Xaverian Missionaries Conference Brings Humanists and People of Faith Together

WAYNE, N.J. - Nov. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Coatbridge, Scotland: The United Kingdom and USA Provinces of the Xaverian Missionaries co-sponsored a conference at their Conforti Institute here on 8 through 10 of November which brought together people who believe in God and those who don’t.  Common Ground: A Conversation among Religious Believers and Humanists on Values and Ethics, proved to be just that; and showed that the two world views can come together to create a better world.

The keynote speakers, Assistant Chaplain for the Humanist Community at Harvard University and author of Faithiest, How an Athiest found Common Ground with the Religious, Mr. Chris Stedman and Fr. John Sivalon MM, Prof. of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Scranton, PA and author of God's Mission and Postmodern Culture: The Gift of Uncertainty, shared their lives’ journeys and then modeled dialogue between a non-believer and a believer. Ms.  Prerna  Abbi of the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago and Maureen Sier of the Scottish Interfaith Council provided practical insight into developing connections and relationships between theists and atheists. Dr. Callum Brown presented the statistics of declining religious affiliation and the growth of the non-affiliated. Participants themselves chose the conversations in an Open Space format. Topics chosen were: Strangers and Stereotypes; Justice Action Plans; The Apathetic and Indifferent; Conflict Resolution; Taking Sides and Finding Commonality; and Gender Issues. Final discussions centered on the perceived privilege religion holds in society and how humanists and believers can work together to combat injustice and inequality via joint statements and united actions through a common vision of ethics.

The dialogue was brought to the Scottish Parliament with a panel presentation by the speakers joined by Isabel Smythe of the Committee for Interreligious Dialogue and Rory Fenton of the British Humanist Association and moderated by Fr. Carl Chudy SX, US Provincial of the Xaverian Missionaries.

The conference was conceived by the Xaverian Missionaries to be just the starting point of an ongoing intercultural dialogue. The blog (http://religious-secular-dialogue.blogspot.com/) (http://religious-secular-dialogue.blogspot.com/) and Twitter Feed (https://twitter.com/secreldialogue/) (https://twitter.com/secreldialogue/) have been abuzz with activity by conference participants and interested viewers prior to, during and post the proceedings.  Brian Pellot of Religion News Service has posted about the conference on his blog (http://brianpellot.religionnews.com/2013/11/13/atheists-b...) (http://brianpellot.religionnews.com/2013/11/13/atheists-believers-seek-common-ground-scotland/)

It is hoped the conversation will continue to grow and expand to include even more varied voices. A second conference is planned in the future on this side of the Atlantic with outreach to the American secular community.

Pictured:  Panel at the Scottish Parliament (l to r) Isabel Smythe, Rory Fenton, Chris Stedman, Carl Chudy SX, John Sivalon MM, Prerna Abbi

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Eight hundred Xaverian missionaries currently serve in: Bangladesh, Burundi, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Dem. Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, the UK and the USA

Mission: Inspired by St. Guido Conforti and St. Francis Xavier, we, Xaverian Missionaries, serve to keep the local Church aware of, engaged with and connected to the missionary mandate of the universal Church, principally by witnessing Jesus to those who have yet to know Him.