In a Nutshell
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For Christians living in regions where they are the majority, it may be difficult to imagine the plight of Christians in some regions where they are the minority. They may be objects of discrimination or persecution. Religious freedom is at issue. New levels of interreligious understanding are being achieved today, but interreligious misunderstandings still prevail widely. How important is religious freedom? "To deny religious freedom is to rob human persons of the ultimate meaning and direction of their lives," Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Fla., chairman of the U.S. bishops' International Policy Committee, said in 2006 testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee. Bishop Wenski addressed the situation of Christian minorities in Muslim regions especially. He said the "serious problem of a lack of religious freedom in some Muslim countries can be made worse in two ways: by ignoring or minimizing the problem, and by responding in ways that make the problem worse and put religious freedom at greater risk" -- for example, "policies that reinforce the sense that Islam itself is under siege." |
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Christian life when Christians are the minority
By Brother David Carroll, FSCCatholic News Service
In coverage of world events there is precious little information about Christian minorities living in a sea of Islam, Judaism or Hinduism. Yet, the lands where these non-Christian religions are in the majority once were the locations of early Christian communities.
Today, the struggles between and among cultures often are based on a misperception. While the Christianity of the West and of the crusades is cited by fundamentalists of one stripe or another as the source of the tension between the Christian West and Muslim East, the truth is that Christianity is an Eastern religion.
When others believe as strongly as Christians do
By Father David K. O'Rourke, OPCatholic News Service
Priests are public people. Pastors are no exception. My own roles in communities where I have served have been as varied as working with the county mental health board or being a trustee of one city's public library. Such experiences have opened my eyes to the needs of people in the parishes I serve. They also have opened my eyes to people who do not look at life through a religious lens.
I have worked mostly in and around cities where there is great diversity among people and a broad mix of views. Among the people I have worked alongside, some have very strong beliefs. Often they are well-educated, professional people. But their beliefs are not religious beliefs. In fact, some are anti-religious beliefs. Put simply, some of these people believe that religion at best is some sort of useless magic and at worst is a destructive force.
Locating interreligious dialogue in ordinary life
By Dan LubyCatholic News Service
For most Catholics "interreligious dialogue," when we hear of it at all, conjures up images of exotically dressed religious leaders convening in foreign capitals for esoteric discussions. But since Vatican Council II in the 1960s, the Catholic Church has advocated interreligious dialogue, and not just among high-ranking officials.
Today, knowledge of other religions is important for Catholics. In a shrinking world marked by unprecedented levels of religious pluralism and conflict, the respectful mutuality the church calls for no longer is considered "optional."
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Faith in the Marketplace | |
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 This Week's Discussion Point: Who that you know of has been made to suffer specifically for being a Christian? |
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Selected Response From Readers: |
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