When is it Okay to Participate in Other Faiths’ Practices?

A few months ago I participated in a Traditional Latin Mass. More traditional-minded Catholics will genuflect when walking by or across the Host. As a non-Catholic I hadn’t considered what I should do until I found myself walking next to it and had to make a snap decision. On one hand as somebody who doesn’t believe that the Eucharist is God’s literal flesh, I thought it would be insincere for me to briefly kneel to it, and perhaps patronizing to those who do believe that; on the other hand it was very clear that that was the expectation, and it could possibly be offensive if I just casually strolled next to their Holy of Holies. I genuflected, but more out of a reflexive desire to not make things awkward than some coherent, well-thought out philosophy of interfaith engagement. 

Interfaith activities where somebody of one faith participates in the rituals, ceremonies, or services of another faith are tricky. In principle they can be fruitful educational and diplomatic activities, and every year or so I try to take my children to another service. However, they have to be done gingerly, and I haven’t seen a really good systematic take on when it is okay or not okay to participate in the rituals, ceremonies, or services of other faiths, so here’s my attempt to outline one after taking some time to think it through. 

The particular risks of any interfaith activity can basically be captured in two categories. 

  1. The risk that my participation in the activity will be offensive to their beliefs. 
  2. The risk that my participation would be unfaithful to my own beliefs. 

For example, as Latter-day Saints we have “Visitors Welcome” on our chapels, and people are more than welcome to come observe us taking the sacrament or baptizing people. My understanding is that people are also welcome and even encouraged to participate in Lent or Ramadan even if they are not Catholic or Muslim. However, they would not be welcome to, say, take a seat in the corner and observe the Endowment in the same way that non-Muslims are not welcome to participate in the elements of the Hajj that take place in Mecca (or maybe any elements of the Hajj, I don’t know), non-Catholics aren’t supposed to take Mass, non-priests to say nothing of non-Shintos are not allowed in certain shrines, and the ancient Jews weren’t exactly giddy about Pompey entering the Holy of Holies.

The details downstream from # 1 seem pretty straightforward–simply ask somebody of that faith what is or is not appropriate. Of course, what is appropriate varies a lot within faiths, what might be offensive to one person might be less offensive to others, but in principle I would err on the side of conservatism here and relying on more authoritative sources. For example, BYU’s passover seders (I don’t know if they still do them) might not be offensive to many Jews, but there are enough that I’d probably just not do it. 

However, when I offered extra credit for attending a religious service they had never been to before, a Catholic student of mine informed me that Catholics could not attend Protestant services, even if only in an observer role; this seemed odd to me, so I asked Catholic acquaintances that had attended Catholic seminary, and they were quite confused about what he could possibly be talking about, so while I err on the side of conservatism, by the same token I’m not granting an automatic veto to anyone that might have an issue with my participation if it’s clearly outside the Overton Window of authoritative sources within their tradition. (Even though it’s not related to participating in their rituals themselves, I also want to visit the Temple Mount some day, even though I think there are some Orthodox Jews who would rather I not–for some reason the fact that they are not in charge of it is not insignificant for me, although I can’t clearly articulate why). Of course, these are rather unique contexts; in general it’s hard to go wrong by just asking. 

 #2 is more complex and requires some thought. Generally, it revolves around the question of “what am I denoting or implying by being involved in this?” The distinction is important even if not terribly obvious. Removing one’s shoes at a mosque clearly implies respect for, but not necessarily adherence to the Islamic faith. Participating in Holy Week festivities such as the waving of palms does not imply acceptance of the Nicean Creed. Those are easy; but in my TLM example, is genuflecting towards the Host an act of worship, and therefore I am literally engaged in worshiping a God I don’t believe in, or is it a sign of respect? 

This can interact with #1. For example, I believe the Church’s current policy is that non-members can take the sacrament when visiting our services. Because they aren’t baptized there aren’t covenants to renew, so for them it’s just bread and water (if I’m understanding our position correctly). This could have implications for #2. If a Protestant visiting our services is hesitant about participating in a ritual worshipping a non-trinitarian Mormon Jesus, it might make them more comfortable to know that, for us they’re not really participating, and for them it’s just bread and water. So the question of what does this ritual mean is not answered in a vacuum, but relies on what the faith in question says it means. 

Finally, there are cases where surreptitious modifications can non-awkwardly resolve #2. Here I’m thinking specifically of the practice in some Christian congregations of reciting the Nicean and/or Apostolic Creeds. If you’re Johnny-on-the-spot and know your theology, you can discreetly go silent at the appropriate parts on the fly without being obnoxious. (Pope Francis and Pope Benedict did something along these lines when they omitted the Filioque, a controversial part of the Nicene Creed, when reciting the creed while visiting Eastern Orthodox leaders, although in that case it was for diplomatic, #1 reasons). 

In summary, if participation by a non-member is okay for the mainstream of the membership and its religious leaders, and participation does not imply any beliefs or devotions that I do not subscribe to (which again can be complicated), then I would feel comfortable participating. 

8 comments for “When is it Okay to Participate in Other Faiths’ Practices?

  1. I have attend midnight Mass Christmas Eve at a Catholic church about 4 times in the recent past. I participate fully with the exceptions of devoting my life to the Catholic church and I do not take communion. I donate when the plate is past. When possible, after the services are over, I make it a habit to go talk to the clergy that performed the mass, let them know we are mormons and how much we enjoyed the service. They always get an odd look on their faces when they hear this but are grateful we are there. It has been a wonderful tradition and an excellent way to start Christmas. I enjoy the involvement of kneeling, standing, singing, reciting and listening to the sermons. I especially like when we are asked to meet our neighbors next to us. Nice touch to feeling welcome.

  2. Nice post; interesting discussion which I hope will ensue. In times past I have visited other denominations’ services, and I have never contributed to the plate-passing, feeling ‘righteous’ about such omission. However, a recent post on one of these websites encouraged us to contribute in such situations, as those who are presenting the programs are literally supported by that plate, and we are in effect cheating them – i.e. partaking of their contribution w/o paying for it.

  3. Raymond Winn:
    I know of several Protestant congregations in Utah that employ LDS musicians and music leaders. The music is excellent and the Christmas concerts they provide are truly edifying.

    I know one LDS high counselor who works part-time as a Protestant youth director. I also know the great good that so many religious denominations and organizations do as well. It would be unchristian of us to not support these when we can.

  4. I think #1 far and away outweighs #2. Thanks to the Interwebs, anyone attending a TLM can have a copy of the mass in side-by-side Latin and your language to follow along. I don’t know if that’s true for Muslim or Jewish services. I only attended those pre-Internet, and I was completely lost. I see this as less a religious question than one of good manners.

    The few times I’ve attended Mass, I did everything the Catholic members did except go take communion. And they did remind the congregation that they had gluten free and alcohol free options. Anyone who noticed me not taking communion likely assumed it was because I hadn’t been to confession. On my side, it would have felt like I was mocking them, since to the best of my knowledge, the RC communion is limited to members in a state of grace. This was a very conservative Catholic parish (SSPX or FSSP) and there were lots of families with small children. There was more quiet, contemplative reverence and attentiveness than I would have thought possible for congregation of about 300, about one-third of whom were 3-10 yo children. We could learn something from them besides just to manage our holy envy.

    Why did I do everything? So the children around me would not see someone not participating. I didn’t feel I had a right to do anything that might hinder their faith formation, and as a guest in the parish, I didn’t want to be a distraction to anyone around me. So, yes, up and down, kneeling, standing, and responding at various points in my best church Latin. I even found the discreet box at the entrance to the chapel to leave a small token of thanks for letting me attend their worship service.

    #2 just never even crossed my mind.

  5. We have a family tradition of attending another (Christian) church’s service on Christmas Eve or Christmas. We have had a wide variety of experiences at different churches of different sizes in many different towns. Sometimes we feel out of place and other times we blend right in. Usually we feel welcomed. I think our kids are the better off for the experience.

    I also try to attend another church when traveling for work if I can’t make it to an LDS service on Sunday due to distance or timing. These experiences are enriching; I believe that I’m better off attending another service than none at all. Maybe some would disagree with me.

    When a visitor I generally go with the flow of the worship to experience it. In other words I’m more worried about #1 than #2; heaven knows my heart. One Christmas Eve we did have to double-check with our pew neighbors that the small cups we were handed had grape juice and not wine.

    I submit that we collectively could be better at welcoming others into our own worship services if we occasionally attended others’ religious services. I am far more aware of what could be off-putting or confusing to a visitor when I have been a visitor myself.

  6. When Naaman was preparing to leave Elisha and return to his home in Syria (after the washing-in-the-Jordan episode), he had a conversation with Elisha — but we never include this conversation in our lessons.

    Reading that conversation will help provide a scriptural foundation to address this question.

  7. I agree in general that # 1 comes up more than # 2, but # 2 does clearly come up in some circumstances if there is a concern about performing something that contradicts one’s own Latter-day Saint belief. For example, quoting the Shahada is clearly affirming a belief I don’t hold to, as is reciting the Nicean Creed. Placing votive offerings to Hindu Gods and Goddesses could easily be seen as participating in the worship of other Gods (but again, that depends on what exactly that means for the Hindus. Is that a literal act of worship? Or could it be seen as a generic offering to the religious community?) I even observed a neo-pagan Samhain celebration where they had a version of a prayer circle where each person would recite some acclamation to their particular God, and the others would follow with “hail [name of the God].” They were very gracious in allowing me to observe, but I would be skittish about participating in a ritual where I literally said “hail Odin.”

    But yes, I agree that in most cases participating in another faiths’ ceremonies or rituals comes with little risk to #2.

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