Pluralism is not merely a lofty ideal but a series of concrete actions to strengthen relationships and bridge divides in contentious times, Interfaith America CEO Adam Nicholas Phillips said.
Phillips and other members of his team at the Chicago-based nonprofit hosted a webinar to extoll diversity as a core American value ahead of both President Donald Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union address and the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
They were joined by Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research Institute, who gave an overview of the polling and trends affecting attitudes toward diversity.
Adam Nicholas Phillips
“This kind of ivory tower ideal, if you will, doesn’t always have to look like big events or planned initiatives,” Phillips said of pluralism. “It’s that very awkward-but-real interaction at the bus stop or perhaps that’s your Thanksgiving or Easter meal coming up where we’re encouraging folks to not diminish the differences, but to lean in with a perspective of kindness of welcome and curiosity, not contempt.”
The value has been lived out lately in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis where diverse groups of Americans have stepped in to help neighbors besieged by immigration enforcement actions.
“We have folks in church kitchens and congregational basements doing care packages for immigrant families that are afraid to leave their homes, faith communities that are binding together to reach out while forces at play are looking to divide this notion of clergy faith leaders, but also just ordinary Americans, reaching across their traditions to work together to support their communities,” Phillips said. “This is what pluralism looks like in action.”
And it’s a concept embraced by a strong majority of Americans who favor ethnic and religious diversity, Jones added.
PRRI polling found 70% of Americans want the country to consist of people from all over the world and 80% say they want to live in a nation made up of people from across the religious spectrum.
That may be surprising because one of the most entrenched political narratives is that American is a nation polarized over Christian nationalism and its belief that America was established by God as a homeland for white European Christians, Jones said.
Lost in the rhetoric is the fact that those trying to assert white Christian dominance of the nation represent only a third of the population versus two-thirds who embrace a pluralistic democracy.
The divide also seems greater than it really is because the Republican Party has evolved to the point that seven out of 10 of its members are white Christians, Jones added. “That tells you something about the way our partisan fights have sorted themselves along these ethnic and religious lines. And self-identified Republicans today, a majority of them can be classified as either Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers.”
Interfaith America has launched campus, company and community initiatives to help impart skills needed to work across differences and disagreement whether on the job or in religious settings, chief spokesman Kevin Eckstrom explained.
Zahra Jamal
In the workplace, pluralism creates an atmosphere in which cooperation and relationship building can help reach established goals, said Zahra Jamal, director of workplace strategy at Interfaith America. “It is not about agreement, but it is about cooperation across difference without losing our identities. Pluralism protects dignity, it prioritizes relationships, and it normalizes respectful disagreement so that diverse teams can keep delivering outcomes.”
Pluralism has been paralyzed on college campuses due to local and federal efforts to shut down diversity, equity and inclusion practices, said Rebecca Russo, vice president of higher education strategy.
“We need to be able to have open conversation about fostering religious pluralism on campuses, promoting respect, relationships and cooperation across differences without compromising the First Amendment rights that protect free expression.”