At California Lutheran University, they’re keeping an open mind.
The school’s Samuelson Chapel features a prayer chamber. And according to a photo obtained by Campus Reform, the area offers many material assists to help students reach their own idea of God.
Among the items: a Buddha statue, the Hindu book The Upanishads, and Islam’s The Study Quran.
Is California Lutheran University promoting different religions?
Photos obtained by Campus Reform show a university prayer room offers a variety of religion symbols.https://t.co/o3jSh1jdwO
— Campus Reform (@campusreform) April 21, 2022
Reportedly, a chart promotes “The Golden Rule.”
The poster depicts Earth, surrounded by various religions shooting out as rays:
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Confucianism
- Taosim
- Sikhism
- Baha’i Faith
- Islam
- Judaism
- Jainism
- Zoroastrianism
- Native Spirituality
- Unitarianism
- Christianity
Each listed belief system includes its version of the Rule. For instance, Islam asserts, “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”
The qualifications of a few are arguable:
- Sikhism I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.
- Native Spirituality We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive.
- Unitarianism We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existences of which we are a part.
Online, Cal Lutheran’s Campus Ministry provides a page linking to “Local Houses of Worship.”
In part:
- An Lac Mission-Ventura Buddhist Study Center
- Bahai Faith
- Hindu Temple Society
- Temple Etz Chaim
- Islamic Center of Conejo Valley
More from Campus Reform:
While attending a Lutheran University, students are encouraged to seek out other religious facilities that allow them to feel at home.
The University encourages an “Interfaith Dialogue” that promotes “a safe place to ask questions, talk together, and learn from the spiritual journeys of others.”
The description claims the interfaith dialogue can help students “delv[e] deeper into [their] own faith traditions.”
Despite Christianity’s conventional wisdom of “[N]arrow is the gate and difficult is the way,” the faith is casting an ever-wider net.
Easy examples:
United Methodist Church Holds Drag Show to Protest Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Southern Baptist Seminary President Lambastes United Methodist Church Over Drag Queen Leader
Church Hosts ‘Pride’ Drag Show
Christian Divinity School Recites Prayer to the 'Great Queer One,' Who's a 'Drag Queen and Trans Man'
https://t.co/CeAKyaa84Q— RedState (@RedState) April 21, 2022
Christian Church Leads Prayer to the 'God of Pronouns,' the 'Great They/Them' Who Breastfeeds
https://t.co/36aVkeNQxR— RedState (@RedState) April 8, 2022
Government’s leading the charge as well:
Sign of the Times: Biden Heralds Our National Day of Prayer, Doesn't Mention God https://t.co/4rC86UsbxB
— RedState (@RedState) May 8, 2021
Of course, religious organizations would do well to welcome all. On Cal Lutheran’s site, under “The Lutheran Education Experience,” the school makes clear, “All are welcome. No one here is an outsider.”
This is one of the most deeply held values in the Lutheran tradition. And its importance is evident on campus — our students come from more than 59 countries and embody a wide variety of faiths.
As for Christianity, where’s it headed? In America for the moment, the answer isn’t likely “legalism.”
-ALEX
See more content from me:
‘Per Loves Perself’: University Schools Students on ‘Why Pronouns Matter’ for ‘Folx’
Excellence in Equity: California Eyes Obliterating ‘Bias’ by Getting Rid of Grades
Georgia Puts the Kibosh on Universities’ Anti-Liberty ‘Free Speech Zones’
Find all my RedState work here.
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