| The Houston Chapter of Gregorian Study
Circle organized a seminar on May 14th. The theme of the seminar was "Religious
Pluralism in the American context". The topic was presented by Mr. John
Mathew, well known among American Malayalees as a short story writer. John Mathew said that Christ's empire of love is far beyond the boundaries made by religions and castes, and so it is unwise to force those boundaries on it. The angels announcing the birth of Jesus promised great joy to all people, and therefore, no religion, or their beliefs or practices should be on the way of anyone wanting to attain that joy. He also said that it is unwise to try to pin down our children to all the dead traditions we have inherited. He mentioned that his short stories picture the life of the immigrant community in this country. Unlike the popular view, Mr. John Mathew maintains a positive perspective of immigration. He thinks that we should consider ourselves fortunate in witnessing and experiencing this massive immigration. Mr. John Mathew passed out and read to the participants copies of an article appeared in "New Vision for a changing world" (May 2001) entitled "Ohm…Amen" written by D. Babu Paul. Rev. Fr. M.O. Oommen stated that the Malayalee community in America should proudly hold on to its inherited tradition, and should be able to become a part of America. America is a pluralist society, and therefore, our culture and religion also can find a place here. Jolly Willy, a poet, said that she has always seen all of the humankind as one family based on the principle of love. Mr. Varghese Kottickal read relevant parts from an article appeared in Malayalam Pathram (May 9 p.34) written by Dr.M.S.T.Namboothiri entitled "American Malayalee and western civilization". Dr.Namboothiri encourages people to be more open to other religions. He believes that children should be given a chance to experience the beliefs and practices of other religions. Joy Samuel, Sabu Punnoose, Bose Kokkattuvila, and John Kunnathu also participated in the discussion. Report prepared by John
Kunnathu
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