Diverse panel of clergy
discuss intolerance and
religious extremism
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
A diverse panel of faith
leaders discussed religious
extremism Monday night,
March 30, at the Stuart
Building in .
"I Have a Question
About ... Religious
Extremism" was part of a
series of forums held by the
Winston-salem Human
Relations Commission that
answers questions on dif
ferent religions.
Moderator Timothy
Auman, a Human
Relations commissioner
and Wake Forest
University chaplain, said
that extremism can be
found in the United States.
He said the Southern
Poverty Law Center esti
mates that the number hate
groups has grown 60 per
cent since 2000 and about
20 percent of hate crime
attacks were motivated by
religion in 2010.
The panel consisted of
Rev. Nathan Parrish of
Peace Haven Baptist
Church, Dr. John Mendez
of Emmanuel Baptist
Church, Rev. Fermin
Bocanegra of Iglesia
Cristiana Wesleyana,
Salem College Chaplain
Rev. Amy Rio-Anderson,
Islamic Center of
Greensboro co-founder
Carl Lut Williams and
Rabbi Andrew Ettin of
Temple Israel in Salisbury.
Williams said Islamic
extremism is very rare in
this country but in other
countries it's become
prevalent. He said Islam is
in a struggle with itself.
"This topic of religious
extremism is one, I think
you can imagine
many reasons for
why, Muslims are
wrestling with this
on a regular
basis," he said.
Bocanegra
said he's experi
enced Christian
extremism first
hand. He fled his
home country of
Peru because of
the sometimes violent per
secution he faced as a
Protestant in the Catholic
nation. He said intolerance
can take many forms in
Christianity, including
churches he saw in Mexico
that don't allow women
who wear pants. He said as
a local pastor, he's held
games to bring together
local churches and commu
nities of faith in hopes of
bridging religious divides.
Rio-Anderson said that
Salem, a women's college
founded by Moravians in
1772, has a diverse student
body that's learned toler
ance of cultural and reli
gious differences. She said
she's still met some who've
had a hard time accepting
she was a minister, even
thinking that it was unbibli
cal for a woman to preach.
"When religious
extremism rears its head,
women are usually at the
forefront, taking
Ithe brunt of that,"
she said.
Rabbi Ettin
also said getting to
know others was
key in combating
extremism. He
said growing up in
an ethnically and
religiously diverse
community in
Newark, NJ. helped
Bocanegra
him gain an understanding
and appreciation of other
cultures. "None of the
stereotypes made sense
when you came out of that
type of experience," he
said.
Parrish grew up in a
small rural N.C. town that
was the opposite, with the
only diversity of religion
being some churches were
Protestant and some were
Baptist. He said as he grew
older, he got to know and
work with people of other
faiths."! have been brought
into communities and into
relationships that have
deepened and challenged
and caused me to reflect
more about not only the
faith of other people, but
about my own faith com
mitment in relationship
with persons of other
faiths," he said.
Dr. Mendez said reli
gious intolerance fits into a
pattern of oppression and
violence in the history of
the United States that has
been especially felt by
minorities.
"So much of what
we're talking about right
now, I think, is predicated
on how we understand God
and we use God, in many
ways, to defend our caus
es," he said .He said he saw
hope in the new generation
for coming together and
understanding one another.
He said protests he
went to in Ferguson,
Missouri, gave him hope as
he saw mostly young pro
testors of all different races
and walks of life holding
up signs about the value of
black life.
"I'm ready to follow
them," he said.
Photos by Erin Mizelk for The Chronicle
P, the Winston-Salem Human Relation
nt's Wanda Allen-Abraha (far left) intro
panel as attendees look on. Above, Carl
ms speaks.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C.
27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Annual subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
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