On common ground

We should never assume that religion is only about people who think the same. And so we can come from very different religious backgrounds – Muslims and Christians and Jews – and find some common ground with each other. We don’t do that enough, but we can. 

Inside each of our religious traditions, it’s an illusion to think we’re all the same. Muslims aren’t all the same, Jews aren’t all the same, and Christians aren’t all the same. Inside individual congregations, there are discussions and arguments. And sometimes they become acrimonious and they’re a problem; much of the time, they’re the way in which we grow and learn in our faith communities. 

So we need to recognise that religion is not the enemy of difference, a block on difference. It is, among other things, a resource for being able to think about difference and sometimes overcome it.