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Making the Mosaic Work? a Study of the Canadian Interfaith Movement

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Making the Mosaic Work? a Study of the Canadian Interfaith Movement Making the Mosaic Work? A Study of the Canadian Interfaith Movement Laurie Lamoureux Scholes A Thesis In the Department of Religion Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Religion) Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada March 2015 © Laurie Lamoureux Scholes, 2015 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Laurie Lamoureux-Scholes Entitled: Making the Mosaic Work? A Study of the Canadian Interfaith Movement and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Religion) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Chair Dr. N. Ingram External Examiner Dr. P. Bramadat External to Program Dr. D. Salee Examiner Dr. L. Clarke Examiner Dr. D. Boisvert Thesis Supervisor Dr. F. Bird Approved by Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director Dr. L. Orr, Graduate Program Director December 18, 2013 Dr. A. Roy, Dean Faculty of Arts and Science ii ABSTRACT Making the Mosaic Work? A Study of the Canadian Interfaith Movement Laurie Lamoureux Scholes, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2015 In Canada, where one’s religious identity is a private affair, organized interfaith initiatives provide one of the few public forums where one is encouraged to affirm a religious conviction. More and more, Canadians are encountering different religions and spiritual paths in workplaces, neighbourhoods, leisure activities, politics and the daily news. Alongside these encounters interfaith initiatives have developed, especially in the larger urban centers of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. While similar interfaith initiatives can be found across the country, variations in religious populations and pressing political / social concerns have influenced the distinct character of interfaith activities in each centre. Drawing on findings from 110 in-depth interviews with active members of Canadian interfaith initiatives, this thesis explores the matrix of influences which have contributed to the development of the interfaith movement within Canada and as part of the larger global interfaith movement. The research examines the motivations, approaches and types of interfaith work practised highlighting the diverse resources the interfaith movement offers for bridging the religious diversity found within the contemporary world. The study also calls attention to various challenges facing the Canadian and global interfaith movement including questions about representation, missing voices, stagnation, the need for deeper exploration of difference, strategies for intrafaith dialogue, measuring impact, and finding the required resources to build more tools and forums for interfaith work. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express gratitude to my advisor Professor Frederick Bird for the ongoing support and encouragement to fulfill my doctoral studies and dissertation research. Dr. Bird has been a constant source of inspiration from my first undergraduate ethics classes, as a mentor to my forays into teaching and publication, and throughout this research process. Thank you. I would also like to thank the members of my thesis committee Dr. Lynda Clarke and Dr. Donald Boisvert for their mentorship, encouragement and direction, for the thesis and other teaching and research opportunities within the Department of Religion. Thanks also to the Director and staff of the Victoria University Centre for Studies in Religion and Society for providing a short-term graduate student fellowship during the summer of 2006 where I collected the first phase of my research interviews in Vancouver and Victoria. Thanks too to Dr. Paul Bowlby and Dr. Nancy Erhard for their support of my research trip to Halifax. To Dr. Patrice Brodeur, I extend my gratitude for your confidence in this research and invitation to be lead collaborator for the report Spaces of Interreligious Dialogue in Canada: Overview and Suggestions, report submitted to the Citizenship and Heritage Canada in 2010. To the 110 interfaith participants across Canada who provided the primary data for the study by agreeing to meet me in coffee shops, offices and over the phone to complete interviews – thank you! Tina Montandon and Munit Merid of the Department of Religion thank you for your constant smiles and encouragement. Thanks to my friends Janet Wilson for your editing assistance, and to all my friends in Barrie and Montreal who encouraged me to continue and complete the study. Special thanks to my in-laws Graham and Mary-Ellen Scholes and my parents Alfred and Kay Lamoureux for the endless support. Thanks especially to my sons Zach and Jaden, and my ‘trophy’ husband Douglas Scholes for your patience, understanding and encouragement. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations INTRODUCTION 1 The Evolving Religious Landscape in Canada 3 Purpose 10 Thesis Statement 11 Key Scholarly Contributions to the Study Structure 13 Methodology 17 Terminology 21 Outline 22 PART ONE: INTERFAITH ENCOUNTERS 28 CHAPTER ONE: NEGOTIATING RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY AND THE RELIGIOUS OTHER 28 1.1. Interfaith Relations: A By-Product of Encountering the Religious 28 “Other” 1.2. Defining the Religious “Other”: Exclusive, Inclusive, Pluralistic 35 Views and Beyond 1.2.1. Christians and the Religious Other 35 1.2.2. Muslims and the Religious Other 43 1.3. Building Portraits of the Religious Other 47 1.4. The Problem of Religious Illiteracy 48 1.5. Additional Tools 51 1.6. The Interfaith Movement: Beacon of Hope? 55 PART TWO: THE GLOBAL INTERFAITH MOVEMENT 63 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE ABOUT THE MODERN INTERFAITH MOVEMENT 67 2.1. Emic Perspectives 67 2.1.1. Pilgrimage of Hope: One Hundred Years of Interfaith 67 Dialogue (1992) 2.1.2. World Council of Churches (1977 and 1979) 75 2.1.3. Sourcebook of the World’s Religions: An Interfaith Guide to 80 Religion and Spirituality (2000) 2.1.4. A Global Guide to Interfaith: Reflections From Around the 85 World (2007) 2.1.5. Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to 86 Action (2006) 2.1.6. Interfaith Dialogue at the Grassroots (2008) 88 2.2. Etic Perspectives 91 2.2.1. Assessing the Interfaith Movement 92 2.2.2. Interfaith and Government Institutions 97 2.3. Global Interfaith Movement: Five Phases of Development 101 2.3.1. Phase One: 1893 to Post World War Two 101 2.3.2. Phase Two: Post WWII to 1960s 103 2.3.3. Phase Three: 1970s to 1993 105 2.3.4. Phase Four: 1993 to 9/11 109 2.3.5. Phase Five: Post 9/11 115 2.4. Demographic Characteristics of the Global Interfaith Movement 119 CHAPTER THREE– MOTIVATIONS AND APPROACHES TO INTERFAITH WORK 122 3.1. Key Motivations for Interfaith Work 123 3.1.1. Celebrating Religious Diversity: Building our Knowledge of 123 Religion and Acceptance 3.1.2. Shared Spirituality: An Obligation that Strengthens 126 3.1.3. Theological Questions: Sharing and Comparing Religious 128 Teachings 3.1.4. World Peace and/or Peace Building 134 3.1.5. Social Justice, Sustainability and Environmental Concerns 136 3.1.6. Observations on Motivations for Interfaith Work 138 3.2. Interfaith Initiatives: Types of Dialogues and Geographical 143 Distinctions 3.2.1. Types of Dialogues 144 3.2.2. Guidelines for Dialogue 146 3.2.3. Structure of Interfaith 148 3.2.4. Approaches to Interfaith: Distinctions in Time and Geographic 149 Location 3.2.5. Observations on Types, Structure and Geographical 155 Distinctions CHAPTER FOUR – BUILDING RELATIONS, CHALLENGES AND 156 GOING FORWARD 4.1. Tolerance and Fear– Adams, Marty, Lawrence and Wuthnow 157 4.2. Friends Along the Way 160 4.3. Obstacles –Ariarajah, Eck, Lamb 4.4. Personal Motivations (especially interfaith marriages) – Ariarajah, 166 McCarthy 4.5. Role of Women – Ariarajah, Jakobsh and King 167 4.6. Approaches to the Study of Interfaith – Adams, Brown, Morgan, 168 Wuthnow 4.7. Going Forward 174 PART THREE – THE INTERFAITH MOVEMENT IN CANADA 177 CHAPTER FIVE: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CANADIAN 182 INTERFAITH MOVEMENT 5.1. Interfaith History in Canada 182 5.1.1. Phase One – Pre-Confederation to the 1960s 182 5.1.2. Phase Two – 1960s to 9/11/2001 186 5.1.3. Phase Three – Post 9/11 195 5.1.4. Observations on the History of Interfaith in Canada 201 5.2. Approaches and Structures of Canadian Interfaith Organizations 203 5.2.1. Types of Interfaith Dialogue in Canada 203 5.2.2. Organizational Structures of Canadian Interfaith 204 Organizations 5.2.2.1. Representative Model 204 5.2.2.2. Independent Model 208 5.2.2.3. Formal or Informal Organization 208 5.3. Resources for Interfaith 210 CHAPTER SIX: INTERFAITH INITIATIVES: GOVERNMENT, 212 SCHOLARSHIP AND GRASSROOTS 6.1. Interfaith Initiatives within Government Sectors 212 6.1.1. Corrections Canada 213 6.1.2. Canadian Military 216 6.1.3. Healthcare Services 217 6.1.4. Education 218 6.1.4.1. Public Education – Elementary and Secondary 219 Levels 6.1.4.2. Post-Secondary 221 6.1.5. Government Sponsored Interfaith Councils 222 6.2. Scholarship, Research Institutes and Research Chairs 227 6.3. Grassroots Interfaith Activities in Canada 229 6.3.1. Bridge Building 235 6.3.2. Education 236 6.3.3. Social Justice 239 6.3.4. Political Motivations 240 6.4. Observations about Government, Academic and Grassroots Interfaith 242 Activities in Canada CHAPTER SEVEN: REGIONAL PROFILES OF INTERFAITH 244 ACTIVITIES ACROSS CANADA 7.1. Vancouver 244 7.2. Toronto 251 7.3. Montreal 259 7.4. Halifax 270 7.5. Observations about Regional Profiles 273 CHAPTER EIGHT: INTERFAITH PARTICIPANT PROFILES 274 8.1. Profiles of Interfaith Participants in Canada 276 8.1.1. Ben 276 8.1.2. Michael 278 8.1.3. Mary 279 8.1.4. Gerald 281 8.1.5. Steven 282 8.1.6.
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