Utah religious representatives to discuss racial diversity at virtual panel
Representatives from three religions in Utah will be joining together for an interfaith panel discussing racial diversity and justice on March 4.
The panel will feature Pastor Corey Hodges from the multicultural church The Point Church in Salt Lake City, Imaam Yasir Butt from Masjid Al-Noor in Salt Lake City, and Eric Richards from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint institute in Logan.
Panelists will be discussing both prepared questions and questions from the audience on the topic of racial diversity and justice.
The panel is being put on by Neighborly Faith, a student-run organization that looks to bridge the disconnect between Christians and Muslims, and the Veritas Forum, an interfaith dialogue group that began at Harvard University. The panel is also cosponsored by interfaith groups at multiple universities including Utah State University, University of Utah and Utah Valley University.
Christine Jetton is an interfaith student fellow with Neighborly Faith from USU. She has helped to coordinate the event and will be the student emcee at the panel.
“We were really interested in the dynamic here in northern Utah and what that kind of interfaith dynamic would look like between evangelical Christians and Latter-day Saints and Muslims,” Jetton said. “Then the recent new civil rights movement that’s been happening after the murder of George Floyd. We were really interested to talk about a topic that really needs to be talked about in faith circles, which is what our traditions speak to the beauty of human diversity and God’s will for oppressed groups of people and for any kind of reconciliation or justice on that front.”
It’s Jetton’s personal philosophy that we can learn more about our own traditions by learning about the traditions of others.
“All human cultures are an expression of God’s attributes, and that doesn’t mean that human cultures are perfect, but the diversity of human culture shows us some of the diversity of God’s beauty,” Jetton said. “I really feel like we can learn a lot about how different groups of people approach God and how people conceptualize God, and we can start to see really how big God is.”
Eric Richards has been teaching at the Logan Institute since 1996 and will be one of the panelists discussing racial diversity and justice.
“What a great opportunity to have a discussion about religion, diversity, inclusiveness,” Richards said. “I think it will help to not only build bridges but strengthen bridges between those of different faiths.”
Richards said that because most everyone has had some experience with prejudice and bias, having discussions like this opens up dialogues to help people of faith see each other in a clearer light.
“One discussion won’t cure all of the complexities of our society, but it sure will be a good stepping stone towards inclusion, healing and kindness,” Richards said.
Darcy Ritchie is a second-year journalism student at Utah State from Idaho Falls, Idaho. Outside of writing for the Statesman, she loves to DJ for Aggie Radio, eat french bread in the Walmart parking lot, and tweet.
—darcy.ritchie@usu.edu
@darcyrrose