Religion, Diversity, and Inclusion
Over the last five years, I have been working with an interdisciplinary team to develop a new approach to intergroup understanding. Our work began like many other good ideas: on a napkin over lunch.
Michael Bos and I had not seen each other for the better part of a year. It was early January 2017, and we both expressed concern regarding the public discourse about Muslims in America. So much animosity towards Muslims surfaced during the 2016 election cycle. We both worried that this negative sentiment would amplify bias, stereotypes, and prejudice.
As we puzzled over the problem, the conversation turned to what could be done to address it. Indeed, we wondered, what could we do? It seemed audacious to propose we could actually do something about prejudice and polarization related to religious and cultural differences.
Photo 1. Curating photographs into themes for the exhibition in Richmond, Virginia.
In the eyes of many, religion is not welcome in many spheres of social life. At work and school in the United States and Canada, people are taught to keep their religion to themselves. Businesses and other organizations are reluctant to regard religion as a legitimate aspect of diversity and inclusion efforts, even though evidence shows that when people bring their whole selves to work or school they are more effective and productive.
Among those who do see the important contribution religious diversity can play in organizational and social life, concerns arise about how others will regard them if they make a stand for it. Even if such an effort may be welcomed, champions of the importance of religious diversity may feel ill-equipped to plan and lead an inclusion initiative. Religion and inclusion are complicated in their own ways, how and where does one start work on religious inclusion?
At a basic level, the starting point for this work is a shared set of values. Religious freedom is a basic human right. This means that people should be free to be religious as well as to not be religious. Likewise, people should be able to live in a world where prejudice—religious or otherwise—is not the organizing principle for relationships. In short, the world is a better place when people can fully express their identities and be respected in their work, educational, and community settings.
The good news is that there are ways to approach these issues and concerns. Interfaith photovoice is one of them. What started out as a lunch conversation grew into a plan and eventually became a new approach to interfaith understanding, one that involves using photographs to build relationships and engage communities.
This series explores the powerful ways photography and structured interactions can affect positive change. While the context and examples I draw upon focus on Muslim–Christian relations, the work photovoice can accomplish is relevant to broader equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts.
Our approach shows promise in improving intergroup relations, addressing bias, and reducing prejudice. This series is an effort to reflect on the art of interfaith photovoice: the ways photography shapes interactions and how those interactions, in turn, shape us. It is a journey toward change for the common good.
You are invited into this journey through activities at the end of each blog post. Think of them as opportunities to explore some aspect of interfaith photovoice. I’m a big believer in learning-by-doing. If you have questions or concerns along the way, feel free to reach out to me.
Activity 1 | Starting the Conversation
As you consider the topic of religious diversity and inclusion, who comes to mind as a partner in your journey? This could be a friend, family member, colleague, classmate, or neighbor. It might be just one person or a small group of people.
Whoever comes to mind, whether that’s one person or a handful of people, ask them to join you in this journey. Share a link to this blog. Find a time to meet. Discuss your shared interfaith commitments and concerns. Identify a common set of values upon which you can build toward change.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.