Utahns of all religious persuasions are becoming more tolerant of those who don't share their beliefs.
And that's good news, said two non-LDS ministers and a Jewish rabbi, who participated in a panel discussion Wednesday on the issue. Discrimination against non-LDS Utahns has been a historic problem, they said.At the same time, an LDS official said, being "always the biggest kid on the block" has its problems as well. As the dominant religious group, "Mormons" also may be put into difficult situations at times.
The panel participants were Rabbi Fred Wenger of Salt Lake's Congregation Kol Ami; the Rev. Robert Bussen, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Utah; the Rev. Donald Baird, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church; and Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The discussion was part of a workshop for teachers, sponsored by the State Office of Education. The four-day workshop has focused on how children can be taught the important role religions play in history without being taught specific doctrines.
"The religious dimension of human nature should not be ignored," said Bussen. "It is important to teach about religions in school. The key is that (the teaching) be all-embracing." He recalled his own difficulties when he attended Utah schools as a Catho
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lic among predominantly LDS groups. "I remember the isolation, embarrassment and ridicule. We were taught Mormon religion," he said.
Baird, whose family history in Utah spans four generations, paid tribute to "the new sensitivities" that make it less uncomfortable for his children than it was for him, his father and grandfather to be among a religious minority.
Children look on teachers as authority figures and believe what they say, he told the educators. He outlined four areas in which he thinks teachers should be sensitive to religious plurality: He warned against historic perspectives that sometimes make children feel that only the LDS pioneers affected Utah; showing preference in the schoolroom "consciously or otherwise" for children of the teacher's faith; creating a subtle sense of coercion for children who are not part of the majority and giving them the feeling their ethical standards are not as high as those of their peers; and failure to foster friendships among children of different religious backgrounds.
"Everyone feels deeply about his religious choice," said Wenger. Teachers can help children by explaining to them how an individual's passion for his religion expresses itself in life.
He said Jewish children are particularly isolated during Christian holiday times when they are excluded by their religious beliefs from the prevailing music, art and other activities. Children should not be taught sympathy for other religions, but empathy - the ability to put oneself in the place of another - he said.
Jensen, who said he was expressing his own opinions and was not making official declarations for the LDS church, agreed that many Utah children grow up "quite provincial" in regard to other religions. "We are obligated to do better and to be more tolerant . . . We need to make greater attempts to maximize the similarities and goodness in all religions." The LDS Church has become more involved in reaching out to the larger community, he said, citing LDS support for the rebuilding of a Jewish synagogue in Ogden after a fire, along with other major charitable contributions.
As the LDS Church grows, provincialism will decrease, he predicted. Within a short time, he noted, the majority of church members will be Hispanic rather than Anglo-American.
Jensen said, however, that LDS individuals sometimes find themselves challenged as members of the majority. "Simply because we are the majority, there is no need that we constantly defer to others," he said.
The LDS church often finds itself in an uncomfortable position in doing things that other groups routinely do, such as speaking out on public issues, Jensen said.
"If you speak out as the big kid, you lose; if you don't, you leave a vacuum."