#interfaith

Canadian Interfaith Conversation Statement Against Antisemitism

Canada has never been defined by a single language, ethnicity, or faith. Instead, we are bound together by a set of shared values and mutual responsibilities.

Because of this, the escalating incidents of violent antisemitism in Canada are attacks not only against every Canadian Jew, but also against all Canadians and against Canada itself.

The Canadian Interfaith Conversation represents the full range of faith communities, including the Canadian Council of Churches, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the National Council of Canadian Muslims

We stand united against antisemitism, as we stand against all hatred.

My life experience has taught me goodness is a matter of profundity of responsibility. To live responsibly I have had to consider my relationship to others. In considering my relationship to others, I consider my own happiness and success. To find happiness and success I have had to have a profundity of trustworthiness as a responsibility of this success and consideration of my relationship to others. I consider trustworthiness, goodness. Goodness, trustworthiness, and considering my relationship to others are as a conclusion a matter of being responsible. As such I have concluded that “at the end of the day” responsibility is a concept that can lead to happiness and success.

I think of responsibility as a life affirming word synonymous with goodness, trustworthiness, happiness and success. I have considered for myself what it means to be happy, successful, good and responsible. I have found a pathway to success in morals by way of thinking in the profound on responsibility. I call this my theology. I maintain various rituals and beliefs of organized religion. I connect with the interfaith movement and community. Yet, I maintain morals and a spirituality based on my personal understanding of goodness and responsibility. These conclusions, along with personal identity and experience have led me to a vibrancy about international human rights advocacy. It is important work.

OMNISM AS A HEALING PATH: You can use Omnism to re-interpret your faith and remove toxic elements from it

Omnism is the belief that all religions and spiritual paths contain varying degrees of truth, and no single path holds all the answers. By applying this lens, you can re-interpret your native faith, stripping away toxic dogmas, fear-based guilt, and exclusionary tribalism while retaining its core ethical wisdom.

How Omnism Heals and Purifies Faith

1. Shift from Literalism to Metaphor Toxic elements often arise when allegorical myths are treated as strict historical or scientific facts. Omnism encourages reading sacred texts as universal parables rather than rigid doctrines. This frames stories of creation, judgment, or miracles as human attempts to understand a greater mystery.

2. Isolate the Core Message (The "Golden Rule") Omnism argues that the foundation of all authentic spirituality is love, compassion, and the interconnectedness of all beings. If a specific teaching in your faith promotes hate, prejudice, or superiority over others, omnism gives you the permission to view it as a flawed, man-made cultural construct rather than a divine mandate.

3. Embrace Shared Truths Instead of believing your religion is the sole path to salvation, omnism allows you to incorporate wisdom from other traditions. You can find peace in Buddhist practices, draw inspiration from Sufi poetry, or honor the indigenous reverence for nature. This dissolves the "us vs. them" mentality that fuels religious toxicity.

4. Decentralize Religious Authority Toxic religion often requires blind obedience to priests, pastors, or dogmatic institutions. An omnist approach empowers you to become your own spiritual guide. You get to curate your own belief system, taking the best parts of your upbringing and leaving the destructive elements behind.

Guiding Principles for Reinterpretation (1)Focus on the fruits: As highlighted in broader spiritual philosophy, measure the value of a belief by whether it makes you a kinder, more patient, and more compassionate person in your daily life. (2)Seek overlapping wisdom: Look for the core threads that connect almost all traditions—humility, charity, and forgiveness—and make those your personal doctrine.

"The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad theology. Compassion was the litmus test for the prophets of Israel, for the rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul, and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-Tzu, the Buddha, or the sages of the Upanishads."--Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness

"Every religion, every mythology is true in this sense: It is true as metaphorical of the human and cosmic mystery."--Joseph Campbell

"God is defined by Jesus but not confined to Jesus."--Huston Smith

"Each of the world religions has its own particular genius, its own special insight into the nature and requirements of compassion, and has something unique to teach us."--Karen Armstrong

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