Amen to Jim Wallis on Faith, Fundamentalism, and Dialogue

From the World Economic Forum Community of West and Islam Dialogue’s (C-100) first annual report on the state of dialogue, found here (pg. 70 of the full report).

Fundamentalism, it is often said, is caused by taking religion too seriously, suggesting perhaps that faith should be taken less seriously. That conventional wisdom is simply wrong. The best response to fundamentalism is to take faith even more seriously, to critique by faith the accommodations of fundamentalism to theocracy, to violence and to power; and to assert the vital religious commitments that fundamentalists often leave out — namely compassion, social justice, peacemaking, religious pluralism and democracy.

Conventional wisdom also suggests that the antidote to religious fundamentalism is secularism. Again, that is a very big mistake. The best response to bad religion is better religion, or secularism. Our traditions are religions of the Book, so the key question is, how do we interpret the Book? In Christian faith, we have the interpretations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but also of the Klu Klux Klan. More faithful interpretations of the Book are better responses to fundamentalism than throwing the Book away.

New effects, with strong leadership from the American churches, must be undertaken to increase understanding and respect between Christians and Muslims. Religious leaders could undertake conflict resolution across political lines, learning to trust and respect each other….

A crucial battle for the hears and mind fo the faithful is taking place today within all the great religions. That battle is often between a fundamentalist versus a prophetic vision. It is between the kind of religion that promises easy certainty and the kind that prompts deeper reflection. On attacks all those outside the circle of faith — or even outside their faction of the circle — while the other seeks a genuine dialogue without compromising its sacred ground.

Conflicts between religions capture the headlines, but the real struggle is the internal battle within or the soul of each community of faith. Ultimately, faith should be not a wedge that divides, but a bridge that draws us together on the most significant moral challenges of our time.