Written by: United Theological Seminary July 13, 2018

Religious Plurality: Interacting With and Supporting Others With Differing Religious Convictions

This week’s blog post is based on a sermon given by student Dennis Peters as a part of United’s summer worship series.

What exactly is “religious plurality”? We’re talking about the relationships between religions. Is it tolerance? For instance, your neighbor is a different religion from you. Say she is a Reform Jew, and you’re a Methodist… or a Congregationalist… or a Presbyterian. Even though you know your religion is far superior to hers, you act nice with her, have friendly conversations, loan her your lawn mower, borrow her mixer. Okay, wait. So far, all you’ve done is condescend to talk with her. Knowing your religion is superior to hers.

Yeah, that’s not what it’s about. Religious plurality goes several steps further. Religious plurality means operating on the assumption that each of us has our own spiritual path – our own valid spiritual path. If I believe that being born again in Christ is the only way, then that means it is the only way – for ME. My neighbor’s path will be different, quite possibly entirely different.

I am Unitarian Universalist. We at the UU club follow seven Principles – not a creed, not a statement of beliefs. They are our operating principles, our guidelines.

Principle Number 3 calls us to affirm and promote “acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” Principle Number 4 calls for “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Other Principles speak of respect and inherent worth. Basically, we’re saying that even if you don’t have the same beliefs and practices as I, your path is just as viable for you as mine is for me. No conversion necessary. No coercion required. We UUers pretty much have to have principles like that; a number of different beliefs are represented within our church.

Okay, so “religious pluralism” is about acceptance and support of each other, just as we are. At United there are a number of different views represented – both between and within different denominations or world views.

That’s within this group. Now let’s go back to that neighbor we were talking about. Yes, we are open and accepting within United. What about the other next-door neighbor who is Wisconsin Synod Lutheran and believes that the Bible is the literal Word of God? That the earth was built in six days (with the seventh day for rest and for watching football)? That gays are sick people and can be saved by psychological treatment? And that if you’re not Wisconsin Synod, you’re going to hell? Are we open and accepting of that neighbor? And how exactly do we demonstrate that acceptance, when their conviction is that we’re actually going to hell?

We here are part of a liberal religious community, for the most part. How many others who self-define as Christians feel welcome in our community? Southern Baptists? Wisconsin Synod Lutherans? Catholics? Do we help them feel welcome? If they do not feel welcome, is it because of our attitudes toward them, or simply the distance from each other of our beliefs or practices?

How do we welcome those with beliefs that are not just different, but antagonistic to our own? Obviously they are not going to want to become members of this community. Even more to the point, they are going to be antagonistic to us. Do we respond with an equal measure of antagonism?

On social issues, is the LGBTQ community welcome and a part of who we are? Do we represent all colors of the rainbow? And on the topic of race and ethnicity, what about white privilege and the support of those who have suffered under it? As a pasty-white, northern European type, I have benefited from white privilege. Yet studies show that people of color continue to be discriminated against in job applications, loans and mortgages, housing… throughout society.

One school of thought says that all religions have a common basis. We’re all talking about the same God, essentially. Even Buddhism, with its lack of a Supreme Being, is talking about the same thing. Well, there’s a problem with that. Atheists, for example, would tend to disagree with it. The approach there is “humanism.” And if we try to solve the problem through theology and mysticism, the conversation can quickly become something that no one understands. For instance, Raimon Panikkar, a leading voice in “interreligious dialogue,” states:

Man and God are neither two nor one…. There are not two realities: God and man/world; but neither is there one: God or man/world…. God and man are, so to speak in close constitutive collaboration for the building up of reality, the unfolding of history, and the continuation of creation…. Cosmotheandrism is in a paradoxical fashion…. The infinity of man/world… and the finiteness of God.1

A different approach for dialogue, for interrelating, with those of other faiths, is to base it on a common problem for all religions: suffering. With this approach, it’s not so important what our belief, our theology, is; it’s far more important that we all be focused on the victims of this world and the victimization of this world. We have a common need for advocacy, for lifting up of the less fortunate. In other words: what we do is far more important than what we think. Or believe.

Who are the less fortunate? It is considered that one in nine of the population of this planet goes to bed hungry at night. If they have a bed. That’s close to 800 million people. UNICEF says that 29,000 children die from the effects of poverty. Every. Day. Half the world – more than 3 billion people – live on less than $2.50 a day. And more than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty – on $1.25 per day.

And regarding refugees, the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) says: “An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18, who have been forced to flee their countries. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.”

We don’t currently have a “world” war. But we have “brush fires” happening all over the world. In the case of the Anuak people, genocide in South Sudan and Ethiopia. Darfur in Western Sudan. Yemen. Syria. Ukraine. North Korea. Myanmar and the genocide of the Rohingya Muslims. Mexican drug wars. Civil unrest in Honduras. Peru, and the ongoing struggle with the Shining Path guerilla group. The Middle East. Iran. Iraq. Afghanistan. There is a long list of places in this world having a variety of problems. And the problems always put a civilian population in the firing line, victims. In Syria, for instance, the current estimate is that half a million civilians have been killed in this war, with the largest percentage killed by their own government.

Where I started going with all this is to say: the commonality between religions can easily be found in ethics and practical action.

But there’s a problem here. The problem is that not all religions see these issues as a problem. Some religions are causing some of the problems. An example, of course, is the Buddhist majority population of Myanmar, which is, as I just mentioned, working to exterminate its minority Muslim population.

Don’t get me wrong. Islam and Buddhism are as a whole very caring and uplifting religions. But most religions have their radical factions, groups which believe that theirs is the only valid set of beliefs, and killing unbelievers can be a righteous act. Christianity also has these factions.

Most of us on the liberal end of the religious spectrum easily agree that these are the main issues. But there are those who strongly disagree. The more fundamentalist a religion, the harder we have to work at finding fewer and fewer points of common interest. There are churches which believe poverty and starvation are punishment for sins. These claim to be Christian churches. There are radical fundamentalists out there who are killing people in the name of their deities. We basically do not have a point of commonality with them.

So we have to step back, and rethink this whole plurality question. Do we only talk with those who agree with us in the first place? How much agreement? Since we are out there on the more liberal end of the religious spectrum, there will be a lot of issues with more differences than agreement.

But maybe that’s okay. One important lesson that Christian history can teach us is that it is not our job to persuade others to our beliefs and views. It should be our role to:

Live authentically. Present ourselves to the world as who we are, with honesty. Our actions demonstrate our caring and concern for the welfare of others.
Respect others. Each has a right to his or her point of view.
Accept and celebrate others. Going beyond respect, we accept their beliefs as meaningful for them. There is no basis for feelings of superiority, or condescension. And
Maintain a positive approach to others, even in the face of opposition or active antagonism.

But along with these points, we also need to be prepared to speak up when those “others” are taking actions that are harming people. At our ethical base, we share a rule that, in my opinion, and many others, should be the guiding principle for all of humanity: do unto others as you would like them to do to you. The “golden rule” is shared by most of the world’s religions.

Luckily for us, those points I just listed are ones that are really familiar to us. It’s something we’ve been practicing for a long time. Or at least preaching. The idea here is that it is time for more of that practicing.

So back to the original challenge, and the title of this little monologue. How do we interact with, support, work with others who have different convictions from ours? What is our presence in the world, and how is it supporting others?

A foundation piece for us needs to be the continuing enactment of, as Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook says, practicing hospitality. She says, “Hospitality need not be lavish or expensive, but it must come from open hearts.” Or as Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, once said, ‘My religion is kindness.’”2

Amen.

1 Paul F. Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religions (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 2002), 128.

2 Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, God Beyond Borders: Interreligious Learning Among Faith Communities (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2014), 151.

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June 25, 2026

Activism Alums immigration justice Liberation Theology

Alum Rev. Todd Lippert (’03): Living a Public Ministry

As Rev. Todd Lippert was growing up, his life was dominated by two constants: music and church. Both of his parents were music teachers. His dad was the high school choir director, and his mom was the elementary school music teacher. Though his family had been Baptist for generations, they ended up attending a United Church of Christ (UCC) church where his mom was hired to play the organ. It was also much closer to home than the nearest Baptist church. “I always took Christian faith very seriously,” Todd asserts. “The church was a sacred and holy place to me.” In seventh grade, Todd remembers talking to his father. “I was at the bottom of the stairs talking to my dad at the top of the stairs. And that was when I said for the first time, ‘I wonder if I might want to be a pastor someday.’” But, Todd adds, “the idea was really terrifying to me,” so he put it out of his mind. At the University of Iowa, he pursued a music degree. During a philosophy class toward the end of college, a professed atheist professor began asking some of the same questions about faith that Todd was confronting. “I was wrestling with whether I was a Christian or not.” Deciding on Seminary The turning point came one Sunday morning after graduation when Todd and his wife were at church. At the time, he was selling Yellow Pages ads and contemplating an MBA. “I hated it,” Todd confesses. “I was miserable.” Watching the preacher at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, he thought, “Maybe I could do that, and maybe I need to pay attention to this call to ministry that keeps bubbling up.” United was the first UCC seminary that came up on the computer, and when Todd visited, “it felt like home for me as soon as I arrived.” Since his wife was doing graduate work at the University of Minnesota, they moved to the Twin Cities. “At United,” Todd recalls, “I had the space to figure out how Christianity was meaningful and how this faith fit together for me.” Professors who welcomed and encouraged his questions were key to his faith formation, and the “liberation theology that moved through the curriculum, with its focus on justice, was extremely appealing to me.” Todd was also inspired by his classmates. “I saw the student body deeply engaged in the political and social questions of the day.” At United from 2000 to 2003, Todd experienced the Bush v. Gore lawsuit, 9/11 terror attacks, Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone’s tragic death, and the Iraq war launch as he was earning his MDiv. Public Theology Justice-seeking activism, Todd asserts, “really cemented my understanding that the body of Christ is about bringing the realm of God into being wherever it is. And that was something that would have to make my life better and make my community better.” Since graduating, Todd has worked as a UCC pastor, a Minnesota state legislator (2018–2022), a community organizer with ISAIAH, and a community minister with Creekside Church. The clergy organizing work during Operation Metro Surge was especially impactful and reconnected him with United. Todd went through “nonviolent direct action training with Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, one of the authors I read.” He also worked with Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler, his former Hebrew scripture professor. United, notes Todd, equipped him “to be able to understand what is going on in our world, and in our communities, and I had the tools to get better and better at that, reading the present through a biblical and theological lens.” He is extraordinarily proud of the way the church showed up in Minnesota and grateful for United. “I really want,” Todd concludes, “the love-your-neighbor values of the church to be a force in our public life, not an afterthought. I want it to be a force in our political life.”

Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman Promoted to Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, supported by the McVay Endowment

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, June 24, 2026 —United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is delighted to announce that, effective July 1, 2026, Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman will become the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, supported by the McVay Endowment, and Director for Formation. This promotion to an endowed chair follows Rev. Dr. Justin Sabis-Tanis’ appointment as the inaugural Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts. Announced during Commencement in April, the McVay chairship reflects the esteem with which United’s board and faculty members regard Professor Packman. In February, Dean Kyle Roberts proudly reported that Dr. Packman was being promoted from assistant to associate professor and transitioning from a three-year contract into a tenure-track position. Dr. Packman joined United in July 2021 as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics and Practical Theology. At the Spring 2022 Convocation to welcome and bless our new faculty member, Dr. Packman—who holds an MDiv and PhD from the University of Chicago—presented on “The Atmospherics of Theological Education.” By December 2022, Dr. Packman’s “teaching, mentoring, and other stellar capabilities” prompted United to offer him a contract to continue teaching past the terms of his Louisville Fellowship. Since then, he has co-authored an article in The Oxford Handbook of Friedrich Schleiermacher, had a paper (“The Consolation of Studying Theology”) published in the Christian Century, and presented at the September 2025 Schleiermacher Kongress in Kiel, Germany. Spiritual and personal formation is a vital component of Packman’s work with students, and he will continue in his role as the director for Formation. In May of 2025, he began a new initiative, the Formation Pilot Program, to gauge the foundational axis points of students’ formation at United. “This is a remarkable moment in theological education,” Dr. Packman explained this spring, “where what it means to be a theological learning community is being reimagined in real time. This pilot program is designed to interrogate this question from across the life of the seminary, and to build up our community in the process.” “Dr. Packman’s doctoral studies,” observed Dean Roberts in his April announcement, “focused on Christian theology and ethics, and his current research explores questions about racism, intransigent evil, and Friedrich Schleiermacher’s philosophical and theological ethics. Combined with his MDiv studies in pastoral formation, these make Dr. Packman well-suited to occupy this chair while he continues…serving as the Director for Formation.” President Molly T. Marshall reflects, “Dr. Packman brings academic excellence and pastoral sensitivity to his teaching, collegial relationships, and community involvement. His theological depth suffuses his courses in ethics and formation, seeking to form good human beings as transformative agents for a world in travail. I am delighted by this appointment.” As Dr. Packman shared when he was offered a chance to continue teaching at United past his Louisville Fellowship, “It’s such an immense gift to get to do this work, and it’s an honor to get to do it with folks like you. I’m so eager to see what we build together!” Now, as a new chapter begins with his elevation to the McVay Chair, we are overjoyed that such a prodigiously talented scholar and teacher can continue to journey with our dedicated and curious students. About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to educate leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling of systems of oppression, exploring multi-faith spirituality, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Contact Nathanial Green (he/him) Director of Marketing and Communications press@unitedseminary.edu • 651.255.6138 Admissions and Enrollment admissions@unitedseminary.edu

Rev. Dr. Tim McGregor (’26) Finds Hope for Healing in Exploratory Theology

Rev. Dr. Tim McGregor (’26) has been a chaplain, pastor, and church planter for years. How did he find this well-trodden path? Tim says his mother introduced him to Christ. “She was very devout,” he explains. Unfortunately, she was also very sick, so Tim spent more time in hospitals than in church as a child. Still, he recalls one incident during communion when he was 11. Tim shares that he “had a very out-of-body experience with the divine while I was in church, and it touched my soul.” Tim grew up and pursued a BA at Tuskegee University. While there, he experienced another out-of-body experience when he was robbed at gunpoint and stabbed. “At that point,” he reflects, “I decided to rethink some of my living and some of my decisions. It reignited my spiritual walk.” As he changed the way he lived, Tim felt a spiritual nudge. Others observed that they “saw the calling” on his life. And dreams about preaching began to recur. “Before I ever preached a sermon, I dreamed I was preaching…in the same church where I ended up preaching later on.” Christian Theological Seminary Though Tim identified as National Baptist, he decided to attend Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) in Indiana—a progressive school aligned with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It helped that Dr. Edward Wheeler, an ordained Baptist minister whom Tim knew when Wheeler worked at Tuskegee, was CTS’s president. During a United chapel service this March, Tim described his experience at CTS as “quite grueling,” but also that he “learned a lot.” As he clarified more recently, he had to “let go of a very fundamentalist perspective,” and that sort of deconstruction was difficult. “It was a crucible situation,” Tim asserts. Chaplaining and Church Planting After earning his MDiv in 2003, Tim spent years in Mississippi and Texas planting churches and working as a hospital chaplain. Since returning to Minnesota, he’s been a chaplain at Regions Hospital, Abbott Northwestern, and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, and pastored at Family Bible Church. He suspects that the time he spent with his mother in hospitals likely inclined him toward hospital chaplaincy. When he decided to pursue a DMin, Tim reviewed his options. Only United, he found, had the interreligious chaplaincy program and liberal ethos that made his MDiv work transformational. Plus, he could attend onsite or online as his schedule allowed. “It was a great benefit,” Tim attests, “to do both.” United and Nat Turner Tim credits Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape, former director of the Interreligious Chaplaincy program, with positively shaping his education. Her theological knowledge and emphasis on her African American heritage impressed him. Dr. Munjed Murad’s Comparative Theology course elevated Tim’s intercultural acuity. Munjed is an assistant professor of World Religions and Intercultural Studies, supported by the Johnson-Fry Endowment. Tim describes his dissertation, “The Exploratory Theology of Nat Turner and Its Effects on African and African American PTSD,” as “a labor of love.” Why Nat Turner? “I appreciate his passion and his desire to live and fight for the rights of his people,” Tim explains, “and his willingness to do so in the name of his religious beliefs.” In addition, “I’m always interested in people that…have been misunderstood or written off as villains.” Shepherded with vital support from Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman (assistant professor of Theological Ethics and Formation), Tim’s dissertation studies Nat Turner, his traumatic experiences as a slave, and his burgeoning theology. It also traces links to the moral injury, trauma, and PTSD endemic to military service, especially for African American veterans. Tim wants to “understand more about…how to be an asset to my community.” He feels that “United was a really good place for that” and is a rich resource for “clergy…and spiritual caregivers” who are going to help us “keep pressing toward better understandings.” Tim is grateful for United’s role in honing his academic and spiritual voice.