Acts Of Faith By Eboo Patel's 'Acts Of Faith'

Just as there is a variety of identities involving race, gender, and class, so too are there a range of religious identities. Byzantine Catholics, Hindus, born-again Evangelicals, atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists are only a few religious identities I have encountered in America. This environment, at best, allows religious variety to be understood and embraced—and at worst, divides us. In Acts of Faith, author Eboo Patel discusses his belief that the “faith line” will define conflict and concord in the 21st century.

Patel introduces the concept of a “faith line” and its importance by describing two cases of young people’s education relating to religion. In the first, a young man was taught religious totalitarianism, a destructive and hateful

A school gave its students the tools to learn about religious diversity. While they were also located in a homogenous, poor area, they were taught about other belief systems. Just as Eric Rudoph was easily led to the totalitarian side of the “faith line” young people in Whitewell, Tennessee came to understand the merits of the other side, religious pluralism. They learned about the rich history of Judaism, and visited a Holocaust museum. These opportunities to introduce religious diversity improve the chances that individuals will end up on the peaceful, inclusive side of the “faith line” rather than the violent and extreme

In my Catholic high school, our theology class visited a spiritual space each semester. Synagogues, temples, centers, and mosques were included. The most memorable of these visits was a trip to the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills. At first, I was in awe of the décor—large, intricate murals and statues filled the space, and there were flowers and incense holders in every corner. The tour guide, a Hindu doctor and author, then occupied my interest. He described his belief in pantheism, a view that the Universe is divine in all respects. It was so interesting to hear about a belief contrary to the monotheist, dualist one I was brought up in. It made just as much sense, it was simply explanation of life and its meaning.

I was reminded of this experience while reading about one of Patel’s mentors, Brother Wayne Teasdale. A Catholic monk, he had also taken vows in a Hindu monastic tradition. Brother Wayne quoted Ghandi when he taught Patel “the tradition you were born into was your home”, but it should be a home with open windows to allow the winds of other traditions in. Loving acceptance and improved knowledge are necessary elements of religious pluralism and the Inter-Faith Youth Core that followed, but perhaps most important is the societal good that can come from working