Interfaith Encounters-The Mosaic of Religious Experience

By Savva Amusin
University of Illinois

The reality of God is infinite. It is beyond anything we can ever imagine and greater than all our praises combined. And within this infinity, each one of us strives to find a connection, a way of communicating with, and experiencing, God’s love. In my time at the University of Illinois, I have been fortunate enough to observe how other students around me have sought closeness with the Divine. Indeed, seeking out and learning about the religious experiences of others has had a tremendously enriching affect on my own spiritual development as well.

In many ways, my journey began with my trip to Israel, which motivated me to explore further the roots of my Jewish tradition. I had gone to Israel the summer before my first year of college and, having returned from an amazing six-week experience in the Holy Land, I was ready to take advantage of the Jewish opportunities on my university’s campus. That year I joined the U of I Hillel and began to regularly attend Friday night services. I also befriended many Jewish students and community members, and joined them in working on Jewish events and activities on campus. At the same time, I also met a number of students who were not Jewish and had the opportunity to learn about their religious experiences as well.

For the first time in my life, I met someone of the Baha'i faith. He later went on to become one of my best friends at the university and to introduce me to many other Baha'is on campus. I also met students who were Christian, Muslim and Hindu. It was an exciting time, although a challenging one as well. I began to wonder about my own religious identity and how it related to the religious identity of others. I decided to explore the ideas of religion both within and outside of Judaism, to better understand my own spirituality and that of my neighbors.

I could not have made a better choice! By engaging with and learning from the stories and experiences of others, I started understanding more and more about my own Jewish identity. During my sophomore year, I helped start a weekly group, called the Torah Lunch Bunch, a group dedicated to bringing together students from a diversity of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and the Baha'i faith, in order to read and discuss passages of Torah. I also went on to study on my own with both fellow Jews and non-Jews and attempted to read and understand scripture from a host of religious traditions. Finally, in order to see what it was like, I spent several Friday afternoons observing prayers at the local mosque, as well as some Sunday mornings going to church with my friends. I even attended several Baha'i prayer gatherings. I did all this while continuing my strong and committed relationship with the Jewish community.

How grateful I am for the interfaith experiences I have had and continue to have till this day. By allowing me to experience first hand the spiritual ways of my neighbors, be they Muslim, Christian, Baha’i or Hindu, I feel God has enabled me to better appreciate the inherent beauty that exists in our world. We are not all of one faith, yet we all worship one God. In our own unique ways we place ourselves before our Creator, calling out to him in a myriad of languages, and praising her in a multitude of ways. May we all be blessed to partake of the mosaic of religious experience that daily surrounds us, and may we all grow to appreciate one another’s journeys towards God.

[Posted 11/25/03]