Steven E. Handwerker, PhD, Ddiv, peacewk@peacewk.org, APA Member, The International Association for the Advancement of Human Welfare, Inc., 103 South Beach Rd, South Burlington, VT 05403
Thomas Plante, PhD, tplante@scu.edu, Santa Clara University and Stanford University School of Medicine, Psychology Department, Alumni Science Hall, Room 203, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA, 95053-0333
How can we build interfaith harmony between and within faiths? The purpose of this interdivisional collaborative fishbowl discussion is to consult the world’s two largest religions and the world’s largest psychology organization, to discuss how each contributes to peaceful relations and interfaith harmony in the world, from both religious and psychological perspectives. Represented are the perspectives of Christianity, Islam, the psychology of religion and spirituality (Division 36), peace psychology (Division 48), clinical psychology (Division 12), the psychology of culture, ethnicity, and race (Division 45), humanistic psychology (Division 32), the psychology of women (Division 35), the psychology of sexual orientation and gender diversity (Division 44), the psychology of social issues (Division 9), psychotherapy (Division 29), psychoanalysis (Division 39), military psychology (Division 19), community research and action (Division 27), international psychology (Division 52), the Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP), and the National Latinx Psychology Association (NLPA). Four religious leaders (a Priest, Pastor, Rabbi, and Imam) will each share their thoughts on building interfaith harmony, and then three psychologists (one from Divisions 12, 19, 29, 36, and 39; one from Divisions 9, 19, 27, and 36; and one from Divisions 35, 45, SIP, and NLPA) representing 11 APA Divisions/ psychological organizations will discuss the religious leaders discussion and share their own thoughts on building peace and harmony from their psychological perspectives. The religious leaders will then have a 10-minute rejoinder discussion. Both religious leaders and psychologists will weigh in on their relationships with each other to observe how they can learn from one another to build greater peace between the Faiths and between all peoples. Finally, two discussants(representing Divisions 32, 36, 48, and 52) will synthesize the religious and psychological views to create a metaview on ways all of us as individuals and practitioners can build greater peace and harmony in the world.
Video: [No Video Recorded]
Steven Handwerker and Thomas Plante