Dr. Eboo Patel is the founder of interfaith youth core, an organization driven by unifying people from different religions to promote diversity. The crux of his lecture revolved around the peaceful and unifying acts of famous revolutionaries. One of these main revolutionaries was Martin Luther King Jr. He focused on the detail that Martin Luther King Jr., a baptist, drew inspiration from the Hindu, Mahatmad Ghandi. Unifying to work for the betterment of a community as a whole, despite religious differences, is the agent that could bring about a new civil rights act in our nation. Dr. Patel’s work is to inspire those from varying religions to work together to promote unity in our private communities, as well as in the general public.

One of the principle qualities Dr. Patel gave for interfaith leaders is that they must know their own theology. He said that interfaith leaders must, “Know what it is in their own tradition that inspires positive relationships with other people.” I really appreciated this statement and the application it entails for me. His quote here summed up the relationship that should exist between personal values and leadership. My personal values and theology are the foundation for all of the decisions I make in leadership positions and otherwise in my life. Recognizing the foundation for my beliefs and actions, the Bible, helps me to consider the foundations of other’s actions.

As Jane Adams once said, “The good of democracy belongs none of us until it belongs to all of us.” I interpreted this to mean that diversity and equality are not to be enjoyed by just a select few, but to every member of our community. To be a successful interfaith leader, I should be able to build bridges and connect diverse groups of people. Being able to do these things well would provide me with a skill set unique to that of other leaders. Dr. Patel believes that leaders who are equipped with skills to unify peacefully diverse groups will have the opportunity to be revolutionaries in their own time just as Martin Luther King Jr. had the opportunity to in his time.

I disagreed with some of the implications that Dr. Patel named concerning the uniting of varying religions for one purpose. Often, it seems that creating a singular mission for a group of leaders, especially when these leaders have differing theologies, is nearly impossible. While disagreeing with one another does not mean acts of violence or hatred, finding passion and motivation for a cause is trying whenever the mission is not one you can fully support. I find it hard to recognize my theology as the basis for my actions and then put all of my efforts towards a group and purpose that does not fully align with my beliefs.

I enjoyed hearing Dr. Patel speak on his passions and goals for uniting people groups in diversity. I learned a lot about basing my personal actions on my theology and leading ethically. I struggled to agree with all of his methods and their possible implications, however, I appreciated his reasoning behind his beliefs.