Final Phase of Dialogue Conference: Scottish House of Parliament - Where we go from here

Participants of the dialogue conference in the Chambers of the House
of Parliament of Scotland. Mrs. Elayne Smith, the member of Parliament
who sponsored our event is dressed in red in the center front.

The final phase of our dialogue conference included a panel discussion at the Scottish House of Parliament on Saturday evening and Sunday morning was a time to reflect on what has been done and to see where this dialogue should lead us all.

Chris Stedman acted as our ambassador of the conference as we attempted to expand the audience of the dialogue with other guests and to place the dialogue of believers of faith and atheists in the public eye. Chris recounted the work of the participants and in his view the meaning of bringing peoples of differing faiths and viewpoints in order to build a better world. The panel, led by Fr. Carl Chudy (Xaverian Missionary), offered their own points of

views. The panel included Sr. Isabel Smythe, Secretary of the Interfaith Committee of the Scottish Catholic Bishops, Rory Fenton, of the humanist community, Fr. John Silavon, Maryknoll Missioner and Prerna Abbi of the Interfaith Youth Corp.

The final morning was an opportunity to take the most crucial issues and challenges that each of the participants felt arose within the conference and see concretely how we could both continue the dialogue, encourage others to participate and work together on a concrete issue that requires our collective efforts as atheists and religious believers. The Xaverian Missionaries, along with the Scottish Interfaith Council will see to having a yearly gathering of humanists, atheists and religious believers. All participants also pledged to return to their organizations and faith communities to also encourage this openness and dialogue. Finally, the Xaverian Missionaries of the UK and USA are looking to bring this dialogue between atheists and religious believers to the United States in the near future.

In a short period of time we became great friends and we hope to share the gift of dialogue across faith and perspective boundaries in all of our communities. We hope this dialogue leads us to collective efforts to heal the injustice and pain of our families and societies. Together so much more is possible.

  

Common Ground Conference: A Day of Dialogue, Insight and Friendship

(Left) Maureen Sehr of the Scottish Interfaith Council (Bahai) and (Right) Abbi Prerna of Interfaith
Youth Core-USA (Secular Hindu humanist) in dialogue at the conference.

The full day of the CG conference consisted of three important parts. The first was the sharing of Mr. Calum Brown, local professor and humanist, on his research on how people lose their

religion. Here are some interesting tidbits:

• Since the late 1960's, there has been an enormous defection from formal religious practice. That trend continues, particularly from Christianity.
• A sense of wonder at nature is replacing religion for many.
• Agnostic, atheist, and humanist labels are used interchangeably. 
• Many humanists express their values in political issues and in funerals where they have the opportunity to console others and to share their compassion.

The second part of the day was a fascinating dialogue between Maureen Sehr (Scottish Interfaith Council) and Abbi Prerna (Interfaith Youth Core-Chicago-Interfaith Youth Corp). Both are practitioners in interfaith dialogue, particularly with the humanist, atheist communties. Maureen, who is of the Bahai Faith and Prerna terms herself a Secular Hindu. For Prerna the Hinduism of her family partly shapes her sense of humanity and values. Maureen spoke of her work on the Interfaith Council of Scotland and her the motives of her own faith that sees the sacred in all faiths and perspectives.

First Night of the Conference: Humanists and Religious Believers Gather Together

We completed the first night of our dialogue between atheists and theists. Chris Stedman, humanist and writer, and Fr. John Sivalon from the Catholic tradition, shared an evening of insights, concerns and dialogue with each other and the participants.

Chris, from his humanist perspective, and John from a Christian view, explained how vital it is in our pluralistic world to come together in dialogue. Humanists and religious believers both have something to contribute to each other and to the betterment of our world. They both gave an impassioned appeal why in our fragmented communities we cannot merely stand in our sacral or secular isolation. 

  Please feel free to offer your own questions, concerns and insights in the comments section of these posts or on our twitter feed in the side bar. 

Friday Evening We Begin: Atheists and Theists in Dialogue, Searching for Common Ground

Tomorrow night we begin our conference of dialogue, atheists and theists. Pic of planning committee below. pic.twitter.com/ZT9RyCSO1k
— COMMON GROUND (@secreldialogue) November 7, 2013

Pictured are the planning committee of Common Ground. Fr. John Convery (UK), Mr. Hugh Foy (UK), Fr. Carl Chudy (USA), Mrs. Mary Aktay (USA), and Fr. Tom Welsh (UK). 

What do you think we need to focus on in our conference between religious believers and atheists? What are your concerns? Share your thoughts and ideas. What are the possibilities when we do find common ground? What do we do with it?

Where Do Atheists and Theists Find Common Ground?

On Friday, November 8th in Coatbridge Scotland, at Conforti Institute, atheists and theists will come together in a dialogue to find some common ground around ethics and values. For those who will attend, and those who cannot, we would like to hear from you on how you would like to see this dialogue go? What expectations would you have? What common ground do you see between theists and atheists and to what end? Please comment and tweet your concerns. We may read some of the dialogue on line in the conference.

Religious Believers, Humanists and Athiests Come Together in Search of COMMON GROUND

On November 8-10th, 2013 the Xaverian Missionaries of the USA and the Xaverian Missionaries of the United Kingdom are organizing a special gathering of dialogue, thoughtful insight and learning on all sides between peoples of different faiths, humanists and atheists in Coatbridge, Scotland at the Conforti Institute. 

We have invited men and women who are open to a respectful and honest dialogue, not merely a mutual tolerance. We hope to connect through our "common ground" of values and ethics we all share. It is an opportunity to build bridges of understanding and to break down the barriers of fear, born of ignorance, skepticism and indifference. In our increasingly polarizing communities, this dialogue is meant to encourage a sense of solidarity and cooperation between believers and non-believers that may be carried back into our communities. This kind of bridge building is a healing balm to our cultures and societies.

We invite others who cannot be in Scotland to join us online in this dialogue on this blog and through our twitter feed, Common Ground: #believeitornot. You can chime in any time and we hope to have the participants share their own experiences on line during the conference as well. Remarks on the blog will be reviewed before being published.

JOIN US FOR SOME BRIDGE BUILDING