On Being Blog

Sociologist Robert Bellah is Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (Photo by Simon OosthuizenSimon)

On October 15-17, the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey held an international symposium to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on spiritual progress. The forum was an invitation-only event that brought the insights of major thinkers, which included Lord Jonathan Sacks, Marilynne Robinson, and Robert Bellah. The forum was chaired by our very own host Krista Tippett at Benjamin Franklin Hall of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.

Thankfully, the symposium recorded most of the conversations, and guided by Krista's notes, I wanted to share some of the more interesting points of the conversations and responses. Robert Bellah is one of the premiere sociologists and educators in the United States. For more than 30 years, he was a professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and recently published Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age. It's an ambitious work, to say the least, that probes humanity's biological past and "offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution."

In this first clip, Mr. Bellah refers to the Axial Age, a period of several hundred years during the middle of the last millennium BCE when religions played a vital role in the development of great civilizations of the East before Western European expansion came into play. As Mr. Bellah strenuously points out in one story, Confucianism has a deep sense of a "universal ethic" that transcends a more survivalist tribal sensibility:

And, Mr. Bellah challenges scientists and scholars to take a stance, an ethical position that takes into account "a concern for those who are left out" of the intellectual discussion about such things as the sociology of religion:

Near the end of his response to other scholars' questions and statements, Mr. Bellah describes how his research into other religions has strengthened his Christian faith in practical ways — and that he has come to the conclusion that people cannot achieve agreement on one true religion and that no one religion has all the answers:

The complete audio of this symposium will appear on the Center of Theological Inquiry's website later this year.

United Methodist Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda (front left) of the Democratic Republic of Congo testifies before a U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee in Washington DC. He asked the U.S. government to help end the Rwanda-supported conflict in Eastern Congo. Seated with Bishop Ntambo are Mark Schneider (center) of the International Crisis Group and Jason Stearns of the Usalama Project Rift Valley Institute. (Photo by Jay Mallin)

Religion as a force for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been overlooked by scholars who have increasingly recognized the importance of local peacebuilding. Ethnographic research conducted in Kamina, DRC shows that religious leaders, including Protestant, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Muslim, Kimbanguist and indigenous, are deeply involved in peacebuilding efforts. They have established conversations with all segments of society — government, military, militia, civil society, and women — in order to develop a united public voice in a divided country where almost everyone practices some form of religion and spirituality.

In September, thirty-two of these religious leaders presented a petition signed by a million peace-seeking Congolese at the United Nations, and eight advocated for their cause on Capitol Hill. Resulting from these conversations, Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, United Methodist Bishop from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), testified at the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Human Rights and Public Health. He challenged the US to press Rwanda to withdraw its support for “M23,” the rebel group currently attacking the DRC. Bishop Ntambo pled,

“In 1994 800,000 died in Rwanda, and we Congolese cried with the Rwandan people. The Western nations felt so guilty. In 1998 Rwanda invaded Congo and six million died. But no one cared. If for 800,000, why not for six million? Now Rwanda invades Congo again. This time, we ask you to stop this war.”

The “six million” referred to the deaths resulting from “Africa’s World War” that crippled the DRC from 1998-2002.

On July 31, 1998 Rwanda, aided by Uganda and Burundi, invaded. African nations failed to broker peace. Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia dispatched troops to support the Congolese army. The next three years brought failed peace negotiations, fighting over two-thirds of the country, deployment of the United Nation’s largest peacekeeping force, and the displacement and death of millions of Congolese civilians. In 2002, the Lusaka peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC moved the region toward peace. But treacherous military leaders continued to foment unrest at the border of Rwanda and the DRC.

The current threat developed in mid-April 2012. General Bosco Ntaganda, wanted for war crimes, led “M23” to defect. UN Expert Report S/2012/348, released in June 2012, concluded that Rwanda backed the “M23.” Rwanda says the war is driven by ethnic division; UN reports from 2001-2004 showed that war in this region is fueled by “conflict minerals,” particularly coltan, which is used in cell phones and laptop computers.

Bishop Ntambo compared the efforts of the interfaith Congolese delegation to religious leaders in the U.S. after 9/11,

“You Americans came together as one. In Congo, we have 9/11 every day. We are here as one to ask you to stop the violence. You have it in your control.”

Bishop Ntambo spoke for a delegation of thirty-two Congolese religious and civic leaders determined to globalize their local peacebuilding. On August 31 they presented a petition at the UN signed by a million Congolese, asking the UN to pressure Rwanda to stop fighting. Then the delegation visited government leaders in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and Spain with the same message. In Canada, their meeting with the Department of International Trade Canada (DFAIT) resulted in DFAIT’s statement on September 14, “Canada Deeply Concerned by Grave Human Rights Violations in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.”

On September 19 the testifiers demonstrated the complementary roles that civil society and religious leaders often play in public discourse. Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict, and Jason Stearns, who led a United Nations Expert Panel on Rwanda and Congo, presented detailed evidence of Rwandan support for the M23. But information alone does not create political will or persuade the United States or Canada, allies of Rwanda, to hold it accountable for its actions. Bishop Ntambo’s testimony did what religious leaders do best: it offered stories and metaphors that made real the agony of the Congolese people.

The UN General Assembly convened a sidebar “Congo Summit,” but observers say little was accomplished. The religious leaders’ petition requested expanded rules of engagement for the UN peacekeeping force, arrest of all war criminals named by the UN, and rejection of Rwanda’s application to be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Some experts believe that Rwanda would respond to a decrease in international aid; others suggest that Rwanda is sensitive potential loss of reputation in the international community. The religious and civic leaders of the DRC hope that the Western world will keep it eyes on the unfolding drama, and by so doing, save the lives of innocent civilians.

Pamela D. Couture is the Jane and Geoffrey Martin Professor of Church and Community at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto.

Mande Muyombo is the Executive Secretary for Africa, Mission Relationships, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and Doctor of Ministry student at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO.

"We're drying them out. But I'm looking closely — a lot of these pages, it's not reparable. This is just heartbreaking to look at."

Rabbi Avremel Okonov's words — and this image of Torah scrolls being unrolled to dry after a Brighton Beach yeshiva in Brooklyn was flooded — put another face on what has been lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. We're based in Minnesota and, much like the rest of the world, our imaginations and conversations have been captivated by the devastating aftermath of Sandy.

To all of our friends and fans on the East Coast affected by the storm, we wish you a healthy recovery and hope that you're safe and warm, and with power.

Our producer Nancy Rosenbaum (who grew up in New Jersey and whose parents are without electricity) reminded us that "this Rilke poem from the Book of Hours that Joanna Macy reads at the end of this week's show has Sandy written all over it." These opening lines seem so fitting for this moment:

You are not surprised at the force of the storm—
you have seen it growing.
The trees flee. Their flight
sets the boulevards streaming. And you know:
he whom they flee is the one
you move toward. All your senses
sing him, as you stand at the window.

On Thursday, Krista interviewed Brené Brown, a qualitative researcher who has spent more than a decade studying shame and vulnerability:

Enjoying preparing for interview tomorrow with @BreneBrown: Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.

In 2010, Dr. Brown presented "The Power of Vulnerability" at TEDxHouston. Her talk exploded onto the scene and has been viewed more than six million times:

"We numb vulnerability. The problem is that you cannot selectively numb emotion. You can't numb those hard feelings without numbing the other affects or emotions. You cannot selectively numb. And when we numb those, we numb joy. We numb gratitude. We numb happiness."

While editing this interview the next day, I (@TrentGilliss) "time-shift-tweeted," if you will, the conversation. These ideas particularly resonated with our followers (@beingtweets):

"When I meet you, vulnerability is the first thing I try to find in you. And the last thing I want to show you in me."

"I think it's the long walk from 'what will people think' to 'I am enough.'" ~@BreneBrown, on the courage to hold vulnerability as a value

"The most beautiful things I look back on are coming out from underneath things I didn't know I could get out from underneath."

"Hope is a function of struggle."

"To me, vulnerability is courage -- the willingness to show up and be seen in our lives."

After listening to her interview, Krista humorously tweeted:

@BreneBrown, was that a therapy session or an interview? Either way a pleasure. We'll broadcast/podcast in a few weeks - watch this space.

And, if you get a chance, check out some of the questions for Brené Brown people posted on our Facebook page. They're fantastic! Like this one from Joy Wotherspoon Hoppenot:

"Any insights on how to find community/your tribespeople when you're one of those wholehearted, vulnerable types? Western society certainly doesn't affirm this path. I find the journey quite isolating, even though I am sure others are going through it as well, silently. How can we locate one another?"

With the upcoming U.S. elections on Tuesday, we continue to look for convening places aimed at healing our fractured civil spaces. Election Day Communion is one of those noble efforts (and a kindred project to our CCP series). The site leads with this manifesto:

Some of us will choose to vote for Barack Obama.
Some of us will choose to vote for Mitt Romney.
Some of us will choose to vote for another candidate.
Some of us will choose not to vote.

During the day of November 6, 2012, we will make different choices for different reasons, hoping for different results.

But that evening while our nation turns its attention to the outcome of the presidential election, let’s again choose differently. But this time, let’s do it together.

Is your congregation participating?

And, each Sunday, Krista (@kristatippett) declares a "Twitter sabbath." It looks like she found time to read Taking the Leap:

Pema Chodron: Pausing becomes something that nurtures you; you begin to prefer it to being all caught up.

Like the idea of practicing pausing - throughout the day - as spiritual and even civic discipline.

As you take in these darkening days of autumn, I'll leave you with our most popular Instagram of the week: Ivan Corbett's photograph of Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic that forms the northernmost part of Norway (also home of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault), paired with a passage from Gary Snyder's The Practice of the Wild:

"Wildness is not just the 'preservation of the world,' it is the world. We need a civilization that can live fully and creatively together with wildness."

As always, please send us your feedback about our work. Contact us any way you like: contact us on our website, share your suggestions and critiques on Facebook or Twitter (@beingtweets, @KristaTippett, @TrentGilliss).

We live in a vulnerable world, says social researcher Brené Brown. And what do we do in the face of this vulnerability? We numb it.

But Dr. Brown says we cannot selectively numb emotion. When we do, we anesthetize personal joy and gratitude and happiness. In today's society, we are masters of this numbing, but there are those out there who "lean" into their vulnerability and fragility. They are our teachers, the ones who can model a way forward to love wholeheartedly and see ourselves for who we are. The key, says Dr. Brown, is to acknowledge that we are "wired for struggle." Her solution: let ourselves be seen, deeply and vulnerably, by others; love others wholeheartedly even though there's no guarantee of reciprocation; practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror; and believe we are enough.

We're preparing for our interview with Dr. Brené Brown this Thursday morning. If you have a question about vulnerability, courage, authenticity, or shame, post it here in the comments section. I'll be sure to pass them on to Krista and see if we can get some of them asked during their conversation.

Photo by Chris Guillebeau/Armosa Studios and licensed under Creative Commons.