What does it mean to build a “whole society”? How do we build a society that is secular, yet is home for us all – regardless of what we believe or don’t believe in? These were the questions explored by speakers and delegates at this year’s Our Whole Society conference in Vancouver. Inspirit brought a diverse group of young people of different beliefs from across the country to join the conversation, learn from each other, and contribute their ideas on how to build a more inclusive and pluralist Canada.
One of those delegates was Gianni Castiglione, President of the University of Toronto Secular Alliance. Here’s what he has to say about the experience:
Question: What was your biggest takeaway from the conference?
Gianni: Beforehand, I expected the conference to be a religious show-and-tell of sorts. What I heard instead were diverse but convergent voices speaking on the humanistic powers of pluralism. I took away from this a deep sense of solidarity, or an empowering knowledge that there are others thinking of and advocating for this complex cause.
Q: What did you find most challenging at the conference?
G: Despite the passion and clarity of vision the speakers all shared, the enormity of the task ahead was a constant and dismaying presence. Advocating for pluralism is a very difficult task because of its complex and fundamentally uncomfortable nature. It is hard to look towards the future with these understandings.
Q: What will you do with what you learned at the conference?
G: I am done with filtering my voice based on what academic discipline or professional environment I may be in. I’ve taken away an understanding that civic society will continue to atrophy unless we citizens speak our minds consistently and truly. The diversity of voices in our society is our greatest strength, so why wouldn’t I use mine?
To bring the conference to people who couldn’t be there, the delegates were also actively tweeting their thoughts and insights throughout the event. Check out the conversation on Storify!
Our Whole Society: Bridging the Religious-Secular Divide was held from March 22-24, 2015 at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, B.C. This conference was sponsored by The Laurier Institution and organized by a national interfaith leadership committee. It was the second annual conference, following on Bridging the Secular Divide: Religion and Canadian Public Discourse held at McGill University in 2013.
