Last Tuesday, UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and Public Service Pathways co-hosted an event entitled “Belief and Belonging: Religion’s Role in Strengthening Democracy.” Vice Provost for Academic Outreach Louis P. Nelson moderated the discussion among leaders representing the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.
Karsh’s Executive Director Melody Barnes introduced the panel, saying, “At its best, faith challenges us to live with humility and with purpose.” She explained that the day’s topic of conversation was deeply personal to her, having been involved with religion throughout her life. According to Barnes, religion is “woven into the fabric of our democracy” through individuals, institutions, and culture.
Panelists included Hurunnessa Fariad, Rabbi Noam Marans, and Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero. Fariad is the founder and music director of the ADAMS BEAT Youth Choir, America’s first and only masjid youth choir, and a member of the Virginia Interfaith Center’s Board of Directors. Noams is the Director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee. Salguero, who serves on Karsh’s advisory board, is a pastor at The Gathering Place and the founder and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
To begin the conversation, Nelson defined religion as one of the greatest possibilities and greatest challenges in our democracy. Faith can lead to service, solidarity, justice…and tension. To unpack the intersection of religion and civic life, he asked each of the panelists an introductory question specific to their faith and leadership experiences. All three speakers discussed the ways in which democracy is inherently intertwined with their religious beliefs and practices.
Fariad turned to early Islamic history, explaining that the Prophet Muhammad enforced a rule—the first of its kind—mandating religious freedoms. “People tend to take faith and put in democracy, but for Muslims, it’s part of the faith. In engaging with democracy, you’re worshipping God,” Fariad said. She acknowledged that it may be hard to imagine people with different backgrounds living peacefully together today, but communities have found a way to do so since time immemorial. She stressed the importance of sitting together, both literally and metaphorically, even in the face of disagreement, stating, “We can’t have democracy when humanity is lost.”
Marans grew up in an insular Jewish neighborhood, but after attending rabbinical school, he was sent to work in a town with no mosques, one synagogue, and roughly a dozen churches. Suddenly in the minority, he embraced the opportunity to be curious about his neighbors and better understand his own faith by learning about Christianity and Islam. Marans cited Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s belief in the “dignity of difference,” an idea Sacks introduced after 9/11 to chart a path toward coexistence while maintaining respect for diversity. In Judaism, this is also known as “particularism in the sense of universalism”—in other words, permission to be in one’s own religious or cultural circle, with a mandate to remain open to others. Marans went on to say that the ultimate goal of religion is not only to have a personal relationship with God or a group identity but to be in service of broader humanity.
Salguero is a Latino Pentecostal, which is a relatively modern form of Evangelicalism. He spoke about the “false peace” that democracy is homogenization. To Salguero, churches begin with an understanding of diversity. He said, “If we are to be united but not uniform, there has to be justice.” Further, it is empathetic listening, not speaking, that leads to justice. According to Pentacostalism, learning to listen together helps us walk together. Finally, drawing on the teachings of Jesus Christ, Salguero remarked, “You can have deep conviction without abandoning civility.”
The speakers then discussed the role of institutions in religion and democracy, often referencing the Supreme Court. Marans quoted the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “All men are created equal.” In the eighteenth century, this did not include women or enslaved men. But because of the work of Thomas Jefferson, it did include all faith expressions. Nearly 250 years later, the United States is the most religious country in the Western world, and yet it is famous for its separation of church and state. Marans believes this dichotomy can be explained by the fact that American religious expression is voluntary, a precedent that the Supreme Court has a duty to uphold.
Speaking on behalf of women in light of the 2022 Dobbs decision, Fariad hopes that Americans and the courts recognize the difference between promoting religious freedom and imposing one dominant view on the entire country. Salguero also discussed the Court, referring to Footnote 4 in United States v. Carolene Products Co (1938). There, Justice Harlan Stone introduced the standard of strict judicial review when minorities are at risk, which is known today as “strict scrutiny.” Things are less clear when there is a “both/and” reality, though. For example, in the United States, Salguero is part of a minority as a Hispanic but also in a group with incredible influence over national politics as an Evangelical.
While they represent three different faiths, Fariad, Marans, and Salguero are all deeply committed to religious pluralism and interfaith advocacy. In their closing remarks, each discussed the indispensable role of empathy and the significance of searching for the humanity in others, including and especially during divided times. Audience members left with a better understanding of the ongoing interdependent relationship between religion and democracy.
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