Several university organizations will jointly host a religious tolerance event on Sept. 27.
The event will feature speakers from many faiths talking about tolerance and respect of fellow religions. Senior psychology major Bryant Moore was at the forefront of making the event possible.
“It’s an idea I had, a pet project of mine. I’ve been knocking it around my head for a while,” Moore said.
Moore is the president of the Young Americans for Liberty, one of the organizations sponsoring the event.
“We are a political organization but we talk about a lot more,” Moore said. “You should be free to practice your religion and be respectful.”
This will be the first time the event has occurred. Originally being Moore’s and the Young Americans for Liberty’s idea, Moore took it to other groups to make it a whole effort expanding beyond party lines.
“They said they would love to help. There is potential to have everyone involved,” Moore said.
With speakers from the Birmingham area, the event will allow time for each speaker to discuss concepts of tolerance as it relates to their own religions.
“The obvious goal is to promote religious tolerance; we’re hoping to contribute to a larger conversation we’re having in this country about how to treat each other with respect and dignity,” Moore said.
According to Moore, the other organizations, — which include Samford Democrats, College Republicans, Samford German Club, Samford Philosophy Club and the TAK Religion Honor Society, — were eager to support the event.
“It is important for all Samford students to understand the various religions and faiths that exist in our world, and having this panel encourages acceptance and learning about those different faiths,” Samford University College Democrats President Jillian Fantin said.
According to Fantin, the SUCD partners with organizations that help promote values they align with. In this case, the values of coexistence and having a conversation with those of other faiths strongly coincide with SUCD values.
That being said, Moore wants to allow for all the organizations to provide input and help plan the event.
“I want everyone to be as involved as they can,” Moore said. “If it’s just the libertarian group saying you should respect other people, no one cares.”
Moore is hoping there will be seven speakers to share what tolerance means to them. But according to Moore, it has been quite difficult to get ahold of religious leaders across Birmingham.
“It turns out that some religious leaders don’t check email very often,” Moore said.
Depending on the success of the event, Moore is hoping to continue the event by holding it again next semester and laying down the groundwork for the event to occur again in the years ahead.
The event will take place on Sept. 27 in Brock Forum at 3 p.m.
Daniel Dodson, Copy Editor
