too, must be subservient to G-d. When the Temple was standing, and there was a central court of law called the Sanhedrin, Jewish law was also the law of the land. Since the Temple was destroyed, and the Jewish People lost control of the Land of Israel, the influence of Jewish law became limited to the Jewish community and

individuals. The modern State of Israel is a Jewish State, but only certain elements of civil law are in accordance with religious Jewish law. Atheism: Atheists believe that G-d does not exist. Their argument is that believers should be able to prove G-d exists, but they have not or cannot. The former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, argues against the atheist view. He says that humans naturally search for meaning. However, true meaning of anything is only found outside the system itself. For example, the workings of a credit card cannot be understood just by looking at the plastic the card is made of, or how items are bought with it. To fully understand how a credit card works, it is necessary to look at the full monetary system. Another example is the game of chess. It is possible to play a game of chess, but impossible to understand fully why and how it is played unless you can appreciate the history of warfare. In both the credit card and chess cases, a full appreciation of understanding can only come if you look outside their immediate use. Similarly, he argues, with the existence of the universe. The meaning of the universe has to be found outside the universe itself, and only G-d exists outside the universe. To deny G-d is to have a meaningless existence. Agnosticism: Agnostics say that it is impossible to know if G-d exists (this is different from atheism who are convinced G-d does not exist). They say that there is no proof on either side that G-d does or does not exist. Whilst Judaism maintains that G-d exists, to an extent, the doubt as shown in the agnostic view can be a foundation for belief. Again, Lord Sacks argues that faith is not living with certainty, but rather the courage to live with uncertainty. Judaism is about acknowledging that doubt exists but nonetheless taking the risk of commitment to G-d. Abraham was chosen by G-d because he took the risk of believing in, and committing to G-d, at a time when no-one else did. Judaism acknowledges that believing in G-d is a risk as agnostics do but unlike agnostics Judaism insists a belief and commitment to G-d is necessary despite the doubt. Humanism: Humanists do not accept any religious view of the universe. They believe that people can find meaning in life and behave with dignity and compassion without the need for G-d. Judaism, too, understands the need for ethics. However, there is a difference between the human-driven ethics of humanism, and a G-d-driven ethics of religion (in Judaism s case this is called ethical monotheism). Judaism maintains that there is a danger that human-driven ethics can go wrong, because they are relative. This means that they are considered as useful or important only by the standards of human logic. An example of the danger of human values is Nazi Germany, who undoubtedly had a civil law against murder, and yet at the same time justified the murder of millions of human beings. 9

Ethical monotheism is different because the moral code is given by G-d. This means that their usefulness or importance is not relative to what people think. They are useful and important because G-d, who transcends time and space and knowledge, insists they are important for humanity. With this there cannot be any room for distortion. Areas of agreement between Judaism & non-religious views Despite the fact that Judaism does not agree with the fundamentals of non-religious worldviews, there are many elements that coincide. Here are some of them: The need to behave with compassion. There are numerous mitzvot in Judaism about behaving compassionately. Perhaps the most perplexing is the mitzvah to shoo away a mother bird before taking eggs from the nest. This is one of only two mitzvot that tell the reward for doing it is a long life. One idea is that by instructing us to have compassion on animals, the Torah is making the point that we must also have compassion on humans. Support for those in need. There are several mitzvot that insist on helping those in need. This is widely known as tzedakah. Peace is preferable to conflict. The word for peace in Hebrew is Shalom. It comes from the root Shalem, meaning complete. In Judaism, peace is only attainable when a person s world is complete. Violence and conflict is the total opposite to this. Protection of the environment. The Torah mentions in several places about the need for people to protect the environment. Perhaps the most well-known is in Genesis, when G-d creates the humans and then tells them that they have dominion over the world to use it. With control comes responsibility to ensure that the world that G-d created is protected by the humans that He created. Areas of disagreement between Judaism and non-religious views There are some areas where Orthodox Judaism will not agree with non-religious views. Many of these stem from the fact that the non-religious views are human-driven and not ethical monotheism. Some examples of these areas of disagreement are: Sex before marriage Same-sex marriage Materialism The Jewish views on these issues have been examined in other topics. 10