It’s complex. It’s variable. It’s religion.
Any given religious denomination can be difficult to understand thoroughly, for its many facets are often deeply rooted in history, tradition and culture. “Religion Unwrapped,” a series of seminars exploring the history and basic tenets of six major religions and practices, was designed to increase the knowledge and understanding of different religions with the Elon community.
The series, headed by Chaplain Jan Fuller, opened with a seminar titled “Unwrapping Judaism” March 26, during which Fuller gave an hour-long overview of Jewish history, practices, holidays and religious variations.
“There are lots of ways to be Jewish,” she said during the presentation. “There is a full spectrum of opportunity for practice and interpretation.”
Fuller intends to emphasize religious variation in all six seminars in order to increase awareness of differences both within and outside of one’s own religion.
Although the majority of the Elon student body is Christian, Fuller held a seminar called “Unwrapping Christianity” April 3 to better explain the various components of an overarching category. The seminar piqued the interest of even those within the Christian community. Trung Huynh-Duc, business manager of the Catholic Campus Ministry, planned to attend to learn more about other Christian denominations.
“Catholics represent only one piece of Christianity, and I wanted to see how others were presented,” he said. “The more we know about others, the better we can be.”
The series was planned partly in response to concerns regarding the Multi-faith Center, scheduled to open January 2013.
“What I have heard is that some students feel they may have to compromise their own beliefs (within the Multi-faith Center),” Fuller said. “We want to assure them that all will be asked to behave respectfully towards others.”
[box]Upcoming Seminars: “Unwrapping Islam:” April 10, noon-1 p.m., Lindner 206 “Unwrapping Buddhism:” April 17, noon-1 p.m., Lindner 206 “Unwrapping Hinduism:” April 24, noon-1 p.m., Lindner 206 “Unwrapping Pagan Practices:” May 1, noon-1 p.m., Lindner 206[/box]
Similar concerns regarding conflict over worship space have come to the attention of Better Together co-president Mason Sklut, who understands the need to foster better communication between religious groups.
“The coinciding of religious groups during prayer (in the Multi-faith Center) could be a good thing or a bad thing,” he said. “For example, it may be distracting if Jews and Muslims are using the same worship space at the same time because there are varying rituals for prayer in each denomination. However, it may also be a good thing because it encourages interfaith cooperation, which is something that would be very beneficial to Elon students.”
Inspired by the “Unwrapping Religion” series, Sklut is currently planning a similar discussion series called “Real Talk with the Rabbi,” tentatively scheduled for later this month.
“Besides giving an introduction to Jewish religious tradition, we hope to break down stereotypes for all religious and nonreligious faith traditions,” Sklut said. “We believe that by hosting these discussions in a casual environment outside the ‘classroom setting,’ students will feel more comfortable asking difficult questions about all religions.”
The remaining four seminars in the “Unwrapping Religion” series will discuss Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Paganism. Fuller plans to hold another discussion of religion next fall, when the opening of the Multi-faith Center is even more imminent.