The Role of Religion and Politics in Higher Education
January 25, 2017
In his 2013 book The Righteous Mind: Why People are so Divided by Politics and Religion, social ethicist Jonathan Haidt tells the story of how and why religion, as well as politics, is so divisive in society. From the beginnings of his book to the TED talk outlining moral theory, Haidt clearly weighs in that truly we have become so divided that we no longer even hear out one another’s ideas and stances on these tension filled topics.
A memory from living in D.C. during Barack Obama’s first inauguration illustrates this perfectly. After spending much of a day traveling back and forth from my apartment in Northwest D.C. to the inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2009, I turned on the television to hear Tom Brokaw, NBC correspondent and former anchor of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, tell of a time when he would walk the hallways of congress. He remarked that during those days’ staffers and politicians would fight just as hard as they do now over the issues, but at the end of the day, everyone would go out to the local establishments, eat and drink together, and banter over topics. But now (being 2009), even staffers would not cross party lines to have conversations with one another. It was a remarkable moment for myself and helps me understand just why we seem to be so divided on politics these days.
Religion often feels the same, as divides between religious traditions have led to anger and aggression against Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, and others alike. We see the rise of Islamophobia, the perpetuation of anti-sematic statements, of ostracizing of those who are religious and non-religious alike. And in so doing, the world becomes more and more divided and the places one may feel “safe” to express themselves politically or religiously becomes more and narrower.
As a while male progressive Christian who supported Bernie Sanders and voted for Hillary Clinton, my purview is shaded because of the privilege I hold both in gender and affiliation. But when I step back and listen, truly hearing the voices of those others on campus, a reality emerges that conservative Christians, a variety of religious traditions and non-traditions feel marginalized and often afraid to express themselves. The liberalization of the campus often manifests itself in protests to prevent more conservative voices from being heard like that of Milo Yiannopoulos and the recent protest at UC Davis. While I disagree with the message of some of these speakers in fundamental ways, unless the message is truly hate speech (which sometimes it is), I’m against preventing the right for someone to speak.
Eboo Patel recently penned a New York Times post regarding the need for civility in dialogue. In speaking regarding said piece to the Hillel International Global Assembly, the largest gathering for Jewish professionals working in higher education, December of 2016 in Orlando Florida Patel remarked, “if we there was a time for the need to understand and hear one another, that time is now.” Playing off the famous “If not now, when” statement of Rabbi Hillel, for which Hillel International is named after, Patel spoke fervently of the need for civil dialogue in our society. And this message should be clear to us in a world that now enters a completely new administration in D.C.
If Religion and Politics alike are two challenging subjects to bring up in discussion on our campuses, there is a reason. It is because we are so divided. But without civil dialogue and engagement, we are doomed to hold fear and even aggression against those that differ from us. Perhaps a renewed opportunity exists in this world we are about to enter into wherein these two divisive topics might begin to shape profound discussions around what does it mean to co-exist on our campuses together. Perhaps there is a new way forward. Perhaps that which has divided us for so long might be the bridge we need to really learn how to dialogue and find space for one another.
Sources
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/14/us/milo-yiannopoulos-uc-davis-speech-canceled/