Kyle is an interfaith advocate, someone who is employed in this capacity. He is genuinely interested in sharing about his own religious background with people from other faith traditions—he’s a Christian, in case you were wondering—and learning about the religious lives of others. While this interest is related to his full-time employment, I am persuaded that his curiosity extends well beyond his job description. Building relationships with people from other faiths is part of who Kyle is. 

When people are asked to compose photographs about the ways they experience or express their religion in everyday life, their initial focus was on producing a handful of photos in advance of their next meeting. Participants tend to take “homework” assignments like this seriously. They put considerable thought into their images and the stories they will share about them. During meetings, the photos help participants connect with one another and to stake out the boundaries of their conversations. 

During their second meeting, participants arrive prepared to share about their pictures for the first time. They sit at tables of 4-6 people organized to create a balance of people from different religious backgrounds. People tend to be reluctant to pass their smartphone around the table, so we provide each person with prints of their photographs, which they email a few days before their meeting. Everyone expects to play the role of storyteller and to answer a few questions before moving to the next person. 

In the midst of these small group discussions about photographs, Kyle observed an important aspect of our process. The conversation seemed to move from people talking about their own photographs to a genuine curiosity about other people’s images. “All of a sudden,” Kyle recalled, “it was almost like you became more interested in what the people around the table were going to say about their pictures than you were about what your own stack had to offer perhaps. At least that was my experience.” 

The photos did something important, they helped to generate curiosity. Kyle continued,  

When you’re going around the group talking about pictures . . . you’re able to more freely enter into these spaces of inquisitiveness or wonder. You know, somebody is talking about one aspect of their photo and you want to know about the lighting. And like, that’s totally fine, right? Or they’re talking about what they were doing when they saw this and you have no idea what something is in the photo—and it’s completely unrelated to what they’re talking about, but you feel that permission to ask about it. And then that takes the conversation somewhere. 

Not only does curiosity encourage the conversation to unfold in organic and productive ways, it also helps to build understanding and relationships. Think about your own experience. When you share something about yourself with a new acquaintance and they express genuine interest by asking good questions, the roots of a friendship begin to grow. 

In an Interfaith Photovoice project, the photographs people share with one another are invitations to be curious. Asking sincere questions about a person’s pictures or narratives nudges the conversation toward friendship.

Activity 5: Reflecting on Curiosity

Asking good questions in interfaith settings takes practice. You are encouraged to work through the following questions on your own and then to discuss them with your photovoice conversation partner(s). 

1. Looking back at earlier discussions, which were the photographs and/or stories that interested you most? 

2. What questions did you ask?

3. Why do you suppose you were curious about these photos and narratives? 

4. What did you discover by exercising your curiosity?

5. Were there any curiosities that you restrained—and if so, why did you hold those questions back?

6. How did you feel when your conversation partner(s) asked you questions about your photos?

7. Did these expressions of curiosity “take the conversation” in productive or unproductive directions? 

8. What would it look like for you to nurture your curiosity in your own life for interfaith understanding and friendship?