Interfaith, Multifaith, Interreligious, Intrafaith, Spiritual/Spirituality – What?

For some years now I’ve been active in organizations and projects that are called “interfaith.”  For instance, my own local group is called Marin Interfaith Council, and is comprised of individuals from a wide variety of religious persuasions, as well as people in social service and social justice organizations, such as hospice, advocates for the homeless, LGBT activists, “soup kitchens” and the like.

I’ve represented the Covenant of the Goddess in most interfaith situations, including as a representative in the academic world by virtue of my membership and participation in the American Academy of Religion.[1]  This is my favorite.

Other terminology I’ve encountered is, for instance, The Biodiversity Project Spirituality Working Group, comprised of religious leaders, environmental activists (editor of Sierra Club magazine), a government agency (EPA), pollsters and policymakers. 

Auburn Theological Seminary, where I’ve presented twice, has a Center for Multifaith Education where seminarians can study for a “Doctor of Ministry in a Multifaith Context” degree.  For that purpose, they define multifaith thusly:

…multifaith education refers to the phenomenon of learning about faith traditions other than the faith tradition of the learner, e.g. a Catholic learning about Islam, or a Jew learning about Buddhism. The motivation, subtext or theological underpinning for the learning is not a factor. ..

Although we do not do so in the context of theological study, we who work “on the ground” in the interfaith movement do just that: we learn about one another’s faith traditions, in an atmosphere of respect and open-mindedness.  Not with a goal of changing anyone one way or another, but simply as a path towards friendship and mutual understanding.  In addition, in my own interfaith experiences, we engage in work based upon shared values and towards common goals.  Not every member necessarily supports every effort of a given group.

Recently MIC issued a statement in support of stricter gun control.  My friend Dominican Sister Marion and I, both of whom serve on the Justice Advocacy Team, drafted the initial statement.  With minor revisions, the Board signed it and issued it.  I did not sign it; I’m not a member of the Board nor was this statement signed by individual member congregations.  It was signed by the Board.  Unfortunately, when I reported this to the membership of the group on whose behalf I am a member of MIC, some members who held different opinions about gun control became upset.  An example of the sensitivity and delicacy sometimes required in interfaith situations.

We Pagans usually consider discussions and activities done among different individuals and groups within the Pagan community as being intrafaith.

There are also the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and the KAICIID Dialogue Center (King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue) “…founded to enable, empower and encourage dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world. Located in Vienna, the Centre is an independent, autonomous, international organisation, free of political or economic influence.”  This group, based in Vienna, seems primarily Abrahamic and has a membership that appears to be via governmental or religio-governmental agencies of member nations.  These are but two of several groups that use the term “inter-religious” to describe themselves.

Last week a participated in a gathering called MountainTop: Advancing a multifaith movement for justice; report here.  Until now I’d heard the terms “interfaith” and “multifaith” used synonymously, so I began asking some of the other attendees.  Most had to stop and think about it, some didn’t distinguish between the two terms, and at least one person understood them to be different.  The way I understood this man’s distinction, he considered interfaith to be getting together with practitioners of other religions and learning about them, kind of a kumbaya experience.  He considered multifaith to have a more outward focus and to be goal-oriented.  But of course, as he said, he was speaking only for himself as he’d not heard the question addressed before.

So I’d like to ask readers, presumably Pagans, who are interested in engaging constructively with people of other religions what terms they might use, and why.  I’m eager to read your responses.