Loading ...The World Needs More One-World Ecumenism
By: Ghassan Rubeiz / Arab America Contributing Writer
As the Vatican prepares to elect a new pope, I want to emphasize the importance of interfaith dialogue in the search for the future leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. The need for better understanding between religions has never been more urgent. In the United States, religious fundamentalism is rapidly ascending. In the Middle East, Islamists confront Christian Zionists and extremist Jewish groups. In India, Hindu nationalists continue to threaten their Muslim neighbors.
Ecumenism is a movement to unite the mainline Christian churches in faith and witness. Having worked for thirteen years at the Ecumenical Center of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, I have concluded that the real focus of ecumenism has been promoting the unity of the “global village”, the international community, more than abstract theological reflection.
But — at least in the 20th century — the churches were too old, powerful, and proud to unite. Ecumenism shines when it forcefully challenges all religious institutions, not only churches, to remain true to their original mission. The movement calls for religious bodies to stay humble, serve the marginalized, and work together to make our shared world better.
While the World Council of Churches is recognized as the hub of classical ecumenism, its vision of global human unity transcends Christianity. Throughout history, people of all faiths and those of no faith have practiced versions of ecumenism, often without naming it as such. Medieval Islamic Spain exemplified ecumenical principles over seven centuries, as Muslims, Christians, and Jews shared power and resources in creative coexistence.
As an American with Middle Eastern roots, I have witnessed how my ancestral homeland has suffered from religious fratricide. The renowned Lebanese-American thinker Kahlil Gibran criticized religious institutions across the Arab world, observing that his native Lebanon had “plenty of religion but not enough faith”. He meant that people were not practicing authentic spirituality; they misread their spiritual traditions. Indeed, in the Middle East, the three Abrahamic faiths proclaim one God, yet behave as if witnessing three competing deities.
Clerical leaders perpetuate the notion that new ideas are dangerous and threaten sacred tradition. They claim their God is fully focused on their narrow concerns. They assume that their theology is immutable, resisting adaptation to changing times. The term “kaafer” (“apostate”) demonizes those outside the faith or without belief in the supernatural.
Family norms and laws prohibit interfaith marriages, and constitutions deny equal power to citizens of different religious or ethnic backgrounds. Religion intrudes into education, family law, political power, and party affiliation. Today’s Israel is changing from a homeland for Jews into an aggressive regional superpower led by extreme nationalists and backed by hubristic Christian Zionists. Palestinians, in turn, have allowed authoritarian Islamists to dominate their resistance movement.
Yet ecumenism persists in the Middle East. Palestinians have developed their own liberation theology over recent decades. Jewish Voice for Peace heroically advocates for Palestinian rights and a shared future in one state. The Beirut-based Middle East Council of Churches, MECC, has promoted justice and interreligious dialogue, particularly during Lebanon’s civil war. The MECC has built a wide international network of church solidarity groups. The Danish group Bethlehems Venner stands out in diversity of social action for justice and peace in the Holy Land.
The late Pope Francis drew inspiration from Latin American and South African liberation theology, movements that share ecumenism’s core values. Throughout his papacy, Francis stood in solidarity with Palestinians and other oppressed communities worldwide. He engaged Muslim and Jewish leaders to foster understanding and advance justice. When white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel, I hope it will herald a continued solidarity with the poor and marginalized around the world. The Middle East, and indeed the world, urgently needs religious and secular institutions to return to their true foundations: justice, mercy and humility.
Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier, he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. He has contributed to political commentary for the past twenty years and delivered occasional public talks on peace, justice, and interfaith subjects. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.
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