Growing up in one tradition and culture, it is almost innate to wonder why other cultures practice the way they do. Why do Muslim women wear the hijab? Where do kosher laws come from? What is the Holy Trinity? For those harboring questions or really any desire to learn more about faith traditions, the Interfaith Human Library Event at Falvey Library’s Speaker’s Corner is a perfect opportunity to dive into the world of religion.
Hosted once a semester, this event features multiple “human books” who each practice a specific religion and answer questions from groups of students. While one can definitely learn about religion on their own through books or the internet, conversing firsthand with members of that faith creates a more personal and effective method of learning.
Having a collection of so many diverse religions together also brought a real sense of community. While it may seem as though religious differences can be a source of tension among believers, here it all fed into a unified goal to find that something more. The event demonstrated the surprising similarities amongst many religions. For example, as detailed at the event, the Baha’i faith sees figures like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed and more as divine educators to steer humanity back on track. They believe that this continual “infusion” of divine education wakes up humanity and will continue as we always need them. Learning that the Baha’i recognize many of the same figures my faith does, just in a different way, showed how alike many faith traditions are. Similarly, most, if not all religions propose a way to live our lives in a more caring and just way. Students of the Baha’i faith shared how their “human book” details their intent on collectively caring for the poor and mending our seemingly-divided world.
“The event is so important for the current state our country is in,” graduate student Nicole Infanzon said after the event. “I believe in the beauty of finding similarities and differences with each other.”
Here at Villanova, events like these are just some of the many opportunities to find others that share one’s faith and to learn more about ones that may seem unfamiliar.
For those intimidated by going to Mass or other services and don’t know where to begin, events like the Interfaith Human Library are a way to both learn about a variety of faith traditions and feel the interconnectedness of the religious culture at Villanova.
