# How to engage with people across differences | Joel Altena | TEDxLCCUniversity Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MR3ZuIvOc8 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/_MR3ZuIvOc8 Generated: 2025-11-11T17:42:35.417+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview The speaker argues that true religious freedom is achieved through hospitable pluralism, which involves actively engaging with people of different faiths and convictions with love, kindness, and respect in the public sphere, rather than merely tolerating differences or privatizing faith practices. This principle, exemplified by interfaith dialogues like the one between a Christian chaplain and a Muslim Imam over Eid, deepens one's own faith and creates necessary spaces for peacebuilding. **Key Points:** - The speaker advocates for hospitable pluralism as the path to peace, contrasting it with permissive tolerance or privatization of faith. - Hospitable pluralism requires actively engaging with people of different faiths and convictions in the public sphere with love, kindness, and respect. - An example of this engagement involved a Christian chaplain and a Muslim Imam collaborating on an Eid celebration at LCC University. - The speaker learned from Muslim students about their religious traditions, such as fasting during Ramadan, and Christian student traditions like Easter. - The speaker found that such interactions deepened his own Christian faith, as it reinforced the core principle of living out faith through hospitality and kindness. - The ultimate goal is to create spaces for peacebuilding and demonstrate that peace is possible by acting out of the core of one's being in public interactions. ![Screenshot at 00:00: The speaker stands on stage at a TEDxLCCUniversity event, with large block letters spelling out 'TEDxLCCUNIVERSITY' behind him, setting the scene for an idea-sharing presentation.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-00-00.png) **Context:** The speaker, Joel Altena, shares a reflection stemming from an experience in December 2022 when he visited Oman with a group including pastors, a Hindu chaplain, and a Jewish rabbi. This visit was organized by the Al-Amana Center, a Christian organization working in Oman for over 130 years to create spaces for multi-faith and interfaith dialogue. The core concept he explores is the difference between mere tolerance and active, hospitable engagement across religious lines. ## Detailed Analysis Joel Altena recounts his trip to Oman in December 2022, where he engaged with Muslim Imams, a Hindu chaplain, and a Jewish rabbi, organized by the Al-Amana Center, which promotes interfaith dialogue. He illustrates the concept of hospitable pluralism by sharing a photo from his backyard in Lithuania showing his children's toys—a red swing and a pink scooter—lying next to an apple tree, symbolizing the beauty of diverse elements coexisting. He contrasts this with the common notion of permissive tolerance, which merely allows people to hold different beliefs privately. Instead, Altena argues that true religious freedom demands active engagement in the public sphere, showing hospitality, respect, kindness, and generosity in interactions. He cites specific examples from his work at LCC University, where he and a Christian and Muslim leader collaborated on an Eid meal, and where he learned about the fasting practices of Muslim students during Ramadan and the Easter celebrations of Christian students. He concludes that these shared experiences, which involve living out one's faith publicly through hospitality, deepen one's own conviction and prove that peace is possible in a world often marked by division and violence between faiths. ### Oman Visit & Interfaith Engagement - Speaker visited Oman in December 2022 with religious leaders (pastors, Hindu chaplain, Jewish rabbi) organized by Al-Amana Center - Met with Imams and government officials to foster interfaith dialogue - The goal was to create spaces for multi-faith interaction. ### The Photo Metaphor - Speaker shares a photo of his children's red swing and pink scooter next to an apple tree in his Lithuanian backyard - This visual represents the beauty of coexisting differences, contrasting with arid environments where little grows. ### Hospitable Pluralism vs. Tolerance - True religious freedom requires moving beyond permissive tolerance (keeping faith private) to hospitable pluralism - This means actively engaging with others' beliefs in the public sphere with love, kindness, and respect. ### Campus Examples of Engagement - Shared experiences at LCC University include celebrating Eid with Muslim and Christian leaders - Learned about Ramadan fasting from Muslim students and Easter traditions from Christian students - These interactions proved that faith can be lived out meaningfully in community. ### The Core Argument - The speaker believes the future of the world depends on interconnectedness, requiring better ways to interact across differences - Engaging with others' core beliefs through hospitality deepens one's own faith and models a path toward peace. ![Screenshot at 00:00: The opening shot displays the large TEDxLCCUniversity stage setup against a black background, signaling the start of a formal talk.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-00-00.png) ![Screenshot at 00:05: The speaker, dressed in a blazer and light trousers, stands on the red circle, beginning his address.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-00-05.png) ![Screenshot at 01:16: The speaker gestures while introducing the photo of his backyard, featuring an apple tree and children's toys, as a metaphor for beauty amidst difference.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-01-16.png) ![Screenshot at 01:58: One of the Muslim Imams raises his hand in response to the speaker's story about the photo, illustrating the interfaith interaction.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-01-58.png) ![Screenshot at 02:51: The speaker clasps his hands while recounting the Imam's comment that his backyard photo looked like heaven, highlighting a moment of connection.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-02-51.png) ![Screenshot at 04:08: The speaker opens his hands wide while discussing the concept of broad relativism versus principled hospitable pluralism.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-04-08.png) ![Screenshot at 06:28: The speaker describes the celebration of an Eid meal with Christian and Muslim leaders as a community event.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-06-28.png) ![Screenshot at 07:56: The speaker pauses, holding his hands together, while discussing the religious traditions \(Easter and Ramadan\) of his students.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-07-56.png) ![Screenshot at 09:33: The speaker stands formally, emphasizing the importance of hospitable pluralism as the perfect balance for engaging with differences.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-09-33.png) ![Screenshot at 10:46: The speaker concludes his talk and receives applause from the audience.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/_MR3ZuIvOc8/00-10-46.png)