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.
- The risk that my participation in the activity will be offensive to their beliefs.
- 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.
Back in the 70’s the Ensign ran a whole series on other faith traditions. Included was the article, “Respect for Other People’s Beliefs” by Gerald E. Jones. It has similar points as your OP.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1977/10/respect-for-other-peoples-beliefs?lang=eng
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reminds me of this journal entry of mine (which ended up as part of the foreword to my “Presidents and Prophets” book):
PRAYING WITH THE PRESIDENT
March 12, 2006, Washington, DC By Mike Winder
It is Sunday and I am here in the nation’s capital for my first National League of Cities and Towns Conference since being elected to the West Valley City Council. As a history-buff, it was an easy decision to decide to go to church at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square instead of the LDS ward that was too far from my hotel. St. John’s is nicknamed the “Church of the Presidents” since every President since James Madison has worshiped there. It is the little church across the square from the White House that always has the prayer service with the First Family on Inauguration Days, and that they are known to drop into now and then.
Even though the President is a born-again Christian, a Knight-Ridder News story I found online mentioned: “Bush prefers the 8 a.m. service at St. John’s, where he kneels on a prayer cushion bearing his father’s name, while his wife uses the one bearing President Reagan’s. President Carter’s cushion remains in the pew; President Clinton’s has been moved elsewhere.” St. John’s official website mentioned that the 8 a.m. service was now at 7:45, so that was the one I would attend. Maybe we would be lucky, at the least it would be an interesting experience.
My fellow councilmember, Steve Vincent and I were on our way there this morning when we were stopped by two police officers who told us we had to go around the block. This we did where we were stopped by two more officers who asked us our destination. When we replied “St. John’s Episcopal Church for the 7:45 service,” they replied “You said the right password, go on in.” At this point we realized that the First Family was likely at church that day, and we might get to steal a glimpse. We also commented that whether there were police officers or Secret Service agents, we had our freedom to worship and go to church, and it was a privilege that couldn’t have been denied.
At the entrance to the old church secret service agents asked us to empty the metal from our pockets and then wanded us like at an airport. After passing through security we were greeted by ushers from the church, took a program, and shuffled inside. The service was already five or ten minutes underway, and so we were anxious to quickly be seated.
It is a small chapel, with beautiful stained-glass windows and maybe 100 people attending that service. I noticed the President and his wife sitting in a middle pew about half-way up. There was only one other lady on the row, and she was on the opposite end with plenty of space between her and the First Family. I walked up to that row and asked the lady if it was OK to sit there, which it was, so we sat down. As I sat down, the President caught my eye, smiled and nodded a hello.
I couldn’t believe that we were there, attending church and sitting on the same pew as the President and First Lady! In our rush to get seated, Steve hadn’t realized who was on our same row. When I told him to check out whose row we were sitting on he took the biggest double-take in the world!
But there we were, reading prayers together, listening to the sermon together as the reverend taught about God’s faith in us, and our need to have faith in God and keep his commandments. We stood side by side with the First Family as we all recited the Lord’s Prayer. You could tell the President is a God-fearing man. He often had his eyes closed during the prayers, even while many in the congregation simply followed along in the prayer book or printed program. It was a conscious effort not to stare, and everyone in the congregation was as natural as could be.
At one point early in the service, the reverend invited everyone to “Greet one another in the name of the Lord.” Everyone stood and began shaking hands with those around them saying “Peace of the Lord.” I noticed the two Secret Service agents sitting behind the First Family and reached my hand to one saying “Peace of the Lord.” He returned the greeting and the handshake. Then Laura Bush reached her hand to me, and said in her Texas drawl “Peace of the Lord.” I returned the greeting and shook her hand. Then, as the congregation began to sit back down, President Bush caught my eye and reached his hand across his wife, and so I reached back. The 43rd President of the United States gripped my hand, looked at me and said “Peace of the Lord.” I returned the greeting. I’ve met vice presidents before (Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney), and even met Barbara Bush once, but this morning was my first experience meeting a President of the United States.
Later in the service a prayer was given by the reverend where he blessed some people by name in his congregation, including those who were in the service, those who were ill or have lost loved ones, and those who were having birthdays that week. In the midst of the prayer he added “and bless our President George” using the casual first name (George is a member of his congregation, after all). I have heard many prayers for our nation’s president before, but never while sitting just a few feet from him.
Soon it was time for communion, and the congregation began filing up row by row to take the bread and wine. Steve and I did not, but George and Laura and everyone else did. After the First Family returned they glanced at us and probably wondered why we didn’t go up with the rest of the church. Since we had a few minutes while we were waiting for the rest of the chapel to take communion, I wrote a little note on the back of my City Council business card
“Pres & Mrs. Bush, Even us Mormons from Utah pray for you & are honored to worship God together. –Mike”
I set my card down on the bench between Laura and I (the Secret Service behind us quickly glanced over the bench to see what I was doing), and she picked it up and read it. She smiled and seemed to get a kick out of it and showed her husband. He, too, got a big smile and seemed to enjoy it. He smiled back at us with an acknowledging nod. He took the card and studied the front of it for a minute. Then he pulled a black marker out of his suit coat and signed the front of the business card, and then handed it back to me:
“Thanks Mike – and God Bless. George Bush”
What a priceless souvenir from my trip to DC!
Towards the end of the service we all knelt to pray. Because we were in the “Church of the Presidents” there were prayer cushions of past presidents that we knelt on. I knelt on Woodrow Wilson’s prayer cushion, Steve was on Calvin Coolidge’s, and just as the news article had mentioned, Laura used Ronald Reagan’s and the President used his dad’s. It was a humbling thing to connect to our nation’s presidents’ spiritual life that way.
At the end of the service we all stood and the First Family and Secret Service agents filed out the front door, shaking hands with the reverend on the way. After a couple minutes the rest of us were allowed to file out the back door.
As we left the church Steve and I were marveling that there we were, a born-again-Christian President, a Methodist First Lady, and two Mormon city councilmembers in an Episcopal church worshiping God together on a Sunday morning. Isn’t America great?
2 Kings 5 (Elisha the Prophet, Naaman the Syrian General, and Rimmon the pagan god of the Syrians)
17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.
18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.
19 And he [Elisha] said unto him, Go in peace.
Mike – Way cool story. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve really enjoyed this OP and the comments. It warms my heart. My wife and I lived in an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico as volunteers for 2 1/2 years. It was run by Catholics. To support the children we attended mass each Sunday at a small humble parish, after which we went to our LDS Ward. Over that time I was blown away by the Spirit I felt again and again worshipping with the parish. I think one of the reasons why was that, unlike when I was a young missionary engaging with other faiths as someone holier and more knowledgeable (so I thought) with really the only objective being to teach them something, this time I attended to worship with and learn from these wonderful followers of Christ. We attended and participated in christenings, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages and funerals, received blessings from the priest, had our feet washed by the priest along with others during Holy Week, waved palm branches as we walked and sang on Palm Sunday, lit candles and had an ash cross put on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday to remind us of our personal commitments. We didn’t participate as actual recipients of any of their sacraments like communion because that wasn’t allowed, but they were happy for us to participate and worship with them where we could even knowing we were LDS. God and his love is there with these people. God is so much grander and His influence so much broader than I had thought from my previous superficial engagements with other faiths. I am so sorry it took me until I was 70 to realize this. I am closer to God and love Him and His children more because of my experience in this parish.