Why We ‘Shared What We Shared’

So get this – many of Halloween’s cultural practices stem from Christianity, not Paganism. And, while some Atheists are anti-theists, a great many others are not and struggle to find a way to criticize religion without being bigots. Some Evangelical Christians feel that if they weren’t Evangelical, they’d be Buddhist.

And, argues one Jewish writer, the collective Jewish communal theology of victimhood and defensiveness is a “poor substitute for a brilliant galvanizing and inspiring religious vision.”

These were some of the facts and opinions I learned about other faiths yesterday in Patheos’ #ShareWhatWeShare one-day online project. The managing editors at Patheos (including myself) came up with this idea ahead of the Parliament of the World Religions conference this weekend. Why? According to our own press release:

The purpose of the event is to explore connections and common ground among the 11 worldviews and 450 bloggers on the site. Over the course of the day, each worldview “channel” at Patheos will use its Facebook page to exclusively share posts from bloggers in other worldviews. Evangelical, Pagan, Progressive Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon, Catholic, and Spirituality blogs are among those taking part in the “Share What we Share”.

“Much of our time is spent defining our own traditions, which includes defining differences from other traditions,” said Kathleen Mulhern, Executive Editor, Patheos. “This is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the many values we also share.”

The Muslim Channel at Patheos, of which I am the managing editor, shared 10 thought-provoking, fascinating posts yesterday on Facebook (and some on Twitter) – all but one of which were focused on faith and non-faith groups that were not Islam.

I spend much of my day curating, producing, writing and hunting down articles, posts and op-eds about issues pertaining to Muslims in America as well as global Muslims. Patheos, in fact, was built as a vertical and horizontal model – for us to delve deeply into our religions (or non-religions) while also discussing issues and learning from each other’s faiths.

But sometimes we get too involved in our own silos of thoughts – focusing on what we are doing in our faith worlds and talking at each other rather than with each other. Are we even listening to each other?

Maybe “Share What We Share” didn’t move any mountains or solve any pressing issues. But it sure was heartening and healing to see the Patheos Catholic Facebook page sharing Muslim, Jewish, and Spirituality posts. The Patheos Atheist page had Pagan, Muslim, Progressive Christian, Family and other posts.

Over on the Muslim Channel, I tried my best to provide a sampling of all the intelligent and interesting conversations happening across Patheos, which we hope is a reflection of multifaith conversations happening around the world.

If you missed it, here is what was shared on Patheos Muslim. Do check it out, and learn a little more about something perhaps unfamiliar to your worldview.

From the Patheos Jewish Channel: We read a lot about Judaism and Jewish beliefs and actions in the media. But here are five brilliant things about Judaism that we sometimes forget.

From the Patheos Progressive Christian Channel: Don’t thank God that Nebraska finally voted to end the death penalty. An Atheist worked doggedly for nearly four decades to bring that about. So maybe we need to acknowledge that.

From the Patheos Faith and Family Channel: Keeping the love, respect, passion and trust in a marriage is a lifelong challenge. If married men can stop doing these nine things, that challenge may get just a big easier.

From the Patheos Pagan Channel: What is Paganism? Worshipping of witches and devils? It may not be what you think it is, so check out this “Paganism for Beginners” post to learn what it actually is all about.

From the Patheos Catholic Channel: Poverty is a complicated, difficult way of life, and until you’ve lived it, it’s hard to understand it. Writes Simcha Fisher, in this moving and thought-provoking post, until you know, you don’t know: “The day I bought steak with my food stamps.”

From the Patheos Atheist Channel: Often Atheists criticize religious beliefs. But how can they do so without being a bigot? How can Atheists walk that fine line?

From the Patheos Progressive Christian Channel: When you visit holy sites, are you a tourist or a pilgrim? Here’s a question – are you an outsider or an indweller?

From the Patheos Evangelical Channel: “If I weren’t a Christian, I’d be a Buddhist” – Have you ever built up other faiths as “straw men?” Yeah, that may not be a good idea. How we can be comfortable and happy in our faith and still appreciate aspects of other faiths?

From the Patheos Pagan Channel: Witchcraft is part of Pagan belief, but there are a lot of things you may think witchcraft is or isn’t, and you are probably wrong. Except the part about black robes – because yes, they are slimming.

From the Patheos Muslim Channel: Why are we always so hung up, as Muslims and by those who are not Muslims, over the hijab? Is the hijab (headscarf) a Muslim women’s only achievement? From Patheos Muslim