At the beginning of the year, I assigned an essay entitled “This I Believe” to my speech class. The assignment is modeled on the radio program of the same name. The very first essay produced on the program is entitled “A Doubting Questioning Mind.” In it, the 16-year-old author Elizabeth Deutsch writes, “I have visited churches ranging from orthodoxy to extreme liberalism. In my search for a personal faith, I consider it my duty to expose myself to all forms of religion. Each church has left something within me—either a new concept of God and man, or an understanding and respect for those of other beliefs. I have found such experiences with other religions the best means for freeing myself from prejudices.”
Yet, even as that is the essay that started it all, I beg the students I teach to stay away from religion in their personal narratives. I ask them to write about their guinea pig Lettuce or how to stand tall when your father dies suddenly and you want to disappear. But please do not say I believe in Jesus Christ or abortion or God. I knew that those topics lock the kids in and there is no longer understanding taking place. I had a student say I believe in Christ so I can’t listen to other ideas from other religions. When pressed by the other students, he admitted that he doesn’t have a church, or a particular religion, he just has beliefs. I want my students to remain open and engaged with each other, especially at the beginning of the year. Perhaps I just don’t trust them enough. Perhaps I want control.
The ICJS Teachers Fellowship called to me because of my own interreligious explorations. I grew up in an Irish/Portuguese Catholic family in a Jewish neighborhood in heavily Catholic Rhode Island. I have always been aware of the presence of religion and the damage of religious dogma. I researched and tried to include Zen Buddhism into my daily practice. I went to church for solace during a time of personal upheaval and I currently embrace the religion of my wife. Judaism appeals to me because everything is debatable. As a debate coach, interpretation and discussion to arrive at an understanding feels natural.
I arrived at the ICJS Teachers Fellowship with a goal of attempting to make sense of my own belief system. The “This I Believe” for myself. Over the course of my marriage I have adopted many of the Jewish traditions—Shabbat dinner being most important. We take that moment that night and put the week of work behind us as we prepare to face the upcoming week recharged. I came to an understanding that for our family, religion is centered in the home and anchored around our family meals.
When I joined the fellowship I could not have foreseen how my project would be forced to change. October 7th was the week we had our first meeting. The tenor of the work was to be impacted. One of the most powerful experiences I had was when we joined together with the Justice Leader Fellows in January to address the war in Gaza. I found myself not wanting to go. I didn’t want to face the disagreement directly. I knew that there were going to be wide divisions among the participants and I steeled myself for the debate. But it was not to be. There was no hatred spilled towards each other; there were no violent words. There were deep divisions but there was respect and most of all listening. That night I came to understand the ICJS Value of Dialogue: “Dialogue invites us to bring our commitments to each conversation and calls for patience, humility, curiosity, and courage. The outcome of dialogue does not require agreement, and meaningful relationships can exist even where there are irreconcilable differences.”
Now, when I assign my speech students the “This I Believe” essay, rather than advising them to shy away from religion in their personal narratives, I offer it as an opportunity. I give them examples I heard at the Teachers Fellowship and others I’ve found myself.
This I Believe: pluralism through dialogue offers hope for the future.
Photo caption: Patrick Daniels with two of his students, Nevaeh Sencion and Saidah Ervin, after they took 1st Place in the Policy category at the 2024 National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Speech & Debate Tournament.
Patrick Daniels is director of speech and debate at Baltimore City College and is a 2023-2024 ICJS Teachers Fellow alum. Learn more about the ICJS programs for teachers here.
Opinions expressed in blog posts by the ICJS Teacher Fellows are solely the author’s. ICJS welcomes a diversity of opinions and perspectives.