I recently accompanied 7th graders from The Davis Academy on an interfaith field trip. We visited the Roswell Community Masjid, The BAPS Hindu Mandir, and Atlanta’s Baha’i Center. Having visited these three sites somewhat amazingly puts Davis Academy 7th graders in a small minority of people who have visited faith communities other than their own and taken in an interest in how other faiths and cultures connect to God and spirituality. There’s a lot that could be said about this day and what it symbolizes, but I’ll focus on one idea.
One of the principles of the Baha’i faith is the unity of all humankind. The unity of all humankind means that we’re all in this together. It means that our differences, rather than being a source of conflict, are actually a source of celebration. It means that where one of us suffers, all of us suffer. It means that to inflict harm on another human being is to actually inflict harm on oneself. It means that your dignity is my dignity and my happiness is yours. It means that we are inextricably bound to one another, responsible to one another, and that our fates are inseparable.
Not a bad lesson for 7th graders and the rest of us to contemplate I think.