Acts of (Inter)Faith

I just finished reading Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation by Eboo Patel. And I actually got to meet and hang out with him for a few hours last week end. He is so down to earth and one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. He founded the Interfaith Youth Core which exists on college campuses but also works with high schoolers and the basic idea is for kids of different faiths to do service projects together and have dialogue about it later. The dialogue of course revolves around their many faiths. Through out his book, Eboo shows how all religious traditions exemplify two things. One of which we always think about when we think religion, and one of which we never think when we think religion. 1) All religions consider themselves unique and the best in some way. Religious particularity, if you will. 2) All religions take interfaith relations into consideration. See, that second one throws you off guard. But he really shows in his book how cooperation can be reached if we work at it and that all religions espouse these things. We can respect each other and work together in harmony. Interfaith work is supposed to make you more committed to your own faith.

I loved reading this book and I find it so relevant to today's America/world. But at times, I found myself outside the story. He talks so much about finding his own roots and others finding their roots. When you study other religions, that should bring you closer to your own. He studied Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Catholicism which only led him to be a more committed Muslim in the end. If I had been able to get him alone for just five minutes this weekend (or if I had a real email address of his now) I would have asked him "How do converts fit into your idea of interfaith development?" He was so open and vulnerable with himself, that I wouldn't have been afraid to ask him. It was just everyone else around him all the time. I would have outed myself. We weren't really in a religious setting, but a leadership setting, so that wasn't a place I felt comfortable being myself (I should say my Jewish-ish self). I really would love to know his answers because the entire time I was reading those parts of his book I felt like he was telling me to go back to Catholicism. And I wanted to scream back, "But I CAN'T!" What if you can't? What if Jesus isn't the savior? What if the same reason you don't subscribe to Christianity is the same reason I don't want to? How do I fit into the interfaith movement then?

I'm wording it in a childish way, but it is a serious question for me. I very much believe that interfaith is the movement of our time and that we have a responsibility to learn how to coexist. How do converts fit into the interfaith movement? Often, I get remarks from Jews about my Christian background. They range from harmless jokes to a stab right through the center of my soul. They have no idea what it's like to feel responsible for children getting molested. So, no those jokes aren't funny. And no true Catholic supports those priests either, just as no Jew supports the rabbis who behave in the same way. I've dealt with the pain that I put on myself. I don't need others putting it on me. Part of my issue of being in the interfaith movement is the lack of converts to Judaism. We confuse people. People convert to Christianity and Islam all the time. It's totally normal. More than that, it's welcomed. But Jews, in general, don't know how to deal with converts. The fear then becomes how will born Jews react when they hear me discussing another religion. My sincerity is already being questioned. An interfaith discussion can't possibly help. But should I forego my comfort for the sake of interfaith cooperation?

To be honest, I've never really done anything interfaith but I am about to make my family interfaith. It's kind of ironic. I've studied other religions, but I don't think that counts as interfaith study. When I did that, I was looking for something. I was looking for myself in those religions, to see if I could fit. When I saw I didn't fit, I walked away. The only religion I have studied beyond that is Christianity. I have studied for classes, for the sake of my parents, for the sake of understanding where I come from, where I don't come from, where the world is headed, and for the sake of understanding history. But it's always a little uncomfortable for me. I wonder if I really could do the same for other religions. I'm guessing studying Islam or Hinduism wouldn't make me uncomfortable since I wasn't raised in either of them and don't resent them for anything. But a stranger question is, are converts (in Judaism) even allowed to be a part of the interfaith movement? Would a rabbi seriously approve of me partaking in interfaith activities, studying other religions and experiencing different rituals? He would probably tell me I have to wait until after I converted. My guess is, for the foreseeable future I am going to be kept out of the interfaith movement.