by Maureen Fiedler
On Interfaith Voices, the public radio show that I host, we've been following a young man named Andrew Bowen. He created something called Project Conversion, which he dubbed his twelve months of "spiritual promiscuity."
You see, every month for an entire year, he is living out the rituals and teachings of a different faith tradition. So far in 2011, he has been Hindu, Baha'i, Zoroastrian and Jewish. In May, he will be a Buddhist. Still to come are: Fringe religions (somewhat undefined), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Islam, Sikhism, Wicca, Jainism and in December: Catholicism! (He was raised as a Protestant, so he feels he has already sampled that tradition.)
He studies the scriptures and teachings of each tradition, participates in its worship services, samples its art and culture and delves into the social issues that touch it in a special way.
As far as I can tell in our interviews, he is taking each faith very seriously, entering its life as fully as he can for a short time. To visit his Web site, click here.
To hear my interview on his month as a Jew, click here. In the same show, you can also listen to a fascinating interview on the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and an in depth exploration of the issues facing military chaplains.
But with Andrew Bowen: I can hardly wait until the end of December to hear his report on his month as a Catholic. I'll let you know what he says!
