In recent weeks, the nations of the world have confronted the dire implications of religious and sectarian strife. Societies torn by such conflicts of faith might do well to look to Southern California for inspiration.
According to Prof. Amir Hussain, “Southern California is the most religiously diverse place in the history of the world. Hussain is an associate professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University as well as a muslim scholar and a Californian of Canadian extraction. Indeed, he is part of the very mosaic he studies in his academic work.
When asked if this diversity could one day lead to conflicts, Hussain disagrees and points instead to growing economic disparities:
I think if you’re gonna see tensions in 20, 30, or 50 years, for me it will be around class issues. You’ve got incredibly… wealthy people and you’ve got incredibly poor people. I think in some ways the religions can help with that. Because in every religious tradition, you’ve got people taking care of the poor, the less fortunate.
- Amir Hussain’s Web Page, Department of Religious Studies, California State University, Northridge
- It’s Deja Vu All Over Again, by Amir Hussain, Tabsir: Insight on Islam and the Middle East
- Religious Diversity News, The Pluralism Project, Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University
- California Religious Demographics, Religious Profiles of Sample California Counties, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California
- California Religious Demographics, Religious Profiles of Sample California Counties, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California
- “Introduction to a New America,” New Religious America: How a Christian Country Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation.
- Religious Diversity Impacts to Be Examined, 93106: the Faculty and Staff Newspaper of the University of California, Santa Barbara