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Religion ° Society . Polity - Arts
4:1 a1] 20.102
Addressing racism through education and urban planning plus. .. a case history of religious pluralism
In this issue...
Adjusting Perceptions of Globalization
Editorial
Unity in Diversity: A Response to Racism
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Africa
Racism and the Planning of Urban Spaces June Manning Thomas
Religious Pluralism in the Chinese Religion and the Bahá’í Faith
Phyllis Ghiln Lian Chew
Matters of Opifiion
A Review of
Bowling for Columbine by Gary L. Morrison
2002 Volume 34‘ No. 1
[Page 0]
Religion . Society . Poli’ry 0 Arts
2002 VOLUME 34, NUMBER 1
WORLD ORDER IS INTENDED TO STIMULATE, INSPIRE, AND SERVE
THINKING PEOPLE IN THEIR SEARCH
TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
CONTEMPORARY LIFE AND CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS
AND PHILOSOPHY.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Betty J. Fisher
Arosh Abizodeh Monireh Kozemzodeh Dione Lotfi
Kevin A. Morrison Robert H. Stockmon Jim Stokes
CONSULTANT IN POETRY Herbert Woodward Martin
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
World Order is published quarterly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091-1811. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or of the Editorial Board.
Peer review: Submissions to the journal will be subject to external blind peer review if they fall outside the expertise of the editorial board or upon request by the author.
Submissions and other editorial correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, Wbrla’ Order, 4516 Randolph Road, Apt. 99, Charlotte, NC 28211—2933 or e—mailed to <Worldorder@usbnc.org>. Detailed information for contributors may be requested in writing or by e—mail.
Manuscripts may be typewritten or computer generated; manuscripts accepted for publication are requested on computer disk (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect preferred) or by electronic submission. Article and review manuscripts must be double—spaced throughout and prepared in a 12—point Courier font; the footnotes must be at the end of the text and not attached electronically to the text. Each manuscript should list on the first page the article title, the author(s), and the author’(s) addresses, including telephone, fax, and e—mail.
Articles may range in length from some 3,750 to 6,250 words.
Reviews vary in length. Review Note: run from some 125 to 150 words; Mini—Review: run from some 1,000 to 2,500 words, and ReviewEsmys, from some 3,750 to 6,250 words.
Poems should be single spaced with clearly marked stanza breaks.
World Order is indexed in the Index ofAmerimn Periodical Verse.
INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Subsctiption Rates: U.S.A. and surface to all other countries, 1 year, US $25; 2 years, US $48. Airmail to all other countries, 1 year, US $30, 2 years, US $58. Single copies US $7 plus shipping and handling. Make checks or money orders payable to Bahá’í Distribution Service. Send address changes to and order subscriptions from the Bahá’í Distribution Service, 4703 Fulton Industrial Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30336—2017. Telephone: 1-800-999~9019, United States and Canada; 404—472—9019, all other countries. Or, please e—mail: <subsctiption@usbnc.org>.
Back issues still in print may be obtained From the Bahá’í Distribution Service at the mailing address above or by email <bds@usbnc.org>. Orders for back issues on microfilm and microfiche can be obtained from ProQuest Information and Learning, 300 North Zeeb Road, PO. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106—1346 USA. Telephone: 1—800-5210'600. E-mail: <http://www.inforlearning.com>.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 2003 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í’s of the United States; all rights reserved. World Order is protected through trademark registration in the US. Patent Office. Printed in the U.S.A. ISSN 00438804.
ART CREDITS
Cover design by Richard Doering, cover photograph of sand dunes, courtesy Eric Poppleton from “Scenics in Black and White,” cover photograph of children, courtesy Colin Finlay from “Unheard Voices”; pp. 8, 16, 26, Steve Gatrigues; p. 48, Glenfotd E. Mitchell.
46
2002 VOLUME 34. NUMBER I
2 Adjusting Perceptions of Globalization Editorial
4 Interchange: Letters from and to the Editor
9 Unity in Diversity: A Response to Racism by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Africa
17 Racism and the Planning of Urban Spaces by June Manning Thomas
27 Religious Pluralism in the Chinese Religion and the Bahá’í Faith by Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew
45 Bowl, a poem by Valerie Martinez
45 He who maketh the whale to sing, a poem by Florence DiPasquale Kindel
46 A Review of Bowling for Columbine by Gary L. Morrison
[Page 2]
Editorial
Adjusting Perceptions of Globalization
AT the beginning of the new century, we find ourselves facing what seems to be 0 rather cruel paradox: Even Though The world continues To shrink with phenomenal speed into something of c: neighborhood, many within Tho’r enlarged neighborhood find Themselves overcome
with a sense of isolation, alienation, and cultural displacement. As the world grows more closely knit, and countries and cultures begin to be interwoven, boundaries, neighborhoods, and individual experiences expand, leaving many people bewildered.The paradox plays out in a number of ways. As borders open, millions of people travel vast distances to find work and safety, but to do so they must leave family, friends, and community. Material wealth is increasing in many, and sometimes unexpected, corners of the world but is bringing with it a corporate culture and globalization of the economy that often tend to obliterate local enterprise and entrepreneurship. Evidences of increasing social and political interdependence are appearing everywhere, but so, increasingly, are signs of a growing social instability.
A feature of our age is ever-accelerating change, including increases in material wealth, advances in science and technology, and changes in every form of learningall accompanied by constant disequilibrium. What is one to make of the paradox? How do we reconcile the seemingly opposing forces, the benefits and burdens, of increasing globalization?
Isolation, alienation, and cultural displacement are matters too serious and profound to be explained with facile answers. But certain facts do exist. First, not only has the pace of change not begun to slow, it continues and even accelerates. Second, in the past humanity has eventually adapted, after much pain, to each wave of change and presumably Will continue to do so. Third, in the midst of the current upheavals, new modes of thought, governance, and community have begun to appear, suggesting new structures that may play a stabilizing role in the future.
Perhaps our mistake is in yoking too closely the two parts of the paradox. As long ago as the 19305, Shoghi Effendi identified the two related, but different, historical processes now working in our world: the one, an inevitable, but catastrophic, disintegration of outmoded ideas, systems, and responses; the second, an equally inevitable, but more generative, process—the often imperceptible growth of a new worldview and its attendant revivifying ideas that reflect the counsel of Bahá’u’lláh that we let our vision he world—embracing. Shoghi Effendi made clear that the “supreme mission” of Bahe’t’u’lláh’s revelation is “the achievement of . . . [the] organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations”—-that is, the creation
2 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1
[Page 3]
EDITORIAL
of one global neighborhood, one united world. “The emergence of a world community,” he continues, “the consciousness of world Citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture . . . should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of
a)
human society. . . . But what of the very real isolation, alienation, and cultural displacement? The
call to unite the world, according to the Bahá’í scriptures, does not imply the destruction of existing cultures, allegiances, or other ties among people. Rather, the Bahá’í scriptures indicate that the dislocations we are experiencing are merely part of a greater organic change the exact nature of which we still can only faintly discern. Perhaps the solution to the upheaval, dislocation, and displacement lies in the lens with which we chose to View the paradoxes of our changing world. Are we witnessing a gathering collapse, listening in horror to “sound and fury, signifying nothing,” or are we seeing the vague outlines of what will someday be a new and better world, something that reflects and, indeed, creates meaning? Shoghi Effendi tells us that we are moving toward a more advanced stage in human existence, at stage that “must sooner or later be attained in the collective life of mankind, producing an even more striking phenomenon in world relations, and endowing the whole human race With such potentialities of well-being as shall provide, throughout the succeeding ages, the chief incentive required for the eventual fulfillment of its high destiny.”
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1 3
[Page 4]
Interchange
Letters from and to the Editor
With This issue, Volume 34, Number 1, World Order launches a new inferno! design, which completes o ’rwo—port visual focelifi for the journal. A new cover design graced our Spring 2002
issue.
The internal design is the work of Patrick Falso, who is no stranger to the magazine. He has been setting type and providing layout, design, and technical support to erd Order since 1991. For the magazine’s new design Falso set out to capture in type feelings the Editorial Board hoped to convey: a publication that is thought—provoking but exciting, serious but engaging, innovative but accessible. He also sought to reflect the editors’ Wish that the design suggest a multidisciplinary approach to life and a commitment to contemporaneity, social engagement, open—mindedness, and intellectual curiosity.
Falso’s solutions are to introduce more white space, update the typography, and add resting points for the eye. Because of the classic appearance of the journal (and because of the large number of diacriticals in much of the copy in it), he elected to retain a customized version of Adobe Garamond for the body type (this is the type you are reading). But he
4 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34. No. 1
provides contrast by using AvantGarde, a sans serif typeface, for titles, bylines, lead—in paragraphs of articles (with generous leading), pull quotes, and biographical information on authors (see the type used for “Interchange” at the beginning of this feature). To facilitate reprints of articles, each page now contains the magazine’s title, year of publication, volume, and number. Though Falso conceived his idea for the body of the magazine before the new cover design was chosen, his design complements the one prepared by Ric Doering for the cover, with the two fitting together as a whole.
Even though Falso has been working with World Order for more than a decade, we want to say more about him as we launch the new makeover of “707/51 Order. In 1986 Falso was graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where he studied under professionals in the visual and performing arts. He then attended Northwestern University, where, in 1990, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in music and became an awardwinning saxophonist. A serendipitous full—time job as a temp at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, Illinois, near Northwestern, became a life—changing experience.
Though he was hired to do promotional work, it soon became clear that
Falso’s training in art and music trans
[Page 5]
lated easily to the infant art of digital
type. Working with John Solarz, who
was designing books for the Bahá’í
Publishing Trust, Falso began setting type
for books, pamphlets, and marketing
materials, learning the art of typography
and design, he says, from Solarz and
from Betty J. Fisher, the Publishing
Trust’s general editor and an associate
editor of 1%er Order. Falso also began
to freelance for a number of companies.
In 1993 he left the Publishing Trust to
form Allegro Design, Inc., where he offers
all forms of print and communications
for customers ranging from Fortune 500
companies to small nonprofit organizations. A native of Pennsylvania, he continues to live and work in the Chicago
area, and he continues to play his saxo
phone, though only for himself.
'——As World Order introduces a new design for the text pages of the magazine, we must acknowledge those who have contributed so much to the look and feel of the journal since it was revived a5 a quarterly in 1966. The logo type, cover design, and internal format were chosen by Monroe E. Michels, a professional working for Parentmagazine in New York City. He served as Production Manager during the journal’s initial year, resigning for personal reasons in 1967.
INTERCHANGE
From the Summer 1967 issue through the Fall 1982 issue, the design of the magazine was in the capable and sensitive hands of Glenford E. Mitchell, who brought to the task a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. A member of the National Teaching Committee and director of youth and college activities when he was appointed to the Editorial Board, Mitchell continued to serve as the journal’s Managing Editor after he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States in 1968 and then elected its secretary. His first Visible mark on the journal was repositioning the “70er Order logotype on the front cover and using photographs on the back cover as an integral part of the cover design. He soon began using a classic Garamond typeface (more elegant in the hot—metal type in which the journal was first set than in the digital type in which it is now set) for all the type inside the magazine and made each cover the same yet different with ever-changing colored stock and ink colors, placement of type, and graphic elements. In 1977 he chose designer John Solarz to give the journal’s cover yet another facelift, which was launched on the Fall 1977 cover.
Among the fifty—eight issues published while Mitchell served as Managing Editor, it is hard to choose favorites, but for one
editor three stand out: the Fall 1971
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34. No. 1 5
[Page 6]
INTERCHANGE
issue marking the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (both for its cover and its sensitive internal layout, including a montage of photographs of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá); the Winter 1975—76 issue marking the bicentennial Of the United States; and the Spring 1982 issue, the cover of which suggests the blood of the persecuted Iranian Bahá’ís. Mitchell’s influence on the journal ranged far beyond the technical expertise he brought to design and production. The Interchange column, introduced in the Summer 1968 issue, was his idea. The journal had letters to the editor, but he wished to open the floor to informal comments from the editors and to more dialogue with the readers. From his camera and sense of design came exquisite photographs. From his wide reading and deep understanding of the Bahá’í writings came ideas for editorials, articles, reviews, and theme issues. His review of The Autoéiogmp/Jy of Malcolm X (Winter 1966) was among the first reviews of that work to be published. His essay titled “The Literature of Interpretation—Notes on the English Writings of Shoghi Effendi” (Winter 1972—73) has become a classic. His generous mentoring helped younger Board members in writing editorials and articles and in refining editing, proofreading, and production skills. After Glenford E. Mitchell was elected to the Universal House of Justice in 1982, he wrote the following to fellow editor Betty J. Fisher about his approach to designing World Order: I have always felt that the graphics should make their own statements and only be obliquely relevant to the articles next to which they appear. I have tended toward the abstract so as to send a double message or cause
6 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, NO. 1
some excitement of the reader’s imagination beyond the prosaic satisfaction of mere illustrative graphics. I did not always succeed with what I had in hand but always had a sense of what I wanted. I avoided using human faces except in clear cases of necessity, such as the editorial on the Greatest Holy Leaf. If I used the human figure, I preferred that it be in a position or in motion away from the eye so that the Viewer could enjoy a sense of privacy in observing from a distance, a sense of unobserved observing. I felt that this freed the Viewer to have his own thoughts, to weave his own impressions without having to contend with a trapped but possibly disapproving gaze. . . .
I also preferred to place pictures before or after the article to preserve the independence of the graphic statement, but it was not always possible to stick to this rule because of the nature or length of some articles. I favor preserving the integrity of printed text, of keeping it whole and not breaking it up with graphics if it can be set in elegant space. Most articles begin on the tight for these reasons, so that the photo or whatever is not necessarily trapped in the article or doesn’t crash into it or isn’t forced to serve the role of illustration. You have doubtless noted the treatment of the articles beginning on the left page. The basic point is I always tried to balance the body of the text on the two pages, allowing a fair amount of space at the top, and setting off the headline in that space on the left. This treatment, I found, lent a grace to the design. I thought it produced a clumsy aspect to fill up the right page as usual. Of course,
[Page 7]
these are purely subjective notions,
which I did not get from any book
I have read and which I might not
have employed with any other type
of magazine. These are notions for
what “World Order”came to mean to
me. It would be too much to expect
other people to feel the same or to try
to adhere to them. But for what they
are worth, I pass them on to you, for
I don’t remember ever telling you these
things before or ever having discussed
them at all with anyone.
To all those on whose shoulders we stand, we give thanks for the standards they set, the heights they attained, and the generous legacy they bequeathed.
The articles published in this issue recall ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s letter written in December 1919 to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague. Among twelve aspects of universal peace, He discusses the evils of racial and religious prejudice and the importance of parents and communities educating their children. His conclusion captures the essence of universal peace. A variety of issues, He says, must be added to the matter of universal peace and combined with it, so that results may accrue. Otherwise the realization of universal peace by itself in the world of mankind is difficult. . . . If the question is restricted to universal peace alone, the remarkable results which are expected and desired will not be attained. The statement “Unity in Diversity,”
INTERCHANGE
prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Africa, offers as one solution to racial problems everywhere a “sustained and far-reaching educational campaign” at the grassroots level that creates “a more universal awareness of racial equality and the need for racial unity.” June Manning Thomas examines the role City planners can play in bringing races and cultures together by making wise and informed choices about planning urban spaces. Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew offers religious pluralism in the Chinese religion as a model, long predating ecumenical efforts in the West, to be studied for clues about how to end religious prejudice. All the essays—and Gary L. Morrison’s review of the documentary Bowling fbr Columlaine—provide thoughtful looks at elements that, if properly channeled, can contribute to world peace.
To the Editor LISTENING TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION Thank you for your dedication in providing a valuable and thorough examination of current issues. I would like to further encourage World Order to incorporate the voices of younger generations in their publication. Essays and opinions of young professionals and youth offer progressive positions which, it seems, correspond to the forward—thinking themes already posed by World Order. One way for the youth to contribute may be a call for entries specifically targeting younger scholars. Another possibility is for more experienced contributors to assist novices in their involvement with the publication.
I believe that this journal has played a unique role in expressing the critical understanding and artistic capabilities of a valuable yet often underestimated community. I hope that World Order continues to promote the efforts made by the youth in this realm.
—NASEEM ALIZADEH Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1 7
[Page 9]
A STATEMENT, QY THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHA’IS OF SOUTH AFRICA
Unity in Diversity: A Response to Racism
The Editors are pleased to share with World Orders readers a statement prepared by the national governing body of the Baha’ [S of South Africa as a contribution to the countrys decade against racism (2001— 2011) and for the UN Summit on Racism held in South Africa in 2001. South Africa, since 1993, has been governed by a constitutional system that recognizes the equality of the races. But righting a long—standing wrong is a protracted and arduous process. A goal of Unity in Dzvem'ty 15 to focus on bringing racial uhity to a racially diverse country by emphasizing the principle of unity in diversity. While the statement contains a number of references to the difficult history of racial relations in South Africa, the principles it discusses, the solutions it proposes, find the lens} on the future it offers have universal relevance. Given the history of face relations in South Africa, the title of the article bears particular mention. The motto on the South African coat 7Of arms, written in the language of the San people (the bushmen), is “Unity in Diversity.” THE EDITORS
August 2001
Unity: The Unfolding Vision of Bahá’u’lláh
As humanity enters the new millennium, according to the reckoning of the common era, the overarching need of the human race is to find a unifying vision of the nature of humanity and society. Such a Vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the nineteenth—century prophetic figure whose growing influence is the most remarkable development of contemporary religious history. Born in Persia, on 12 November 1817, Bahá’ u’llah began at age twenty-seven an undertaking that has gradually captured the 1magination and loyalty of several million people from Virtually every race, culture, Class, and nation on earth. The phenomenon is one that has no reference points in the contemporary world but is associated rather with climactic changes of direction in the collective development of the human race. For Bahá’u’llz’th claimed to be no less than the Messenger of God to the age of human maturity, the Bearer of a Divine Revelation that fulfills the promises made in earlier religions and that Will generate the spiritual nerves and sinews for the unification of the
peoples of the world.
Copyright © 2003 by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of South Africa
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, Not I 9
THE BAHA'I’s OF SOUTH AFRICA
The Oneness of Humankind At the core of Baha’u’llah’s teachings is the Oneness of Humankind, expressing as
a statement of reality that we are one people brought into being by the same Creator. Bahá’u’lláh states that God Himself “cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body.” Recognizing this reality is fundamental to attaining the unity envisioned by Bahá’u’lláh. Not until humanity has accepted its organic oneness can it meet even its most immediate Challenges, let alone those that lie ahead. “The well—being of mankind,” Baha’u’llah insists, “its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”
One of the greatest barriers to unity is prejudice based on race, ethnicity, and culture. We in South Africa have been a Witness to the horrors and evils of racism, how it has violated the human dignity of its Victims, corrupted its perpetrators, and blighted the moral and social progress of our country. Overcoming its devastating effects will require conscious, deliberate, and sustained effort by all the peoples of our nation.
Against this background, the Bahá’í community of South Africa offers this statement as a contribution to the efl'brt of the South African decade against racism. This statement is based on the guiding principles contained in the teachings of Baha’u’llah and practical models of the worldwide Bahá’í experience. Its intention is to help us as one people to cast away “once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, . . . welcoming and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that divide them.”
A Symptom of the Failure to Recognize the Oneness of Humanity There is no doubt that racism exists. Equally evident is that racism exacerbates many other socio—economic phenomena—including poverty, social unrest, disparity between rich and poor—each of which has far reaching repercussions. However, just as a fever is a symptom of
JUST AS A FEVER IS A SYMPTOM OF DISEASE IN THE BODY, disease in the bodY’ raCism 15
RACISM IS A SYMPTOM OF DISEASE IN SOCIETY. a symptom Of (1156356 ”1 SOCI SUPPRESSING THE SYMPTOM :‘Y- Supprcssm’i th; SYmPtEm DOES NOT CURE THE DISEASE, 065 “0‘ cure t 6 156356, ”‘
BUT CURING THE DISEASE curing the disease eliminates the symptom. ELIMINATES THE SYMPTOM. The disease from Which society currently suffers is the failure to recognize the principle of the oneness of humanity. Racism is but a symptom of this disease. If we wish to eliminate racism entirely, we must establish, as the moral foundation for society, the unshakable conviction of the oneness of the human race.
From the Bahá’í perspective, racism is one of the most baneful, poisonous and persistent evils in society. Racial discrimination is baneful because it violates the dignity of human beings. Racism is poisonous because it cripples its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress.
10 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1
[Page 11]
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: A RESPONSE TO RACISM
Clearly, racism inhibits both social progress and the attainment of world peace, and this impact of racism cannot be overestimated. And yet racism persists. Anthropology, physiology, and psychology all recognize only one human species, albeit infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life. And yet racism persists.
We believe that racism persists precisely because it is deeply rooted in outdated attitudes and erroneous beliefs that human beings have about themselves: that man is merely an intelligent animal, a biochemical machine; that race and ethnicity are relevant social and biological factors. Racism persists because it reinforces these deepseated assumptions which are taught in most cultures around the world.
Unity in Diversity
Let there be no mistake. Bahá’u’lláh’s goal of unity does not seek to eliminate race, ethnicity, and culture. Rather, the inevitable next step in the advancement of the planet is one which embraces the beauty created by the diversity of humankind. The “watchword,” indicate the Bahá’í writings, “is unity in diversity.” It is a unity which finds its parallel in the metaphor of a garden.
“Consider the flowers of a garden: though differing in kind, colour, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty. . . . How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruits, the branches and the trees of that garden were all of the same shape and colour! Diversity of hues, form and shape, enricheth and adorneth the garden, and heighteneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under the power and influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest.”
Instead of being the cause of division, diversity should be celebrated. “The diversity in the human family,” state the Bahá’í writings, “should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”
Though diverse, we are one. Baha’u’llah reminds us: “Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created.”
In this manner does Baha’u’llah paint his Vision of the unity of the human race. It is toward this vision of unity in diversity that Bahá’ís the world over are steadily, patiently, and confidently laboring.
International Initiatives against Racism During the last century, numerous international attempts were made to address the issue of racism. Many of these attempts were centered around improving the relations between races and using scientific study to disprove any basis for racial superiority.
The first Universal Races Congress was held in 1911 in London, England. According to the organizers, the object of the Congress was “to discuss, in the light of science and the modern conscience, the general relations subsisting between . .
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1 H
THE BAHA’IS OF SOUTH AFRICA
so—called white and so—called coloured peoples, with a View to encouraging between them a fuller understanding, the most friendly feelings, and a heartier co-operation.”
The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, one of the United Nations organs, was set up in 1947 by the Commission on Human Rights with a mandate “to undertake studies, particularly in the light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerning the prevention of discrimination of any kind . . . and the protection of racial, national, religious and linguistic minorities.”
In 1949, a group of experts on racial problems, meeting in Paris under the auspices of UNESCO, pointed out that the “biological fact of race and the myth of ‘race’ should be distinguished.”
In 1951, UNESCO convened a second meeting of scientists who, among similar conclusions, asserted in their Statement on the Nature of Race and Racial Differences that “available scientific knowledge provides no basis for believing that the groups of mankind difl'er in their innate capacity for intellectual and emotional development.”
UNESCO convened further conferences on race in Moscow in 1964 and again in Paris in 1967. The 1967 conference focused on race and racial prejudice and adopted the Paris Statement on Race and Racial Prejudice, which states that “the human problems arising from so—called ‘race’ relations are social in origin rather than biological. The basic problem is racism, namely anti—social beliefs and acts which are based on the fallacy that discriminatory inter—group relations are justifiable on biological grounds.”
In 1983 the United Nations General Assembly “proclaimed the ten—year period beginning on 10 December 1983 the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination.”
The 2001 World Conference against Racism, to be held in South Africa, will attempt to address again the issue of racism, which has now become even more complex.
While these international efforts have made an enormous contribution toward creating a moral and legal framework for eliminating racism, racism has continued to dominate and plague human relations. In some areas of the world it is even on the increase, as seen by recent examples of ethnic cleansing, genocide, and the resurgence of racial and ethnic fanaticism.
Eradication of Racism Hinges on the Oneness of Humonkind Any campaign to eradicate racism must seek to change humanity’s outdated attitudes and erroneous beliefs about itself. Political action, although necessary, cannot on its own offer a permanent solution. In the Bahá’í’ View, racism will be eliminated only when the peoples of the world universally recognize the oneness and wholeness of humankind and proceed to reconstruct their lives and their societies on that basis, making the oneness of humankind its moral foundation.
Concomitant with the political efforts made during the last century to establish a foundation for peace has been a growing acceptance among the peoples of the nations of the world that they are members of one common human family. This
12 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1
[Page 13]
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: A RESPONSE TO RACISM
growing sentiment is reflected, for example, in the international collective rejection of the ideology of apartheid and the efforts this rejection produced to free South Africa from that race—based system of social order.
Everywhere there are signs that humanity has achieved a greater degree of under- ANY CAMPAIGN TO ERADICATE RACISM
standing and empathy among various races MUST SEEK TO CHANGE HUMANITY'S and ethnic groups. And yet it is evident OUTDATED ATIITUDES AND ‘ that rac1sm and its related aberrations of ERRONEOUS BELIEFS
xenophobia, ethnic cleansing, and tribal conflict still persist. Clearly not enough has been done to encompass the generality of humankind; neither have the efforts been globally systematic.
The recognition of the oneness of humankind requires the abandonment of all doctrines of superiority and prejudices of every kind, such as race, class, color, creed, nation, sex, degree of material civilization—everything which enables people to consider themselves superior to others. The recognition of this principle would, by establishing the foundation for true cooperation, raise civilization to a new levela level at Which no one need fear oppression, even those who were formerly 0ppressors. Then, through appropriate legal measures and equitable social and economic policies, the sharing of power, resources, and responsibility among all citizens could be implemented without hesitation or fear.
The universal adoption of this principle, and the unity of the human race it will engender, are within the reach of all people. Some may assert that such an achievement is a distant, almost unattainable ideal to be addressed only after a host of political conflicts have been somehow resolved, material needs somehow satisfied, and injustices somehow corrected. The opposite, Baha’u’llah asserts, is the case. It is the disunity of the human race Which is the primary disease that afflicts society and generates the ills that cripple it. And the healing of this ill is the key to the longed-for resolution of conflicts and other socio-economic maladies plaguing the
planet.
ABOUT ITSELF.
Universal Global Education to Promote Oneness
The South African Bahá’í Community submits that, firstly, a sustained and farreaching educational campaign is called for, undertaken at the grassroots level. The aim must be to create a more universal awareness of racial equality and the need for racial unity. Secondly, we are convinced that the presentation of factual information about the problems of racism will be insufficient to change attitudes. Hearts must be touched by an awareness of the bonds that unite people of all races. We, therefore, suggest that a model global curriculum be developed on the more fundamental principle of the unity of humankind.
It is proposed that this global curriculum be designed around the theme of World Citizenship and be taught in all schools throughout the world and learned by all children—boys and girls alike.
To be included as core elements of this curriculum are the spiritual and scientific evidence of the oneness of the human family—to foster a greater consciousness of
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THE BAHA'I’S OF SOUTH AFRICA
this principle affecting attitudes and behaviors demonstrated at home, in the workplace, and in the world at large.
Such a curriculum, followed in every part of the world, will elevate the station of every culture and underpin humanity’s innate nobility. This process promises to be a powerful agency through which the development of individuals is fostered, allowing them, while retaining their cultural birthright, to become healthy and contributing members of the global community—to become World Citizens.
A simple start to such a global campaign would be the introduction of moral education into schools. Included in the curriculum could be such themes as “unity in diversity” and the cultivation of the Virtues of tolerance, compassion, equality,
love, respect.
A Shared Undertaking
We also wish to urge the participants in the struggle against racism to avoid politicizing these activities. Experience has taught us that when an issue becomes politically contentious, paralysis ensues. Since no nation can claim to be entirely free of racist tendencies, we should, therefore, approach this problem as a shared human problem. The success of this struggle will be dependent on the extent to which spiritual principles are applied. If the objective of the struggle is to transform people and communities in a way that will elevate them and the larger world, it must be grounded in spiritual principles.
One of the key elements in overcoming racism is to understand that this is not the work of the oppressed or the oppressor alone; it is a shared undertaking. “Strive earnestly,” counsel the Bahá’í writings, “and put forth your greatest endeavor toward the accomplishment of this fellowship and the cementing of this bond of brotherhood between you. Such an attainment is not possible without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions of gratitude and appreciation; from the other, kindliness and recognition of equality. Each one should endeavor to develop and assist the other toward mutual advancement. . . .”
The Bahá’í approach summons all races to work toward overcoming racism, guided by the following principles: “Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other. Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country.”
Lessons from Experience The Bahá’í International Community has over a century of experience in building
communities committed to the principle of the oneness of humankind. Since the mid-nineteenth century, a myriad religious, racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and national elements have come together in the Bahá’í Faith to promote the concept
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of unity in diversity. Our program for the realization of racial unity is at once social, spiritual, and organic. Recognizing that commitment to a spiritual principle has social implications, the Bahá’í system of community organization employs practical measures to encourage the participation of all members of society. Moreover, drawing on the creative spirit of grassroots participation, Bahá’ís in a number of countries
have established race unity committees, with multiracial ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN OVERCOMING RACISM membership, which have de— IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT THE WORK ve10ped programs to combat OF THE OPPRESSED OR THE OPPRESSOR ALONE; T&Cial Prejudice and to create IT IS A SHARED UNDERTAKING.
bonds of mutual respect among peoples of different races in their local communities. These committees have attempted to assist Bahá’ís to free themselves of their own racial prejudices and, beyond that, to contribute to the elimination of racial prejudice in society at large through extensive collaboration with leaders in government, education, and religion. Despite the inevitable obstacles encountered by the Bahá’ís in their ongoing process of eradicating racism from their communities, the experience has been a positive and unifying one. This concerted effort on the part of ordinary people has brought about a unique form of racial integration in Bahá’í communities in every part of the world. If our experience can in any way contribute to the struggle against racism and racial discrimination, we are happy to offer it for study.
Our Earnest Hope The South African Bahá’í Community holds firmly that the constructive forces
present at this stage in the social evolution of our society are gaining increasing momentum across the social and governance spheres. Nor only are statutory institutions hard at work dealing with the issues of racism in our socio—economic life, many communities and organizations are also demonstrating increasing awareness about the issue, and many have initiated proactive strategies to deal With the problem.
We are keenly aware that the pathway toward the eradication of racism and the unification of the family of humankind is a long one, bestrewn with many obstacles. No doubt there will be many setbacks along the way. But With a Vision of unity, such as portrayed by Baha’u’llah, set firmly before our eyes, progress will be steadily made.
It is our earnest hope that the South African community will take up this Vision, harness these constructive forces and seize the opportunities afforded by them, to realize unprecedented victories in the face of new challenges. Eradicating racism through the establishment of unity will reap untold benefits in the social and economic lives of all South Africans.
“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the Whole earth.”
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Racism and the Planning of Urban Spaces
At the beginning of The Menty—firs’r century, racism still leaves its mark on our lives and on The landscape. Although many gains have been made in eradicating personal expressions of racial prejudice, seemingly simple choices about such matters as Where To live or shop
continue to reinforce institutional racism. Residential patterns offer a prime example of the complex situation. Individuals choose Where to live, but they do so in a context framed by social and political structures. In racially diverse cities and their environs, this framework often reinforces racial segregation, leading to racially fragmented metropolitan areas. While both income and race affect such segregation, several urban scholars, at least in the United States, have shown that race is an independent Factor.1 This situation confirms how important it is to reform society in such a way as to eliminate racial prejudice and the institutional vestiges of racial prejudice. The interlocking web of individual prejudice, institutional support for such prejudice, and the resulting effects on metropolitan structure create what one might call “spatial racism,” 3 term describing racism in the built environment. Such racism ensures further racial inequality, disunity, and disengagement. Although recent trends have changed the nature of this phenomenon in ways that suggest substantial progress is inevitable, much work remains to be done. Part of that work is to identify
Copyright © 2003 by June Manning Thomas.
1. For more details and references about the dominance of race, see Reynolds Farley, Sheldon Dandiet, and Harry Holder, Detroit Divided (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2000) and Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton, American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1993). This discussion does not contradict the fact that poverty is, for many people, a much more immediate and debilitating factor than race. Poverty and minority status interact in insidious ways, however. See especially William Julius Wilson, The Pal} Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underchm, and Public Policy (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1987).
JUNE MANNING THOMAS is professor of urban and regional plonnlng of Michigan State University, with a joint appointment in the Urban Affairs Programs. She is also co—director of the Urban Collaborators Program for MSU Extension, which focuses on outreach services To six innercify communities in Michigan. Her publications include four authored or edited books and numerous articles.
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the role that certain professions, organizations, industries, and business sectors can play in helping to create less spatial segmentation by race.
To illustrate the need, it is essential to describe in more detail the nature of spatial racism, with special reference to the housing market, and to discuss the role of one profession, urban planning, both in helping to aggravate the problem and in attempting to reform it. It is equally essential to consider the role that individuals play in effecting urban—planning reforms and in helping to create a better society.
Race and Space In multiracial societies, racial prejudice and oppression have strongly affected where
people live and work, especially in metropolitan areas. Because of the effects of past actions by many institutions and individuals, people who are not racially prejudiced can unwittingly reinforce the effects of racism by making commonplace, everyday
choices. Consider a seemingly innocent decision about the location of a family’s new
home. What neighborhood will the family choose? In the United States, if the family is of a “majority” background, typically Anglo—Saxon or mixed—Eutopean (“white”), it will probably choose a neighborhood containing families and individuals of similar ancestry. Even though CiVil—tights laws passed in the 19603 banned realtors, apartment-complex owners, and home sellers from practicing racial discrimination, racial considerations still affect housing choices. This is true, in part, because most majority—race buyers and renters are still reluctant to choose neighborhoods with any more than a small percentage of racial minorities. Hence their children grow up seeing little if any diversity.2
The choices for racial minority families—particularly, in the United States, African Americans or “blacks”—can also be racially determined. If an African American or “black” family does choose a predominantly white neighborhood, even if that family is middle class, in many areas of the country it faces the distinct possibility that white families will begin to move out or will fail to move in if too many other black families choose the same neighborhood. If the African American family has a low income, the situation is even more limited. It is highly likely that such a family lives in the central city and that its access to suburban locales is limited by a lack of affordable housing or by transportation barriers, as well as by racial discrimination.
In the United States, many larger metropolitan areas contain dozens or hundreds of separate municipal governments, a trend that reinforces racial barriers. Although a common perception is that income causes the major difference in racial composition, because some suburban communities cost more to live in than others, this, in fact, is not the case. Studies have shown that racial minorities are not dispersed
2. Majority—race home seekers may not even choose mixed—race neighborhoods with small percent . . . . . . u . ,, ages of manI‘ltleS because such household seekers often View mixed neighborhoods as Changing to minority status. For an example of research documenting such trends, see Farley, Dandier, and Holder,
Detroit Divided.
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within a metropolitan area as simply as their socioeconomic status would lead one to expect. As an example, many metropolitan areas contain municipalities that are, for all practical purposes, overwhelmingly white even though the area contains a sizeable population of racial minorities of comparable socioeconomic status. This kind of segmentation turns out to affect African Americans more than other racial minorities, and this segmentation is far greater than voluntary action (to selfsegregate, on the part of African Americans) can explain.3 As the public builds roads, schools, parks, and other municipal facilities in newer and more prosperous suburbs, it often neglects to invest comparably in older innercity and older suburban areas, which have higher (than would be expected) concentrations of African Americans. These areas also contain high proportions of the region’s poor, although the White poor tend to be more dispersed. Low—incorne African Americans, in effect trapped in these locales, become even more isolated as middleclass citizens of all races move out. In such high-minority and high-poverty areas, opportunities for employment and access to public services such as superior recreational facilities, public safety, and public schools diminish, along with the tax base. Ordinary majority—race citizens who Choose homes based only on the quality of housing and community services available may thereby unwittingly reinforce trends in racial segregation. Hence racial fragmentation continues even though a majorityrace citizen seeking a home may harbor no particular racial prejudice.
Patterns of residence are among the most persistent social constructions. They are difficult to change quickly because they are influenced by many factors, such as housing markets, buyer behavior, municipal and school—district conditions, national and state or provincial policies, transportation facilities, and local political boundaries. Racism as reflected in metropolitan space is difficult to eliminate because prejudiced decisions become set in stone, brick, concrete, and asphalt, and they can linger long after individuals give up personal feelings of racial prejudice.
Planning Urban Space Although the systems supporting spatial racism are entrenched, some steps to remedy the problem are possible. Paying attention to the use and arrangement of urban space can help to break down the barriers that have been created by a history of racial division. Urban planning is a profession that helps determine the use of urban space, but unfortunately in many cases urban planners have reinforced the spatial effects of individual and institutional racism. Examining the role they have played in contributing to current problems of spatial racism lays the groundwork for considering how professional reform can help lead to urban reform.
The goal for the urban-planning profession is the same as that expressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son and appointed successor of Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, in His treatise on good government, The Secret of Divine Civilization.
3. For the best summary of this research, see Massey and Demon, American Apart/yez'd, especially 84—96.
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In that work He indicates that humankind’s “glory and greatness” depend on several things: its “reputation for justice,” its “kindness to the entire population whether high or low,” its “building up countries and cities, Villages and districts,” its “laying down fundamental principles for progress,” and its “raising the standards and increasing the wealth of the entire population.”4 Urban planning, in its ideal conception, is grounded in the tradition of urban reform, and its practitioners generally aim to build up “cities, villages and districts” that are in harmony with social needs and environmental principles.
In contemporary times, however, the profession is often limited by the extent of powers and functions given to it in a particular country or jurisdiction. Since ancient times, those who “planned” cities usually did so under the direction of rulers and were subject to the same flaws and foibles that characterized those rulers. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, urban planning reinforced colonial patterns of power in many cities throughout Africa and Asia. Today, urban planning often continues to help ensure racial separation in South Africa, the United States, and Great Britain, as well as in Israel and Ireland.5 This support of racial segregation and oppression has come in at least three important ways.
The first is the purposeful creation of racially segregated places of residence. The most extreme example is the municipal and other laws that laid out the “townships” under apartheid in South Africa. Similar actions in the United States were the creation of public—housing complexes, particularly in the 19403 and 19505, specifically designed to “protect” majority-tace neighborhoods and to house minority families, and the purposeful clearance of minority neighborhoods with federally funded redevelopment programs. Such actions are much less prevalent now in the United States than they were during the mid-twentieth century.6
A second type of misused power that supports racial segregation and oppression is the tendency to institute mechanisms for “protecting” majority—race areas and particular income classes from “intrusion” by the unwanted. For example, the practice known as “exclusionary zoning” is ordinary regulation that restricts the size of newly built residential lots and the form (such as single—or multiple—family) of new houses. Such regulation thereby affects housing prices and, for all practical purposes, preselects people Who have incomes allowing them to live in certain residential areas. Other common examples include zoning ordinances that specify that residential lots must be of a certain (large) size or that only single-family housing is allowed in certain areas. In metropolitan areas where large minority groups have low socioeconomic status and are spatially segregated, price restrictions on new housing in majority—race suburbs have the effect of excluding some races as well as
4. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Secret afDiz/irze Civilization (Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1970) 67. 5. See Scott Bollens, “Urban Planning Amidst Ethnic Conflict: Jerusalem and Johannesburg,” Urban
Studies 35.4 (Apr. 1998): 729—50. 6. Many books document this trend; see, for example, June Thomas, Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997)‘
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low—income people who do not already live there. The low—income people who do already live there are much more likely to be of the majority race.7
A third and related type of misused power that fosters racial segregation and oppression is support of geographic isolation, which reinforces existing racial and income segregation. Many urban reformers have for years argued for metropolitan area planning efforts. Nevertheless, a new urban planner in the United States, for example, not uncommonly takes a first job as planner for a suburb that is trying to keep itself isolated from other suburbs or from a central city. Even the good work that a planner may do there—in setting aside parks, channeling commercial use into appropriate areas, and ensuring good design of housing subdivisions’ streets and lots—may be only a part of an overall pattern of exclusion in that metropolitan area. Some planners work for transportation agencies that build highways that reinforce spatial isolation or for economic’development agencies that support decentralization of available jobs, further examples of actions that can lead to the continued isolation of relatively low-income, minority, and powerless families in distressed central cities.
The Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing and legislative body of the Bahá’í Faith, calls in The Promise of W’orld Peace for “the discovery and implementation of practical measures” to remove barriers to a peaceful and just society. It also indicates that society has choices: It can attain world peace, for example, either after experiencing “unimaginable horrors precipitated by humanity’s stubborn clinging to old patterns of behavior” or through “an act of consultative will.”8 The call for practical measures suggests that it is important to pinpoint the responsibilities of specific actors and agencies in the ongoing scenario of racial segregation and
exclusion.
The responsibility for changing the situation must, of course, be shared. A number of social institutions participate in an interlocking web of actions that leads to spatial racism. These institutions include the private real—estate industry, including realtors and developers; financial institutions and the insurance industry, which control access to aflbrdable home mortgages and to home-improvement and automobile loans; and corporations, which can make employment inaccessible for large numbers of citizens through their decisions about the locations of plants and offices. Government officials play a crucial role through their policies related to transportation, taxation, housing, and urban development. It is not possible here to review practical measures for reforming all the institutions involved in this web. It is possible, however, to describe briefly a few of the changes that are needed in one professional activity—planning urban space. Urban planners are particularly impor
7. See Marsha Ritzdorf, “Locked Out of Paradise: Contemporary Exclusionary Zoning, the Supreme
Court, and African Americans, 1970 to the Present,” in June M. Thomas and Marsha Ritzdorf, ed.,
Urban Planning and the African American Community: In the Shadows (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage,
1997) 43—58.
8. The Universal House of Justice, The Promise of W/orldPetzee: To the Peoples of the erd (Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1985) 13.
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tant actors because they help governments determine the use of urban space and because they have been involved both in creating the problem and in recent attempts
to reform it.
Practical Alternatives Changing institutions, policies, and the effects of such policies can be quite difficult.
In the realm of urban planning and spatial racism, it is not easy to change the socioeconomic mix of housing in suburban or central—city neighborhoods or to eliminate state laws or local ordinances that encourage geographic isolation. Although mechanisms for reform do, in fact, exist, discovering how to make such changes requires concerted effort, time, and dedication. How should one begin? Social reform requires both collective will and individual initiative. Collective will is important because some changes come about only when action takes place at several levels of society. Because the collectivity is composed of many individuals, however, changing individual hearts and minds is one practical means of beginning to change society. In 7776 Promise of World Peace the Universal House of Justice recognizes the important role of individuals. To bring about peace, it calls on the world’s peoples to undertake collective action but indicates that it is also necessary for individuals to develop “an unshakable consciousness of the oneness of mankind” and to overcome sexism, racism, and other forms of personal prejudice.9 Therefore, one of the first tasks for alleviating spatial racism may well be to change
the mind-set of professionals, such as urban planners, involved in the process. This would mean taking to
heart the suggestion in herent in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
assertion that true great ONE OF THE FIRST TASKS FOR ALLEVIATING SPATIAL RACISM MAY WELL BE TO CHANGE THE
MIND-SET OF PROFESSIONALS, SUCH AS
URBAN PLANNERS, INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. r1655 anolVCS creating good living environ ments for all, “whether high or low.” A new mind—set concerned with such social reform would seek to bring about social equity and to overcome the injustices that currently exist.
Several key leaders of thought in the urban-planning profession have challenged urban planners to combat spatial racism by becoming champions of social reform and equity. Paul Davidoff, who developed a concept known as “advocacy planning,” and Norman Krumholz, who developed “equity planning,” are two such leaders.
During the 19605 and 19705 DavidoflC helped organize initiatives that involved urban planners making direct efforts to open U.S. suburban walls to racial minorities. He also pioneered the concept that all populations deserve planning services because the public is often composed of multiple publics. He suggested that low—incorne minorities deserve their own professional services so that they might develop plans that serve their own interests, and he urged planners to see themselves as professionals serving the poor. Krumholz suggested that all planners, no matter who
9. The Universal House of Justice, Promise of WorldPeace 28.
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employed them, should work to expand social choices for the disadvantaged and those with the fewest choices. During his tenure as planning director in Cleveland, Ohio, he demonstrated several ways this could be done through efforts such as promoting affordable housing, reforming transportation policies, and reducing the cost of basic public services.10
Other changes came in the profession because of changes in the urban environment and in the racial composition of urban planning. The US. civil uprisings of the 19605, for example, led to a number of initiatives that allowed central—city communities to begin to plan for themselves in the way that Davidoff advocated. As the ranks of the profession diversified, planners of color began to point out the contradictions involved in professional practice and to advocate for change. In some cases, such as in Detroit, these new planners became champions of the underdog and forced major changes in central-city redevelopment, although they were less successful in bringing about suburban reform.“
Gradually the voices of enlightened city planners have become part of a general movement to change the way urban space is planned, a movement that has gained momentum, if not dominance. Many have devoted their careers to rebuilding central cities to make them more attractive places for people of all races, sometimes working directly with community organizations to do so. In the United States, for example, many cities have new or rehabilitated residential areas that contain people of mixed race or mixed income and that benefit in great part from the professional efforts of urban planners. Other city planners, educated in utban—planning schools that now include theorists such as Davidoff and Krumholz as part of the standard curriculum, go into their city and suburban jobs aware of the forces of injustice even if, many times, they are unable to stop them.
Alternative ideas concerning the need to overcome exclusionary zoning are also emerging. The standard approach in previous years has been to cluster new housing by price and thus by income. The “new—urbanism” movement, spearheaded by architects, is actively calling for mixing various income groups and, by implication, racial groups in newly built residential areas. A small group of urban planners devoted to social equity has brought greater attention to the need to support a variety of housing styles in previously exclusionary municipalities. They have also created local ordinances that recognize that people living in nontraditional families or with nontraditional jobs should be allowed to live in the average residential community.12
Urban planners have developed initiatives in other countries as well. In South Africa, urban planners are actively becoming involved in efforts to “deracialize” urban space. Cape Town, for example, remains largely divided along class and race lines, but some movement by wealthier black and colored people into formerly white areas has taken place. Urban planners have taken part in public forums designed
10. See Norman Krumholz, “A Retrospective View of Equity Planning: Cleveland 1969—1979,” journal Of the American Planning AJSOCifltion 48 (1982): 163—78.
11. See Thomas, Redevelopment and Race 117—23.
12. See Vanessa Watson, “Planning under Political Transition—Lessons from Cape Town’s Metropolitan Planning Forum,” International Planning Studies 3 (1998): 335—50.
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JUNE MANNING THOMAS
to develop more inclusive Visions for their city and have helped open up sections of city lands that are not restricted by race. Although their efforts have sometimes drawn fire from local conservative groups, these planners have actively attempted to “deracialize” South African space or at least begin to move in that direction. Others of their profession have gone even further, attempting to restructure decision making to involve people of black and colored races in determining the future of their own
communities.13
Canadian planners are pioneering ways of meeting multicultural needs with a diversity of planning tools. They are now realizing, for example, that many of their local ordinances made assumptions true for the majority race but not for others. New Chinese immigrants use urban space differently, particularly in their commercial areas but also in their residences, than do those of European ancestry. Rather than develop ordinances assuming one or two cultural backgrounds, these planners have created flexible tools that accept racial and cultural oliversity.14
Such examples show that individuals can, indeed, begin to undertake action that can help alleviate spatial racism. Appealing to individuals’ consciences, when those individuals belong to influential or potentially influential professions, is one important way to help bring about muCh—needed change.
Conclusion This discussion of racism and the planning of urban places suggests that the problem
of social reform is one that can be addressed in part as well as in the whole. While it is important to keep in mind that all of society must be reformed, few people can manage to make changes in all of society. A more likely target is that part of society that one can reach. In the case of urban planners, they can, with effort, reach quite a few important parts.
Integrating neighborhoods is the key to integrating public schools and to raising young people who overcome their parents’ prejudices through the simple process of making friends. Breaking open the boundaries of ghettos and townships should offer new opportunities to people oppressed by poverty and segregation. Only with the elimination of the racial prejudice born in isolation will true cooperation and friendship be possible. Alternatives such as mixing lower-income housing with middle—class housing, deracializing urban space, overcoming exclusionary zoning, and eliminating geographical isolation would help to create the kind of urban environment that all families and their children deserve.
At the same time, however, we must recognize the limits of reform by such means. Efforts by urban planners are important, but, in sum, they may make little difference in resolving issues such as spatial racism. The problem is in need of much wider reform than this profession alone can bring. We have noted that many urban
13. See Marsha Riztdorf, “Family Values, Municipal Zoning, and African American Family Life,” in Thomas and Ritzdorf, ed., Urban Planning and the African American Community 75—92. 14. See Mohammed Qadeer, “Pluralistic Planning for Multicultural Cities,” journal of flat American
Planning Association 63 (1997): 481—94.
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planners are civil servants, required to carry out the will of elected politicians. The government programs and policies that planners help implement are often created or enabled at the state or federal level, seemingly far above the individual professional’s reach.
For example, in the United States only the federal government has the power to help finance major changes in one of the most powerful forces for racial segregation—subsidized low—income housing. The government’s willingness to support ‘
mixed—income housing and its placement in suburban locales INTEGRATING NEIGHBORHOODS rs THE KEY TO
has enormous implications for INTEGRATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TO RAISING both class and race segregation. YOUNG PEOPLE WHO OVERCOME THEIR PARENTS, State governments’ continued PREJUDICES THROUGH THE SIMPLE PROCESS OF tolerance of segmented local MAKING FRIENDS.
government is a key factor as
well, which became quite obvious when changes in Minnesota brought about: by political reformers showed that it was possible to create metropolitan alliances that crossed racial and income barriers. In that state, political reformers created such alliances not just with professionals but also with political and citizen groups, particularly those living in economically distressed central cities and older suburbs, to bring about several exemplary reform initiatives.15
The same situation holds in places such as Canada and South Africa. In Canada, provincial and national support for racial diversity is a key environmental factor allowing urban planners, for their part, to encourage diversity. Also important is Canada’s tendency toward supporting consolidated metropolitan governments, which is in striking contrast to the extreme segmentation by income and by race in U.S. metropolitan areas. In South Africa, only as the nation as a whole is able to overcome the debilitating effects of apartheid can the ameliorative efforts of the various professions, no matter how enlightened they are, have any but the most tangential effect.
In the final analysis, no reforms can take place without popular support. When citizens cling to the belief that particular subdivisions or sections of their municipalities should not contain apartments or low—income housing, it is hard to overcome such opposition. The struggle for regional cooperation has suffered many setbacks because of lack of citizen consensus. True reform can come only through changing the hearts and minds of a critical number of individuals, including ordinary citizens as well as key professionals and political leaders, and through organizing that sentiment into meaningful collective action. Only then will we see lasting solutions to such problems as spatial racism. It is no coincidence that examination of one profession—urban planning—leads us back to fundamental, universal truths that
affect all human beings.
15. See Myron Orfield, Metropolitics: A Regional Agenda for Community and Stabilizgv (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution P, 1998).
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
Religious Pluralism in The Chinese Religion and The Bahá’í' FaiTh
Religion, long relegoTed To iTs “proper,” and narrow, sphere of influence in The secular WesT, suddenly seems relevonT again. Porodoxicolly, iT is religious exTremism, long exisTenT buT perhaps now more virulenT and widespread, ThoT hos brough’r This obou’r. Religious fonQTicism hos noT
only provided the world’s religious leaders With an opportunity to regain lost moral high ground, but it has also caught the attention of the general public and thus launched a dialogue on religious tolerance. This recognition of religion as a major player in global affairs and as a shaper of civilization has raised anew the question of religious pluralism: To what extent can, or should, the world’s religions come together?
Hans Kfing speaks of the impending necessity of a fundamental shift from an ethics—free society to an ethically responsible society. He argues that such a shift is indispensable to human society. The world, he postulates, will survive if and only if it is endowed with a common universal standard of values.1 To a thoughtful person, it seems clear that such a world ethos can only be based on the common values of the great world religions because religion alone can provide society with universally acceptable standards. This implies a greater degree of tolerance and understanding than has heretofore existed among the world’s religions.
“Religious pluralism” is a term increasingly popular in the writings of scholars of religion. According to Dann J. May, a researcher on comparative religions, “pluralism” refers to the growing tendency toward openness, tolerance, and inter Copyright© 2003 by Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew. 1. See Hans Kfing, GlabalRewomibility: In Search of a New WorldEt/aic (New York: Crossroad, 1991).
PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
An ossocioTe professor of linguisTics CT The NaTionCII InsTiTuTe of EducaTion, Nonyong Technological University in Singapore. with a Ph.D. from Mocqucrie UniversiTy, AusTrolio, Chew has published exTensively on linguisTs, women sTudiesl 0nd comporo’rive religion. She is posT presidenT of UniversiTy Women’s Associo’rion, Singapore chopTer, 0nd of The AssociQTion for Women for AcTion and Research (AWARE), Singapore, and pos’r direcTor of The UniTed NOTions Association of Singapore.
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
religious dialogue found in modern religious communities.2 The term also refers to the tremendous diversity found both Within and among the world’s religious traditions. According to academics Arvind Sharma and Kathleen M. Dugan, pluralism can also be considered an inexact synonym for diversity.3 Marcus Braybtooke, a scholar of interfaith discourse, speaks of religious pluralism as a concept that assumes the possibility of those of different faiths respecting one another and affirming together certain basic moral values.4
Religious pluralism is by no means a new concept. Indeed, plurality has been a commonsensical feature in some non—Westetn culture. It can be traced back
hundreds of years to Taoist societies in China during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E.S In China there has
IN CHINA THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BELIEF always been abclief in unity IN UNITY IN DlVERSITY—A BELIEF, FOR EXAMPLE, in diversity—a belief, for
THAT NO LIFE PROCESS IN THE BODY example, that no life pro IS FEASIBLE WITHOUT THE HARMONIOUS cess in the body is feasible WORKING TOGETHER OF THE VARIOUS CELLS WithOUt the harmonious
working together of the various cells and organs. In like manner, different religions are seen as a part of a whole and are different roads to one destination. Anjam Khursheed, a physicist, points out that, although much of the literature on modern religious pluralism originated from debates Within Christianity and that the influential writers on the subject have been Christian, there is considerable irony in the fact that many people think that the interfaith movement emerged from the Christian West. Compared to India and China, for example, Where religious beliefs have undergone restatement and reformulation over many centuries, Christianity has relatively little experience in interfaith harmony. In contrast, China has centuries of practical experience in religious pluralism. The religious beliefs of the Chinese are comprised of a mixture of the Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, and shamanistic traditions.6 Hence it is instructive to explore the metaphysical worldview of the Chinese religion, making some comparisons to that of the Bahá’í Faith and its teachings on the need for religious unity.
AND ORGANS.
2. See Dann J May, “The Bahá’í Principle of Religious Unity: A Dynamic Petspectivism,” in Jack McLean, ed., Revixioning the Sacred- New Penrpertive: on a Baba’ ’z’ Theology (Los Angeles, CA: Kalimét P, 1997) 16.
3. See Arvind Sharma and Kathleen M. Dugan, ed., A Dome of Many Colors: Studies in Relzgious Pluralism, Identity and Unity (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity P International, 1999) 1.
4. See Marcus Braybrooke, Fairly andlmeifizitb in a Glaéal/lge (Oxford: Braybrooke P, 1998) 51, 65.
5. B.C.E. (before the common era) is an alternate designation equivalent to B.C. (before Christ); C.E. (of the common era) is an alternate designation equivalent to AD. (army Domini, in the year of the Lord).
6. See Anjarn Khursheed, “Crossing Religious Boundaries,” The Singapore Balad’z’ Studies Review 4.1
(1999): 157, 168.
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RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE CHINESE RELIGION
The Chinese Religious Landscape
CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, BUDDHISM, AND SHAMANISM
The complexity and rich history of the Chinese interest in religions is very much evident in the makeup of what, for the sake of simplicity, we will refer to as the “Chinese religion.” Basically, the Chinese religion is multifaceted, including aspects of Confucianism (Which is not, strictly speaking, a religion but rather a moral philosophy), Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism, each of which reflects an aspect of Chinese life. Confucianism is associated With the bureaucracy, the traditional educational system, and the collection of political—moral values drawn from Confucius’ teachings. The popular face of Taoism is the belief in the patterned interaction between light and dark forces or the ruler’s influence on the natural world, the tendency to construe gods as government officials, and the preference for balancing tranquility and movement. Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism aims to teach the Buddhist scriptures as a means of attaining salvation. The fourth element—shamanism—is a collection of ancient folk practices focusing on worship of numerous gods and spirits, exorcism of demons, and the use of potions and spells for healing and good fortune. Many of its practices have been incorporated into religious Taoism.
The shamanistic element of the Chinese religion is the oldest. Archaeological discoveries in China have established beyond doubt that from the earliest time the Chinese had an awareness of the Unseen Power. The Chinese have also had a rich tradition of mythology through which they have tried to record in stories what is inadequately expressed by other means. This deep vein of mythology may explain why, throughout China’s long history, we find sacrifices to heaven, the hills and rivers, ancestors, and spirits. Traditional Chinese towns and Villages are dotted with village and wayside temples and shrines to ancestors. The gods of thunder, rain, wind, grain, and agriculture figure prominently in the lives of the peasants.
Today overseas Chinese communities are perhaps the best examples of the distinctive Chinese approach to religion.7 Chinese religious beliefs thrive in myriad temples in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844—1921), the son of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, and His appointed successor and the interpreter of His writings, paid tribute to the Chinese people, describing them as “sirnple-hearted and truth-seeking. . . . In China one can teach many souls and train and educate such divine personages that each one of them may become the bright candle of the world of humanity.“
To add to the complexity of the religious tapestry, over time Taoism and Buddhism have developed various sects, subsects, and schools. For example, philosophical Taoism is quite different from religious Taoism. Philosophical Taoism is represented by the philosophies of Lao—tzu (circa 600 B.C.E.) and Chuang-tzu (circa 370—319 B.C.E.), two influential Chinese sages, documented in texts ascribed to
7. A study of Communist China since 1949 and its relationship with religion is worthy of study but
will not be explored in this essay. 8. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, quoted in “The Bahai Cause and the Chinese People,” in Star of the W’ext, 13.7 (Oct.
1922): 185. The original text of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words is not available.
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.~‘Tfi=» - . ‘ “a
1‘,
PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
them—nameiy, the YZZo—te cbing and the Cbuamg—tzu—as well as later materials such as the Huaimmzz' and the Liezi.
Religious Taoism can be traced to Chang Tao-ling (circa second century C.E.), who claimed that he had a Vision, whereby Lao—tzu gave him the authority to organize religious communities, to forgive faults and sins, to heal, and, more important, to exorcise ghosts, demons, and evil spirits. Over the centuries various schools of religious Taoism arose that were built on Chang’s vision. By 400 C.E. religious Taoism began to focus on revelations, healing, rituals, oracles, and shamanistie practices, developing monasteries inspired by Buddhism and establishing an array of rituals deemed necessary to placate the spirit world and to enable its practitioner to lead a long, healthy, and wealthy life free from unnecessary misfortunes.9 Understandably, philosophical Taoism, with its sophisticated philosophy, and religious Taoism, interwoven with elaborate rituals and fantastic Visions of countless gods, gave rise to much perplexity among outside observers.
Buddhism, likewise, has given rise to many subsets and branches that place varying emphasis on methods and techniques. The Buddhism that became popular in China was Sinitie Mahayana Buddhism, which is characterized by the lack of a central ecclesiastical authority, differing in this respect from that found in Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. One may list as the main schools of Buddhism the Timt’ai, the Hua—yen, the Ch’an, the Pure Land, and Folk Buddhism.10
The Chinese have taken Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism, confusing enough in their internal variations, and added additional layers of complexity through syncretism—and in almost every possible combination. The first such syncretic religious groups, consisting of a sampling of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and shamanism, appeared in China in the fourth century CE. Considered “unorthodox” by the establishment (that is, by Confucianism), such groups were localized, highly fragmented, and not always referred to by the same names. Thus little is known of most of them today. However, one such group achieved a place in the historical record because it was persecuted. This was the “three—in—one” syncretic sect founded by Lin Chao-en (1517—98 QB.) in the sixteenth century. The sect attracted a considerable following until it was outlawed in the early seventeenth century by the Ming government, Which was anxious to preserve its political power and was thus fearful of the sect’s growing popularity with the masses. Despite this persecution, the sect survives today, particularly in Taiwan, as small independent groups with their own temples.
Modern variations of syneretic sects thrive in the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Statues of Confucius, Lao-tzu, and Buddha are set up as objects of veneration alongside those of traditional Chinese immortals.
9. See Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew, “Life, Death and Immortality,” The Singapore Bakzz’ ’z'Studies Review 2.1 (1998): 35—68.
10. See Yew Hock Yeo, “An Introduction to the Doctrines of Soul and Enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism and the Bahá’í Faith,” The jaumal Of Balazi’z’ Studies Review 3.1 (1998): 35—68, and Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew, “Buddhism in the Family of Chinese Religion: Role and Implications,” The Singapore Balm? Studies Review 5.1 (2000) : 1—32.
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ln funerals and other religious ceremonies, Buddhist and Taoist priests and laymen of various beliefs perform their rites together. Indeed, religious doctrines, symbols, ceremonies, and even deities have been so intermingled that scholars often cannot tell if they are of Confucian, Buddhist, or Taoist origin. Today a person can be Confucian in active life, responding to multiple social responsibilities; can be a philosophical Taoist in leisure hours, reading poetry and enjoying nature and wine; and can frequent Buddhist temples to offer prayers for special personal concerns‘.
In addition to religious sects, the Chinese have formed many lay organizations or societies, syncretic in chataCter and advocating not only the teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism but also of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Wing—Tsit Chan, a scholar of Chinese philosophy, lists many such societies, most of which were formed in the first half of the twentieth century. They include the Society of World Religions, the International Society of Holy Religions, the Universal Ethical Society, the Tao Yuan (Society of the Way), and the I Kuan Tao (the Way of Pervading Unity). Members of these societies recognized the validity of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and some of them had branches all over China and Manchuria and were very influential.11 One such society, the Way of Pervading Unity, believed that the “One is the root of all things” and that through the realization of the “One Principle” all will be saved, and thus all systems—Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—with their sages or manifestations are vehicles for salvation.
Chinese history may have something to do with the Chinese tolerance of diversity. When Chinese cultural patterns were being formed in the sixth to the fourth centuries B.C.E. (with the teachings of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, and of Lao—tzu, the founder of Taoism), China was a feudal system in which a large number of states With different dialects and systems of thought coexisted. Large numbers of thinkers moved from one state to another with various formulae for solving problems. Religions coexisted, shared, and borrowed knowledge from one another. Almost every ancient philosophical school taught the doctrine of Tao, but each interpreted it differently, and yet none deviated from the central meaning of “the way.” Not surprisingly, pluralism was a way of life.
THE MUSLIMS, JEWS, AND CHRISTIANS
While what we have termed the Chinese religion was the most prevalent belief system, it was not the only religion that was allowed to thrive and flourish. Besides Buddhism, which entered China through India and Central Asia, Zoroastrianism, Manichaenism, and Nestorianism (an Eastern form of Christianity) were also known in China, and, at a later date, Islam and Western Christianity. As far as we know, when adherents of the various religions appeared in China, the Chinese made no concerted effort to exclude their religious beliefs. Their followers were given land
11. See Wing—Tsit Chan, “The Historic Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism and World Community," in Edward J. Jurgi, ed., Religious Pluralism and W/or/a' Community (Netherlands: Brill,
1969) 118—19.
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
on Which to build places of worship and to practice their faith. The fact that religions such as Islam and Judaism were allowed to flourish relatively peacefully throughout China’s long history testifies to the Chinese ability to accept or tolerate various faiths and to see their existence as a factor in creating a common good. The tolerance may
also mean that the Chinese saw the newcomers as minorities who posed no threat to the dominant way of life.
THE FACT THAT RELIGIONS SUCH AS ISLAM AND JUDA!SM While there was a sense of WERE ALLOWED To FLOURISH cultural superiority on the RELATIVELY PEACEFULLY THROUGHOUT part of the Chmese, there
was also an unmistakable acceptance of the idea of religious pluralism.
The presence of Islam was tolerated and, at certain periods, highly encouraged and respected. On the whole, Islam has been allowed to coexist peacefully with the Chinese religion for thirteen centuries. Indeed, its indelible mark in Chinese history is seen in some of the mosques’ names, which were given by the reigning emperors of China, and in the mosques’ antiquity. The Guangta mosque, built along the coast thirteen hundred years ago, was one of the earliest. The Qingjing mosque, constructed in the Arabian style in 1009 C.E., dates back to the Northern Sung Dynasty (960—1279 C.E.) These two mosques are still standing. Today there are some 35,000 mosques all over China. Beijing has 64 mosques, the oldest one being the Niujie (Cattle Street) mosque built in 996 CE.12 The People’s Republic of China currently counts some 40 million Muslims among its citizens. While most live in rural areas, one notes that there are those who live in large cities in areas populated by the Han majority and who have become Culturally assimilated without necessarily abandoning their faith.13
Scholars speculate that Islam came to China via the Silk Road (Circa 613—14 C.E.) during the lifetime of Muhammad (570—632 C.E.). The earliest records show that Tang Gaozong (King of Tang) was visited by an envoy sent by Caliph Othman (reigned, 644—56 C.E.) to promote friendship between the Chinese and Muslims. During the Tang Dynasty (618—907 C.E.) and the Sung Dynasty (960—1279 C.E.), trade between the Middle East and Asia was brisk, especially during periods of peace and order. During the Yiian Dynasty (1279—1368 C.E.), when a minority Mongol tribe ruled China, Muslims enjoyed high prestige because the Mongol rulers worked hard to ensure that all minorities had a “rightful” place among the Han majority. Islamic techniques in astronomy improved Chinese methods of navigation and led,
CHINA’S LONG HISTORY TESTIFIES TO THE CHINESE ABILITY TO ACCEPT OR TOLERATE VARIOUS FAITHS AND TO SEE THEIR EXISTENCE AS A FACTOR IN CREATING A COMMON GOOD.
12. See Haji Yusuf Liu Baojun, A Glance at Chinese Muslims (Malaysia: Malaysia Encyclopedia
Research Center, 1999) 46. 13. Of the more than fifty recognized tribal groups in China, the vast majority of the population are from the Han tribe. Other well—known tribes are the Hui, the Miao, the Li, the Ughur, the Zang
(Tibetan), the Zhuang, and the Manchus.
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during the Yfian Dynasty, to the founding in Beijing of the Royal Observatory by Jamal—al—Din.14 In 1338 C.E., the Muslim calendar was adopted and was used for three centuries until it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1669 CE. According to Chinese sources, the influence of Muslim architectural designs can be seen in the work of Ikhtiyar al—Din, Whose design of the North Sea area of Beijing is claimed to be the precursor of that city’s Imperial Palace.XS Islamic architecture was also modified by Chinese influence—sinicized—for example through the work of archil tect Wang Daiyu (1584—1670 C.E.).
Even after the Yiian Dynasty was overthrown, Chinese Muslims continued to enjoy considerable social and political status. The great Muslim navigator Zhen He and the famous Ming generals Chang Yu Chun and Hu Da Hai helped establish the prestige and strength of the Ming Dynasty (13684644 C.E.). Indeed, the Ming founder himself, T’ai Tsuwa, was reputed to be Muslim. Influenced by Islamic customs, he forbade the drinking of wine and encouraged the translation of scientific texts into Chinese. Another Ming emperor wrote an “Introduction to Islam” in the famous article “The 100 Words Used to Praise the Prophet,” which was disseminated among the Muslims. Later, Liu Zhi’s (1685—1745 C.E.) work Tian Fang jinn Li (Etiquette in Islam) was the only Chinese Muslim book compiled into the reputable and government-sanctioned Si KM Qmm slyu (Encyclopedia) in the Ch’ing Dynasty (1644—1912 C.E.). Traditional Chinese scholars acknowledged the work as an invaluable aid in understanding the Islamic perspective on human nature.
Chinese Jews constituted another minority religious group. The Chinese called the Jews jiao (religion, sect, or teaching) or, more specifically, fiaajingfiao (the sect that teaches the scripture). Chinese Jews were not persecuted, probably because they were seen as a religious sect and, as such, not dissimilar from many other such sects prevalent in Chinese society.16 A study of Kaifeng Jews in Honan province showed that they first arrived in the twelfth century; thereafter their numbers were augmented by new arrivals. Their synagogue, built in 1163 C.E., survived until around 1849 CE. when it was damaged by floods. They were a sinicized group, partaking, for example, of Chinese food, taking secondary wives, and worshiping ancestors. The Jews of Kaifeng belonged mainly to the merchant class, the most despised class, but as time went by they also joined the scholar—official class. Chinese Jews were allowed to attain academic degrees and to take part in the civil service, which eventually resulted in Jewish intellectuals assimilating Confucianism.17
14. For several centuries after the founding of the Royal Observatory, it was customary for a Muslim to be its director.
15. See Man Wong How and Adel A. Dajani, Islamic Frontiers of Claim (London: Cultural
Association, 1990) 71.
16. See Irene Eber, “Kaifeng Jews: The Sinification of Identity,” in Jonathan Goldstein, ed., Thefews Of C/yz'mz (London: ME Sharpe, 1999).
17. Today about two hundred Jewish families remain in Kaifeng, but culturally and ethnically they have become assimilated to the majority population, and many are ignorant about the religion of their Semitic ancestors. See Michael Pollack, Mandarim, few: and Missionaries (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish
Publication Society of America, 1980).
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
Nestorian Christians (representatives of Eastern Christendom), flourished for 210 years in Shanxi Province during the early T’ang Dynasty (618—907 C.E.) before records of their activities were lost. The presence of Catholic Christians was reported during the Yfian Dynasty (1279—1368 C.E.), but it was not until Jesuit missionaries arrived in the late sixteenth century that Christianity truly began to take root in China. The Jesuits made several efforts to relate Christianity to Chinese tradition, such as allowing Chinese Christians to venerate ancestors in civil ceremonies. There was even a degree of receptivity among the Chinese: Father Matteo Ricci (15521610 QB.) converted the Prime Minister, Hsu Kuang-chi (1562—1633 C.E.).
The multireligious diversity in China did not mean that there was absolute peace and harmony throughout Chinese history. As in all cross-cultural contact, there were periods when certain religions were persecuted, but these periods were not as prolonged or bloody as in other parts of the world. Muslims were persecuted, but it is my View that this was due more to political rather than religious reasons. Ch’ing Dynasty authorities, anxious to keep their power intact, killed Yusof Ma Xexin (1794—1874 C.E.), who translated the Qur’án into Chinese, for his involvement in the Yunnan Muslims rebellion (1862—72 C.E.). Muslims who were not involved in the rebellion were allowed to continue the peaceful worship of their faith. In the nineteenth century the Ch’ing government, fearing political unrest, also drove Muslims away from urban areas (1852—77 C.E.), a move that may help to account for why most Chinese Muslims today live in rural areas. The nineteenth century was a precarious time for the rapidly weakening Ch’ing Dynasty, which not only had to grapple with Western imperialism but also had to quell potential civilian uprisings.
Like Muslims, Buddhists suffered brief periods of persecution. For example, they were persecuted in 446 CE. under Emperor T’ai Wu (reigned, 424—52 C.E.), in 845 C.E., and in 955 C.E. under Emperor Shih Tsung (reigned, 945—59 C.E.) of the Later Chou Dynasty, but the persecutions were limited in severity and geographical scope. Of these, the one in 845 CE. is the most graphically documented. More than 4,600 principal monasteries and 40,000 smaller ones were destroyed. The issues were once again mainly political and economic: Too many able—bodied men had joined monasteries and thus had become unavailable for agricultural production and army or labor conscription, and too much land belonged to the Buddhist community and thus became tax exempt. The quarrels were ones of priority or superiority, not ones of absolute authority or exclusive domain. They were not quarrels in which one side condemned the other as untrue or wicked. Often the conflicting parties conceded a degree of truth in the beliefs of the other party and granted that each side had a good way of life.”
Similarly, the well-publicized persecution of the Catholics in the seventeenth century was more in the nature of anti—irnperialism than anything else. With the arrival of the Jesuits, the central issue was whether Chinese Catholics were to be
18. See Chan, “Historical Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism,” in Jurgi, ed., Religious Pluralism tmd the World Community 118.
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allowed to perform ancestral rites. In the Chinese view, these rites had a basic value that no foreign Visitor should try to destroy. However, the Pope viewed the veneration of ancestors (kow-towing or paying regular homage to the spirits of one’s ancestors) as evidence of idolatry; hence he issued an order prohibiting Chinese Catholics from participating in sacrifices to ancestors. This, in turn, led the Chinese emperors to expel all Catholic missionaries. To
the Catholics, it was a religious issue, RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN CHINA but to the Chinese emperors, it was CAN BE TRACED TO THE PRACTICAL NATURE one of authority: Should the pope or AND FUNCTIONAL ASPIRATIONS
the emperor tell the Chinese what to OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE AND TO THEIR FRUGALITY d0? Similarly, in the nineteenth CCH— AND THRlFTlNESS.
tury, the Chinese regarded Christian missionaries as “opportunists and imperialists” because they relied on gunboat diplomacy from the Western powers for their protection.19 Christianity was also associated With the humiliating treaties that Western powers had forced on China. The situation in the twentieth and twenty—first centuries, although vastly more complex, may be understood in the light of past practices. Although the doctrine of Confucianism was attacked in the twentieth century, the attack can be said to be not so much anti—Tao 0r anti—God as it was antisuperstition and anticonservatism.20 It was against the mandarins (civil servants) who used Confucianism as a cover for political aspirations. In other words, it was against the Confucian bureaucracy that supported the Ch’ing Dynasty (1644—1912 C.E.), progressively brought to its knees by Western imperialist powers.
Religious Pluralism in Chinese Culture: Context and Reasons
While some have tended to View the Chinese religion and the presence of the multifarious syncretic religious sects in Chinese society as evidence of apathy or indifference to religious matters on the part of the Chinese masses, the Chinese pluralist approach to religion should be interpreted, on the contrary, as an interested and intense preoccupation with spiritual matters. The Chinese point of View is basically a pluralistic one that favors coexistence and harmony. It can be understood by examining the functionalism and practicality of the Chinese, their love for harmony and interrelatedness embedded in their philosophical worldview, and their education and intellectual discourse that encourages religious pluralism.
THE CHINESE WORLDVIEW: FUNCTIONALISM AND THE PRACTICAL NATURE OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE
Religious pluralism in China can be traced to the practical nature and functional aspirations of the Chinese people and, more specifically, to their frugality and thriftiness. Hence their tendency to waste nothing and to take in everwhing can
19. See Hans Ki'ing and Julia Ching, Chrixtz'tmizfy and Chimera Religion (New York: Doubleday, 1989). 20. See Donald E. MacInnis, Religion in China Eddy: Policy and Practice (Maryknoll, New York:
Orbis, 1989).
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easily be extended to their view of religion, which can be compared to an empty bowl that can be filled with the contents of various religions. Thus the Chinese religion is not so much an institutional religion as a range of religious needs. For example, Confucianism fulfilled the Chinese need for a social order; Taoism (and the shamanism it incorporated), the need for the spirit; and Buddhism, the need for the afterlife. In terms of roles, Confucianism filled the role as the “moral” and “ritual” religion; Taoism, the “polytheistic” and “alchemical”; and Buddhism, the “devotional” and “mystical.” The religions’ cultural contributions are also distinct: Buddhism and Taoism influenced Chinese art, sculpture, religion, and philosophy of life. Confucianism influenced government, education, literature, society, and ethics. The Chinese can claim simultaneously to be Taoists (lovers of nature), Confucianists (people serious about their duties), and Buddhists (people deeply
aware of the transience of life). The members of the Chinese religion resemble a family.21 While Confucianism
is referred to as the “Great Chinese Tradition” and hailed for imbuing Chinese civilization with humanitarian values, its endurance and sustained power for two thousand years must, in part, be ascribed to its two sisters—Buddhism and religious Taoism. The sisters were much more metaphysically in tune with spiritual matters than their brother, who was often preoccupied with matters of state. Confucianism acknowledged their vitality but kept them in the wing, always concerned lest Buddhism and religious Taoism infringe on its privileged position as elder brorher. I argue that, in time, the sisters no longer asserted themselves, content with the hearts and allegiance of the masses while relegating state power to Confucianism. As elder brother, Confucianism guarded its privileged position jealously. While it acknowledged its sisters’ contributions to the family, it was determined that they should not overstep their boundaries. There were occasional jealousies, disagreements, and rivalries. Sometimes it was the brother with one of the sisters or with both of the sisters; at other times the two sisters would disagree, and periodic quarrels and squabbles would break out. Whatever the cause, the elder brother would often use the state apparatus to stem the disorder. Most of the time, however, the three lived together in harmony and cooperation. Such was the delicate but durable functionalism of the Chinese religion.
The roles as members of the family were divided rather neatly. While Confucianism was concerned with the moral perfecting of human beings and society, the sisters became intimately connected with issues of life, death, and immortality. This became their raison d’etre; the sisters were allowed to exist because they filled a basic void left by their brother—the craving for spiritual sustenance, salvation, and immortality.22 Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism were popular because they
21. See Chew, “Buddhism in the Family of Chinese Religion: Role and Implications,” The Singapore
Balad’z’Studz'e: Review 5.1 (2000): 1—32. 22. Religious Taoism was more appealing than philosophical Taoism because it was essentially
preoccupied with basic concerns, such as life, death, and immortality, and pragmatic issues relating to health, wealth, business, and marriage. See Chew, “Life, Death and Immortality,” Tlae Singapare Bzz/vd’z’
Studies Review 2.1 (1998): 69—90.
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provided a spiritual respite from the harsher routines of Confucianism.
Being adaptive and flexible, the Buddhist and Taoist sisters were novel in their approach to things spiritual. When Buddhist thought first developed in China in the fourth century C.E., a number of new ideas had to be translated and explained. Monk Fa—ya invented the method of “matching ideas” whereby a Buddhist term or idea was explained by a corresponding one in Taoism. For example, the Buddha was called a sage; tat/mttz (thusness, ultimate reality) was equated with the Taoist term penwu (original non—being).23 Since Taoism had already carried on a search for everlasting life for centuries, it was natural for Buddhism to emphasize the Taoist
tendency toward immortality. The Buddhism that became LONG BEFORE THE WEST SOUGHT TO DISCOVER
popular in China during the THE SIMILARmES BETWEEN RELIGIONS,
Later Han Dynasty (25—220 THE CHINESE HAD ALREADY FOUND
CE) was deeply €010er by UNIQUE WAYS TO UNDERSTAND AND ASSIMILATE magical PraCtiCCS~ It loinCd DIFFERENCES IN CHINESE RELIGIONS.
hands with Taoism in an effort
to attain immortality through ascetic practices. In turn, the Taoists copied the structural and operational aspects of Buddhism and were fascinated with Buddhists’ penchant for solitude and meditation. The sisters were also intimately in touch with the folk religion (shamanism) of the people. For example, Buddhist shrines were similar to the existing shamanistic shrines to deities. So, too, Buddhist temples, similar to earlier Taoist and shamanistic ones, became places Where people would meet to celebrate festivals and socialize.
Together, Buddhism and Taoism tried to appease their brother. Like Confucianism, Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism supported the Confucian concept of filial piety and allowed its followers to erect stupas to preserve the memory of parents. In like manner, when the Taoist religion was formed, it drew heavily from the highly developed ethics of Confucianism. For example, Confucius was incorporated into the Taoist pantheon of gods during the T’ang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.).24 Through the course of history, Buddhism and Taoism coalesced with the Confucian—NeoConfucian tradition to form a complex multireligious ethos Within which all three were more or less comfortably ensconced. Not surprisingly, after such intimate and intricate liaisons, it was often difficult for outsiders to tell the members of the family apart.
Thus it can be seen that, long before the West sought to discover the similarities between religions, the Chinese had already found unique ways to understand and assimilate differences in Chinese religions. They viewed religion in terms of functionalism—that is, religion must fulfill a need. This functionalist tendency in Chinese religious praCtice has led me to conclude that the religion of the ordinary
23. Buddhism used a Taoist vocabulary to make the Buddhist faith intelligible to the Chinese, especially when dealing with topics such as breath control and mystical concentration. See Chan, “Historical Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism,” in Jurgi, ed., Religious Pluralixm and t/ye World
Community 117. 24, The T’ang Emperor himself (a Taoist) headed the hierarchy of the pantheon of gods.
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. l 37
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
Chinese is not so much institutional Confucianism, Taoism, or Buddhism, as one centered on more immediate needs such as the pursuit of worldly success, the appeasement of the dead and the spirit world, and the seeking of knowledge about
the future.25
THE CHINESE WORLDVIEW: LOVE FOR HARMONY AND INTERRELATEDNESS
In addition to the love for functionalism and practicality, the love for harmony and interrelatedness embedded in the Chinese worldview also accounts for the presence of religious pluralism in Chinese culture. As early as the last years of the Chou Dynasty (1122—256 B.C.E.), scholars elucidated the brilliant idea of “harmony making prosperity.” Around 500 B.C.E., Confucius put forward the proposition of harmony above all and postulated theories about the coordination of interpersonal relations. Taoism finds harmony in nature and naturalness and dreams of immortality beyond the earth. Around 500 C.E. Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism reinforced this View by the perception of reality as interdependent with all created things.
The penchant for harmony and interrelatedness in Chinese philosophy also serves to explain the popularity of the yin-yang postulates that have influenced the entire fabric of Chinese life from cosmology and the interpretation of history to that of social organization. The yin—yang concept fosters a spirit of reconciliation that is highly characteristic of traditional Chinese culture—a balance of parts within a whole. According to yin—yang philosophy, there are no fixed quantities, only relationships. Rather than respond to polarities, it is more important to respond to relationships.26 The tendency to see natural phenomena through a yin-yang framework contributed to a historical tendency that views all religious revelations as both similar and different. While the distinctiveness of each religion is fully acknowledged, the uniqueness and special contribution claimed by each religion are understood to be complementary. The pluralistic spirit inherent in such a system of thought is obvious.
The worldview that things are complementary was reiterated in a well-known article by Chuang-tzu (circa 319—270 B.C.E.) through the phrase leung—lasz'ng—cbi—[z’ (“on the equality of things”).27 This phrase continues to be discussed today by Confucian scholars such as Shu—Hsein Liu in the journal of Chinese Philosophy.28 In the tradition of Chinese discourse, Liu argues that the ultimate principle is a distinct one ([i—z) and that its manifestations (the creations that stem from the principle) are many (fl‘n-x/m). They ate, therefore, complementary, and, although they are unique entities, they are not in opposition. Like his predecessors, Liu concludes that
25. See Chew, “Buddhism in the Family of Chinese Religion: Role and Implications,” The Singapore Bahá’í' Studies Review 5.1 (2000): 1—32.
26. See Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew, “Yin—yang Cosmology and the Bahá’í Faith,” The Singapore Bahá’í Studies Review 6.1 (2001): 3—38.
27. See Chuang—tzu, in Wing—Tsit Chan, ed., Sourcebook in Cbinm’ Philosophy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1963) 179—91.
28. See Shu—Hsien Liu, “Reflections on World Peace through Peace among Religions: A Confucian Perspective,” journal of Chinese Philosophy 22 (1995): 198.
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RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE CHINESE RELIGION
we should be prepared to open ourselves up to new horizons of understanding in terms of the operation of fin—s/m.
The secular and the sacred are, therefore, only meaningfhl in some modern Western societies, where, over time, a separation of religion and government has taken place. This was not the case in China where the emperor was considered the representative of Heaven on earth. Referred to categorically as “the son of heaven,” the Emperor functioned simultaneously as the chief divine.
Likewise, in Chinese thought “secular” and “sacred” cannot be meaningfully distinguished. Thus, although I refer to the Chinese “religion,” there is no Chinese word that corresponds exactly to the English word “religion,” and there is no explicit demarcation between religion and education, since both share the same ideogtaph. Confucian scholars have not found it necessary to discuss whether their system of values is a “philosophy” or “religion,” as it is not a pertinent or relevant question in the Chinese culture. Similarly, dualistic terminology, Which plays a large part in Western philosophical consciousness, such as “salvific” versus “pedagogical” and “spiritual” versus “practical,” is quite alien to Chinese thought.
The Chinese language itself has fostered a worldview of perceiving entities as parts of a whole rather than diStinct and separate. The Greek language, which has influenced most Western languages, is oriented toward the phonetic and tends to present a world of meanings separately from a world of concrete things. The absence of anything in the phonetic symbols of the Greek language to suggest the presence of sensible objects leads more easily to conceptual abstractions than does an imageoriented language, such as Chinese. The separation of the sensible from the nonsensible can thus become an inherent tendency in the use of a phonetic language just as the cohesion of the sensible and nonsensible can become a fundamental feature of the use of an image language. The differences between the Chinese language and Greek and other Western languages help explain why Chinese metaphysics are not particularly metaphysical in the sense in which Greek or Western metaphysics are metaphysical. For example, Confucians do not debate about the dichotomy between life and death, the body and the soul, the separation of the sensible from the insensible, or the practical from the transcendental.29
A relevant concept tied to the Chinese love for harmony and intertelatedness is that of “unity in diversity” in religious traditions. Chinese folklore and literature contain “three-in—one” or “one-in—three” references to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. They also refer to all three religions as tributaries branching from the same river at different points and different times. Emperor Wu (reigned, 502—49 C.E.) of the state of Liang suggests that, although the three traditions remain separate, they also coexist as equally indispensable phenomena of the natural world: “Traced to the source, the three sages are not different.”30 Philosopher Chang Jung
29. See Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew, T he Chinese Religion and the 134de Faith (Oxford, Eng.: George Ronald, 1993) 17.
30. See Emperor Wu’s poem on the three religions, in the 7210—1751447; (written ca. 596—667 C.E.), quoted in Chan, ed., “Historical Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism and World Community,” in Jutgi, ed., Religious Pluralixm mu! World Community 123.
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
(444—97 C.E.) said that “Both Taoism and Buddhism, in their tranquil origin, are one.”51 Only when they responded to external conditions have they become different.32 The I Ching (the Book of Changes) says that “In the world there are many different roads but the destinations are the same. There are a hundred deliberations but the result is one.”33 To K’an Tse, a scholar of the third century C.E., “All three religions
have their source in heaven Which they obey.”54 Taoism and Sinitic Ma THE / CHING (THE BOOK OF CHANGES) hayana Buddhism share SAYS THAT “IN THE WORLD THERE ARE MANY common teachings about
DIFFERENT ROADS BUT THE DESTINATIONS the means for attaining im ARE THE SAME. mortality through various
ascetic practices.55 Indeed, both Taoism and Buddhism often converge in their quest for the truth. Both adopted the “all—in—one” or the “one-in-all” principle. Many Chinese emperors worshiped Lao-tzu and the Buddha on the same altar. In some quarters it was widely believed that Lao—tzu, the founder of Taoism, had been reborn in India as the Buddha.36
Both Taoism and Buddhism relate in their own way to the Bahá’í concept of progressive revelation by giving special importance to a Messiah figure Who would usher in an epoch of Great Peace. In Taoism, this is found especially in the Thip’ing c/aing (Classic of the Great Peace). Although incomplete and partially restored (seventh century C.E.), it is sometimes regarded as the most important text after the 7210—1? (king. It offers a doctrine of salvation with a savior or a “divine man” who possesses a “celestial book” and who teaches the return of ideal government while awaiting the arrival in the fullness of time of the Great Peace. Also, according to Taoist belief, Lao—tzu has the power to appear in other times and places. A number of Taoist scriptures are devoted to the numerous transformation of Lao—tzu—the
THERE ARE A HUNDRED DELIBERATIONS BUT THE RESULT IS ONE.”
31. Quoted in Chan, “Historical Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism and World Community,” in Jurgi, ed., Religious Pluralirm and World Community 115. Noted in history as “an exemplary Chinese,” Chang Jung is reputed to have died holding in his right hand the Buddhist Lotus Scripture and in his left hand copies of The Confitcim Clara's ofFi/iale'ety and the Taoist classic the Home Claing.
32. Hung Ming Chi’s first essay, quoted in Chan, “Historical Chinese Contribution to Religious Pluralism and World Community,” in Jurgi, ed., Religious Pluralism and Wzrla,’ Community 123.
33. Book of Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 2, chap. 5, in Chan, ed., Saurcebook in Chinese Philosophy. See also James Legge, trans, Yi King 389, in James Legge, 77M 4 Books: Confitcz'an Analectx, The Boole of Learning, The Doctrine of Ike Mean and the ers of Mencius (New York: Paragon, 1966).
34. 7210-5512217; (written ca. 596—667 C.E.), ed. Kuang Hung Ming Chi, Ch. 1, essay 7.
35. The first translations of Buddhist Sutras into Chinese—those dealing with such topics as breath control and mystical concentration—used a Taoist vocabulary to make the Buddhist faith intelligible to the Chinese.
36. Bearing in mind the geographical origin of Buddhism, the Chinese trinitarian idea may have been borrowed from India because Hinduism is generally credited with having brought the principle of religious unity to the modern world. In the Bhagavad—Gita, one finds the assertion that “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths, which in the end lead to me” (Selectiomfrom Swami Vivekananda [Calcuttm Advaita Ashram, 1957] 2).
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RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE CHINESE RELIGION
number is usually eighty-one (nine times nine) because nine, the highest single-digit number, is traditionally regarded as significant in Taoist mythology. Correspondingly, in Sinitic Mahayana Buddhism, there is a popular belief in the return of the Buddha through the Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, who is expected to make his return soon.37 Bahá’ís believe that the advent of Baha’u’llah is the fulfillment of these particular prophecies (as well as of other prophecies in other scriptures).
The Chinese religion and the Bahá’í Faith also affirm a principle of “unity in diversity” in their encounters with various religions. Rather than rejecting polytheistic and anthropomorphic practices, they transcend them—the Bahá’í Faith does this through its differentiation between essential and nonessential counsels of truth and the concept of progressive revelation; the Chinese religion, through its polytheistic and syncretic nature. Their points of View enable them to adopt an inclusive and holistic outlook on the phenomenon of religious multiplicity. In this light, both the Chinese religion and the Bahá’í Faith can be said to have preempted the modern interfaith movement.
THE CHINESE WORLDVIEW: EDUCATION AND THE INTELLECTUAL TRADITION
The Chinese love for knowledge and intellectual discourse is yet another facet of the Chinese worldview that has contributed to the Chinese tradition of pluralism. The Chinese have traditionally regarded “religion” as a means of “education.” The Chinese term for religion is jiao, meaning “to teach.” Both “teaching” and “learning” have the purpose of bringing enlightenment. A great teacher teaches one to understand the great principle of life and the universe, how to reach the good and to appreciate the beautiful. Religion’s or education’s purpose, therefore, is not to conquer or even to convert but to teach a good way of life. This can be seen in the fact that, while Confucianism spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as a result of the spread of Chinese political power, in no case did it serve as an instrument of military invasion or political control. Nor has any Chinese religion replaced or dominated a native religion. Foreign and local religions have coexisted and have done so without serious difficulty.38
Similarly, the Chinese were interested in learning about new religions, for they regarded them as “knowledge” or “education.” Buddhism, for example, came to China by invitation. According to legend, Emperor Ming (reigned, 58—75 C.E.) had a dream of a golden image in the West and sent envoys to search for it. They returned
37. The image of Maitreya also underwent a transformation somewhat akin to that of Avalokitesvara 0r Kuan—yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Before the seventh century C.E., Maitreya was a large and heroic figure. By the fifteenth century CL, he was a wrinkled, laughing monk with an exposed potbelly, carrying a hemp bag but in a reclining posture, with small children climbing on top of him and surrounding him. The Maitreya figure, called Mi—lo, affirms the importance of worldly happiness and prosperity and performs the same function as Kuan—yin, since Mi—lo is alleged to have the power of giving children to those who pray to it.
38. So, too, in Japan, Buddhism has, in many aspects, been syncretized with both Confucianism and Shintoism.
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
in 67 OE. With two Buddhist priests and Buddhist scripture in forty—two chapters. The most enduring and unusual effort to seek spiritual knowledge was the “Lawseeking movement” from the third century through the seventh century C.E. whereby some eleven hundred Chinese monks left China for India to visit holy places to study, to search for scriptures, and to invite learned priests to come to China and share their knowledge. In those days the journey from China to India was neither easy not short, and it is likely that some of those Who departed failed to reach their destination. Still, a surprising number of monks reached India and then returned to China to spread the teachings they had studied. Of these, perhaps the most famous seeker of the Law was Fa—hsien, who left China in 399 C.E. He Visited India, Ceylon, and other regions and on his way back to China spent more than two hundred days at sea, once drifting for thirteen days. He returned to China in 412 C.E. and recorded his travels in his Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, which today is the only remaining source of information on those regions in the fourth century. Another famous traveler was Hsiian-tsang, who left for India in 596 CE. He visited many Indian centers of learning, debated with Indian philosophers, stayed for sixteen years, and returned with numerous scriptures. For the next nineteen years, he devoted his time to translation, finishing in all seventy-three works including 1,330 Chapters. His Records of W/estem 73222261; is now an important reference for researchers studying the history and geography of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. The Japanese, possessing the same thirst for knowledge as the Chinese, came to China for centuries to learn about Buddhism and Confucianism. Almost all founders of Japanese Buddhist sects were students in China.
Through the centuries, the Chinese literati have also contributed to the deeprooted practice of religious pluralism. In his famous essay, “The Western Inscription,” Chang Tsai (1020—77 C.E.), a pioneer of Neo-Confucianism, penned the classical expression of the Neo-Confucian View of the world and life. In the opening passage he wrote: “Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as me finds an intimate place in their midst. All men are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions.”39 By extending humanity to all, he advanced his personal exposition of the classic principle of [i—i—fin—s/m (“principle is one, but its manifestations are many”).40 This principle gained currency among Neo—Confucian philosophers in the Sung (960—1279 CE.) and Ming (1368—1644 GB.) dynasties. But Chang Tsai was merely playing on an old theme found in no other work than the Confucian classic the Doctrine of the Mam (fifth century B.C.E.), which basically expounds the idea that the superior man can only achieve the greatest brilliancy and the best results if he follows the “Mean”—that is, his “choices” should neither be old nor new nor too narrow nor too wide but rather “both.” An inclusive and balanced approach is favored over that of an exclusive one.
39. Chang Tsai, “The Western Inscription,” in Chan, ed., Sourcebook in Chinese P/az'lorop/fly 498. 40. Tsai, “The Western Inscription,” in Chan, ed., Saurceboo/e in Chinese Philosophy 499—500.
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RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN THE CHINESE RELIGION
Conclusion The Chinese religion is intrinsically pluralistic in outlook and favors coexistence and harmony, which makes it a good case study of how religions have lived together in mutual respect and symbiosis. The reasons for the Chinese experience with pluralism can be found in their functional and practical nature, in their worldview that rests on a desire for harmony and interrelatedness, and in their education and intellectual tradition. , e Academic Raimon Pannikar points out that, basically, religious pluralism encompasses the View that, while there exist belief systems, worldviews, philosophies, and religions that may not be compatible with one another, one can still rationally
acknowledge the fact that one’s own
religion is not the Absolute. It is an idea THE CH'NESE REL'G‘ON
that furthers the establishment of bilat— IS INTRINSICALLY PLURALISTIC
erai pacts—dialogue between two such AND FAVORS COEXISTENCE AND HARMONY systems so that in the dialogue, we can
work out the procedures and the contents of the encounter.41 This being the case, the coexistence of three traditions—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in what may be called the “Chinese religion”—testifies to a certain pluralism within the Chinese civilization, a pluralism not known in Europe and the Middle East until the nineteenth century. The symbiotic and complementary relationship of the Chinese religious traditions has made it possible for us to speak not so much of the three religions of China but of a basic continuing tradition with three approaches. This by itself is an important achievement in interfaith understanding.
As the Chinese experience shows, religion gains strength when it does not attempt to displace and deny the essential truth of other religions. According to a logic embedded in the historical Chinese psyche, there are several paths to the same destination. Buddhism’s incursion into China did not replace the native gods of China. The traditional Chinese attitude was one of tolerance rather than dogmatic discrimination and ideological opposition.
The Chinese religion shares many commonalities with the Bahá’í Faith. Unlike religious groups that define themselves by the claim that their founder is the sole or the final source or truth or that their practices are the only correct form of worship, both the Chinese religion and the Bahá’í Faith accept the spiritual teachers of the major world religions as pathways to the same destination. Such a perspective implies more than tolerance for individual religions as separate entities to be respected in a pluralistic society. It redefines the nature of their relationship to one another and sets new terms for a definition of identity based on connection rather than separation. The theme of harmony and inclusiveness and of parts complementing each other is found in both the Chinese religion and the Bahá’í Faith. The call by Chinese visionaries for a united and peaceful world where “all humans are brothers and sisters” echoes many Bahá’í teachings. Not surprisingly, Martha Root, a well-known Bahá’í
41. See Raimon Pannikar, “Religious Identity and Religious Pluralism,” in Sharma and Dugan, ed., Dome of Many Colors 29—30.
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, Not I 43
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PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW
teacher, while traveling in China in 1923 and 1924 and again in 1930, was impressed with leaders such as Sun Yat—sen. Writing enthusiastically in the Bahá’í magazine of the day, Root called him the “George Washington of China,” explaining that “his program was based on co-operation rather than competition, and his ultimate
aim was universal peace.”42
Today more and more people are attuned to what was passé in Chinese tradition: that all great religions in the world are great precisely because they represent different paths to the Tao, and it is vitally important to seek a unity that is hidden among oppositions on the surface level. Arnold Toynbee, a historian—philosopher with a “long view” based on a vast knowledge of the movement of Civilization, has a speculation concerning the new stage of the East and West. He believes that, While civilization is currently dominated by the West, eventually we will see more influences from the East leading to the unification of both the East and the \West.43 His belief corresponds to a Chinese saying that “Reversal is the movement of the Tao.” This idea is one of the main theses of Lao—tzu’s philosophy and also of the Book of Changes as interpreted by the Confucianists. In the appendices of the Book of Changes, it is said that, “When the cold goes, the warmth comes, and when the warmth comes, the cold goes.” And again: “When the Sun has reached its meridian, it declines, and When the moon has become full, it wanes.”44 Bearing in mind such wisdom, perhaps it is now time to reverse the tide of exclusivism in religion and to consider once again a new paradigm—that of a relativity of religious truth, of a “unity in diversity,” a religious pluralism.
42. Martha L. Root, “Chinese Culture and Bahá’ísm,” Star of the West 21.9 (Dec. 1930): 262—67.
43. See Toynbee, Study of History (London: Oxford UP, 1934). 44. Boole of Changes, Appendices III, I, in Chan, ed., Sourceéoa/e in Chinese Philosophy.
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Bowl _
Turn it over and look up into the sphere of heaven. The tracery is parchment, light seeping through to write, white—ink your face, upturned. Swing it below
and it’s a cradle of blue water, the sea, a womb. A mixing bowl for Babylonian gods. Here, they Whirl up the cosmos. Pick it up and your hands form a pedestal, and all who drink contain the arcs of body and the universeand between them, no imaginable tear or distance.
—VALERIE MARTINEZ
Copyright © 2003 by Valerie Martinez.
he who maketh the whole to sing
he who maketh the whale to sing who teacheth the elephant to dance the turtle to chant of black earth and the white—finned fish to fly praise be to the creator
who giveth all ~FLORENCE DlPASQUALE KINDEL
Copyright © 2003 by Florence DiPasquale Kindel
VALERIE MARTlNEZ is a visiting pmfessor of English literature and poetry at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. Her poetry and translations have appeared in many anthologies, magazines, and journals. Her volume of poetry Abrams, Luminextmt (1999) won the Larry Levis Prize and a Greenwall Grant from the Academy 01" American Poets and in 2000 was a featured book selection in The Boyle Seme 76
FLORENCE DIPASQUALE KINDEL, a poet and a visual artist, holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Ans in New York.
World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1 45
Matters of Opinion
Reviews of Books, Films, and Exhibits
FILM REVIEW BY GARY L. MORRISON
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MOORE (UNITED STATES, 2002; 123 MINUTES)
Michael Moore’s brilliant new documentary Bowling for Columbine should be required viewing for every American. Using the Columbine High School massacre as metaphor, director Moore constructs an incisive account of America’s deeply rooted love of guns and its Virulent culture of Violence. He looks at the history of guns and gun manufacturing in America and at the easy availability and spread of guns, gun clubs, and the ubiquitous National Rifle Association (NRA), and through strikingly effective interviews—at various moments outrageously funny, disturbing, and appalling—he captures the zeitgeist ofAmerica at the turn of the millennium. Among the more disturbing revelations, Moore highlights the irony between contrasting perceptions and fears of a racially divided America. He illustrates how a white—controlled media paints a frightening image of a culture
Copyright © 2003 by Gary L. Morrison.
GARY L. MORRISON
of Violence among African Americans, Hispanics, local and immigrant gangs. He then reveals the reality behind this illusion: America’s White population, motivated by irrational fears, rationalizes the need for guns for self-protection. White Americans, in fact, purchase the greatest number of guns, are the most likely to have guns available in their homes, and preserve and promote a pervasive atmosphere of fear of being attacked by the nonwhite population. In a deeply divided America, the white population has a record of Violence perpetrated upon people of color unequaled in, for example, Canada Where guns are also readily available, but the rate of Violent crimes committed with guns is drastically lower. Moore explores this phenomenon and questions the role of the White-controlled mainstream media in perpetuating a culture of violence by picturing a society run amok.
Yet Bowlingfbr Columbine is not didactic, nor is it a diatribe against white
a lifelong film buff, is The assistant director of the Yew Chung Education Foundation and heads the internoTionol education services for Yew Chung International Schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing 0nd in The Silicon Volley in California.
46 World Order, 2002, Vol. 34, No. ‘1
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America. Moore achieves a certain immediacy through the use of a handheld
camera. Crosscutting interviews, previously broadcast media coverage, personal
anecdotes, and Moore’s own attempts at
understanding bring a sense of reality to
the documentary. At times a blend of
Candid Camera and 60 Minutes, the film
bristles with facts and startling images,
yet always entertains. The title alone
suggests the contrasts of something playful with something tragic. While the
word “Columbine” is enough to suggest
a singular American tragedy, “Bowling”
throughout the film suggests the playful
attitude Americans have toward guns,
which are sometimes given away as prizes,
sometimes sold like fishing tackle and
gear. On a grander scale, Moore splices
in scenes of National Rifle Association
conventions held in Colorado immediately after the Columbine slaughter and
in Michigan after the shooting deaths of
children; those attending express little
sensitivity to families or communities.
The high—profile NRA president Charlton
Heston is shown defying any attempt to
curb the spread of guns, lashing out at
critics and defending the individual
American’s right to own and use guns.
In a later attempt to confront Heston in
a personal interview, Moore films the
NRA president refusing to acknowledge
or accept that the availability of guns or
individual gun ownership may have had
anything to do with such tragedies as
Columbine. It is this refusal to consider,
question, discuss, 01' debate even the
possibility of a linkage between America’s
carefree attitude toward guns and their
1. Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden WJm’s, trans. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1939, 1990 printing) AHWZ: 3.
MATTERS OF OPINION
ready availability and the increase of violent crime that undermines any hope of change in society. What lingers in the mind long after one leaves the film is Moore’s image of Heston, president and mouthpiece of the National Rifle Association, as a symbol not of the ptotean icon Ben—Hur but rather of the virulent illness pervading and infecting a large proportion of American society that produces a uniquely American culture of violence.
If individuals and the nation are to heal, truth must be confronted and accepted. This was the justification for the truth commission set up in South Africa after apartheid and is the rationale for a similar truth commission proposed for Cambodia after the Pol Pot holocaust. Though not demonstrably as catastrophic as apartheid or the Cambodian killing fields, the culture of guns and violence, rooted in a Wild—West and ManifestDestiny mentality, has, nevertheless, twisted and is continuing to twist, warp, and infect the minds, hearts, and spiritual condition of generations of Ameri‘ cans.
A paradigm shift in the American psyche is needed to rectify and restore the ideals and intent of the country’s Founding Fathers. One small step is acknowledging the reality of what we have created in America. Baha’u’llah writes that “The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me. . . .”1 Justice is at the heart of a spiritual condition. Justice calls for a fair, unbiased, nonjudgmental consideration of data when studying any phenomenon. The tragedy of Columbine is part of a larger problem that is the culture of violence in America. Director Michael Moore contributes to a fair and balanced assess Worid Order, 2002, Vol, 34, No. 1 47
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*Ti
MATTERS OF OPINION
ment of this culture of violence by focusing on critical issues that must be addressed if America is to control the availability and spread of weapons of Violence among individuals, to prevent
further Columbine tragedies from taking place, and to heal itself from the devastating effects of this singular American phenomenon so brilliantly depicted in Bowling for Columbine.
48 World Order, 2002/ Vol. 34, No. 1
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
A Special Iddue on Global Cinema
W710! Order is seeking articles and reviews that explore global cinema from artistic, social, cultural, political, and spiritual points of view. Submissions may consider mainstream and nonmainstream film, documentaries, museum installations, and so on, analyzing aspects of their narrative, content, production, and/or dissemination.
All articles or reviews are welcome, but
the editors especially solicit the following:
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O Aspects of film production
0 Film in sociopolitical and/or historical contexts
0 Film as a product of and creator of culture, including the impact of film from one culture on a different culture
0 Film as art: its nature, possibilities, and responsibilities
0 Top ten lists of films: the most fascinating lists will be published and their compilers will receive a gift subscription to World Order
Reviewa for Mathew of Opinion
‘ To ensure the regularity of its new feature “Matters of Opinion: Reviews of Books, Films, Musical Performances, and Exhibits,” 1%er Order is seeking reviews of all types that may be of interest to our readers. The editors welcome reviews of fiction (prose, poetry, and drama); nonfiction (intellectual history, religion, government, social issues, and so on); film; television programs; other sorts of emerging media; art or photography exhibits; and musical performances. Reviews can take one of three forms: 0 Review Nata: A pithy paragraph of 125 to 150 words combining summary, opinion, and insight. Examples of this approach may be found in the
New York Times Boole Review (next to the fiction and nonfiction bestsellers lists) and The New Yorker.
° Mini—Reviewx: A brief essay of some 1,000 to 2,500 words of expert commentary.
0 Review Emzys: An article—length (some 3,750 to 6,250 words) exploration of a topic prompted by examining one or several works. Review essays generally cover several books or films on the same topic. Examples of this approach may be found in the London Review afBooks or the Times Literary Supplement.
Manuscript Submission lnformoTion
For a copy of the World Order style sheet for preparing a manuscript (and other tips), send an e—mail to
<worldorder@usbnc.org>, or write the address below.
Submissions to the journal will be subject to external blind peer review if they fall outside the expertise of
the editorial board or upon request by the author.
Manuscripts (in Word or WordPerfect) should be sent to World Order, Dr. Betty J. Fisher, Managing Editor, 4516 Randolph Road, Apt. 99, Charlotte, NC, 28211—2933, USA or <worldorder@usbnc.org>. World Order has been published quarterly since 1966 by the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.
Religion - Soclety - Polity - Arts
[Page 50]
Forthcoming...
The lnTernoTional Criminal CourT
Lloyd AxworThy and Robert Adamson discuss pursuing world order Through inTernoTionol jusTice and The lnTernoTionol
Criminal CourT
Arash Abizadeh inTroduces The ICC and provides cm overview of The Rome STOTuTe
John L. Washburn summarizes how The Rome STOTuTe for The InTernaTionol Criminal CourT was negoTioTed
Sovaida Ma’ani surveys Typical reservoTions obouT The lnTemoTionol Criminal CourT in American policy Circles
and. . .
Geoffry W. Marks refiecTs on The compTeTion of The Bohél’l’ Terroces,gardens,c1nd buildings on MT. Carmel in Haifa, Israel
Tom Kub'ala analyzes The impocT of uniTy on orchiTecTure and planning
Jim Stokes ponders on common conscience in The modern world
Julio Savi explores Alessandro Bousoni, on lTQIion scholar of Islam
Special issues on CiTies, Suburbs, 0nd CounTryside; Global Cinema; Travel: and oTher Topics of broad social concern
from a Bahá’í perspecTive
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
TIHQIITTTI um I | TTIIIIIT
311 02448 1261
ISSN 0043-8804
