Liberal congregations hold interfaith worship services to commemorate 9/11

From here:

Washington, D.C. – Interfaith worship services have doubled in the decade since the 11 September attacks, according to a new study released Sept. 7, even as more than seven in 10 U.S. congregations do not associate with other faiths.

The survey by an interfaith group of researchers found that about 14 percent of U.S. congregations surveyed in 2010 engaged in a joint religious celebration with another faith tradition, up from 6.8 percent in 2000, Religion News Service reports.

[….]

The study implies that the more liberal a congregation, the greater likelihood for interfaith activity. Approximately half of Unitarian Universalist congregations held interfaith worship services, and three in four participated in interfaith community service. By contrast, among more conservative Southern Baptist churches, only 10 percent participated in interfaith community service, and five percent in interfaith worship.

The study shows most of the 11,077 congregations surveyed reported no interfaith activity, a finding that troubled the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Washington-based Interfaith Alliance. “The reality in our nation now is we have a major problem with Islamophobia, and that fear is being fed by people in large enough numbers that we need probably ten times as many people involved in interfaith discussions and actions,” Gaddy said.

As the tenth anniversary of the murder of 3,000 innocent people by crazed Islamists approaches, apparently, the major problem facing the US is Islamophobia.  That must be why every month since September 11, 2001, another murderous Islamist plot has been thwarted and new mayhem is being planned to mark the anniversary: I don’t know about you, but I am appalled by this blatant Islamophobia.

If only Rev. C. Welton Gaddy had invited those over-enthusiastic flying Muslims to an Interfaith worship service ten years ago, they could have let off some of their boyish energy in dialogue and holy listening.

Leave a Reply