03 Oct Bay Area Interfaith Councils Convene to Make Anti-Hate PSAs
(Photo by Noah Holm on Unsplash)
By Natasha Kaye
For many, religion is a facet of life that embodies togetherness, acceptance and belonging. However, religion has also been used as a means of division and exclusion.
As our society has become more polarized, the differences between religious groups have become more pronounced.
With Donald Trump’s infamous anti-Muslim campaign and 2022 setting the record for the most antisemitic hate crimes reported in the U.S., it seems the nation’s religious tolerance is faltering.
Interdenominational religious groups that make up the Bay Area Interfaith Leadership Council have joined forces to combat this division. The council is composed of 10 smaller interfaith councils that recently banded together to produce a series of public service announcement videos addressing hate crimes and incidents in California and promoting an overall message of belonging.
“We play a convening role. We play a connecting role,” said Michael G. Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, “and the way we’re able to keep everybody under one tent is we have this mantra that we speak on behalf of no one but give a voice to everyone.”
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The PSAs, which can be found on the Bay Area council’s website and on YouTube, were funded by the Bowes Award, a $10,000 grant that was initially distributed across several interfaith coalitions. Though once they realized the funds divided would be far less effective than in its totality, the coalitions decided to pool the funds together to create a set of PSAs on behalf of all of them.
The end result was three videos, one targeted towards spreading awareness of anti-AAPI sentiments, another promoting Jewish inclusivity, and the third highlighting Muslim American community leaders.
“It was really a regional effort for us,” Pappas said. “To come together in solidarity and make the decision to do a project together because $10,000 split among four or five councils would not have been really consequential. But when we worked together on this, a year and a half in the making, to get to the launch, it was intentional, it was deliberative, and it was something we did together.”
Both the San Francisco Interfaith Council and the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County began as Christian faith groups, but as the region became more diverse, the groups saw an opportunity for inclusivity and expanded to include all faith groups. Currently, Pappas estimates the San Francisco council has over 800 communities of faith and religious institutions involved in their network.
The Interfaith Council of Contra Costa is involved in various community service projects. Executive Director William Garvey says it has several chaplains working on homeless outreach, juvenile justice rehabilitation and environmental justice work, as well as several ongoing programs educating others on different faith traditions and life philosophies.
At its core, the council wants to promote unity across religions, races, genders and beyond with the ultimate goal of societal understanding and harmony.
In doing so, the council follows the “Platinum Rule.” While the Golden Rule teaches to treat others as you would want to be treated, the Platinum Rule says to “treat others as they wish to be treated.”
“The platinum rule is harder because then you have to get to know them to know how they want to be treated, but that’s the reckoning,” Garvey said. “That’s the postmodern recognition that everyone has their own way of life and their own cultural values.”
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
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