Nashville Church of Scientology Holds World Interfaith Harmony Breakfast and Dialogue

The Church of Scientology in Nashville opened its doors to all religious communities for a special interfaith breakfast and dialogue in observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week.

Last July, the USA Today had an article on The State of Hate in America. It covers a wide variety of hate incidents dividing Americans in a land that was long ago intended to be “land of the free and the home of the brave.” Included was an incident where two men on a Portland train were stabbed to death trying to stop a white supremacist’s anti-Muslim tirade against two teenagers.

“In order to truly combat religious discrimination in this day and age, we have to come together and learn about the religious other,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, Pastor of the Church of Scientology, who called together people of many different faiths and cultures to take part in an innovative and unique interfaith dialogue on February 1^st to open World Interfaith Harmony Week.

Participants included members of the Sikh, Baha’i, and Humanist traditions, as well as Scientologists.

In proclaiming Interfaith Harmony Week in October 2010, the United Nations stressed that “mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace.”  It was hoped that religions would work together “to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith” because “the moral imperatives of all religions, convictions and beliefs call for peace, tolerance and mutual understanding.”

The Church of Scientology’s creed begins with the words: “We of the Church believe that all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights; that all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance…”

“It is part of our very fabric to support others’ rights and abilities to practice their religion in peace, so that is what we are lifting up through this dialogue,” says Rev. Fesler.

One participant described the dialogue like this, “World Interfaith Harmony Week was kicked off in Nashville with a breakfast where we were challenged to explain some of the basic tenets of our faith in just a few minutes to someone who would then explain it to the group. It was a lot of fun, and a big thumbs up to the organizers.”

For more information about the Church of Scientology or its activities, visit scientology-ccnashville.org.