A glossary of contemplative terms and concepts
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Interfaith:In one sense, interfaith refers to the interaction between two or more distinct religions. The assumption in this usage is that each person or belief belongs to a single faith tradition. One might speak, for example, of "interfaith dialog" between an orthodox Christian and a devout Muslim. Or one might speak of an "interfaith marriage" between a Buddhist and a Hindu. Here interfaith is like the word international, as when referring to something like "international relations between the US and Canada". In another sense, interfaith refers to the overlap and mixing of religions. A person might say "I'm interfaith", meaning that he or she has beliefs drawn from multiple traditions, or had parents from two different faiths. Or a religious community might be interfaith, gathering under one roof to explore multiple religions, yet unaffiliated with any of them. In this usage, interfaith is still somewhat like international -- in the sense of "international waters" that belong to nobody. But, while some interfaith people or communities do feel somewhat adrift in a sea of homelessness, many others would reject that analogy and insist that they have their own firm ground. There can be friction between these two interfaith concepts. Some traditional believers think it dangerous to even consider the views of other religions. Similarly, some who engage in deliberate interfaith dialog believe that you need to belong to some "home tradition" before you can safely consider "foreign traditions". Meanwhile, many others believe we can be at home in a sort of neutral territory, transcending particular religions, where a higher truth can be found without having to belong to any religion. Studio Zero aims to be an interfaith zone where each of these perspectives may be explored. This project was born, however, of a nomadic spirit. We are particularly concerned with providing interfaith resources for spiritual orphans and wanderers. |