A successful Experiment in Religious understanding
Annual Unityday USA 2008

Thirty Nine (39) Members from the audience were asked to step up on the podium forming 13 groups of 3 each, each individual was asked to dare accept the randomly assigned faith for the next 45 minutes.



Individuals were randomly given a card by shuffling 39 cards grouped in 13 with 3 each in a group; Atheism, Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native Tradition, Paganism, Sikh, Wicca and Zoroastrian.

The first one to walk up was a Baptist Minister, and by chance he got the card for Atheism, he hesitated, but the great soul said he wants to experience it. Then the next 38 individuals got different cards, fortunately none of them got the card of their own faith.
 

3 cards per tradition (the word religion is not used to be inclusive of Atheism) bore statements or scriptures from that tradition, they were asked to form groups of 3 into 13 groups, each one of the three were to read to each other what their card meant. Once that was accomplished, I called on each group in random sequence to step up and take the microphone and tell the audience what they learned and what they think.

You can see the pictures, the excitement was unending, each one wanted to hang on and read more, exchange with each other… but the end goal was for every one to step into others shoes and see what it is like to be other.
 

They all realized the wisdom of each faith was beautiful. Unless you feel first hand, you will never know what others are about. The Muslim, who became Hindu, or the Jew who was Baha’i, or the Wicca who became a Sikh…had thrill of their lives. I hope to re-enact that in 2010 Unity Day.