Melinda Garcia, PhD, melinda@highestpath.org, APA Member, Advanced Career, Independent Practice, 2918 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
From the perspectives of the psychology of culture, ethnicity, and race (Division 45), the psychology of women (Division 45), the Society of Indian Psychologists, and the National Latinx Psychology Association, there are two major factors that keep feminists and educated people of color from engaging in efforts to build interfaith harmony. (1) Too often, a devotion to a spiritual tradition is used as an excuse to avoid examining the hidden-bias blindspots within that tradition. It is rare to find devotees willing to undertake the unpleasant work to unearth the ugliness of sexism, colonial histories and responsibilities, racism, homophobia, patriarchy and privilege within each spiritual tradition. It is rarer still to find devotees skilled in engaging in Difficult Conversations about those histories and how they are expressed in the present. Asking feminist people of color to engage in dialogue with folks who have not examined these blindspots is repeating a pattern of spiritual violence with which we have daily experience. There is little motivation to enter that conversation. (2) Devotion to a particular spiritual tradition can often be an excuse to avoid meaningful education about other traditions for fear of “contaminating” one’s practice. This can result in serious misunderstandings about what constitutes Respect and Dignity for the various groups. When members of different spiritual traditions gather, there is ignorance about what the other values and the purpose of their practice. Meaningful interfaith dialogue requires that people in the various traditions do their MultiCultural 101 work to identify the blindspots in their traditions. This does not just apply to the White people. It further requires that people learn and practice the skills of Difficult Dialogue. These initial corrective actions are reflections of not only kindness but also spirituality.
