In class today, we discussed how Western consumerism and secular cultural has become somewhat of an imperial power on the global scale. We then analyzed the relationship Baylor sees between Christ and culture and its mission for its students. Since I see Baylor as having taken primarily a synthetic approach to the Christ-culture dynamic, this leaves me with the questions - How can I take my education and I apply it to my vocation, and what can I do today to make that start happening? As a conclusion to this semester and this blog, I'd like to use my knowledge of Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory to develop a way to exercise acceptance towards alternative secular viewpoints while still accepting my own as ethically right, and I'd like to use this approach in the present-day to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a public interest attorney.
First, to analyze the Baylor's synthetic approach to Christ and culture, I'd like to touch on a point that was brought up in class today. Dr. Whitlark asked us students, "Is there a difference between accepting and respecting another person's viewpoint?" I agree that there is a difference, but I would like to communicate that I believe that there was a definitional miscommunication in class today between he definition of acceptance. In one sense, acceptance can mean exercising tolerance toward another person. This is practicing acceptance. The other definition of accepting is to physically accept something to be true. One can practice acceptance without necessarily accepting someone's belief. I believe that the students in class today meant the former definition.
I also agree with this former definition of being the correct way to live one's life and the correct way Christians can and should live their lives. Haidt's moral foundations support this view in that they are meant to show people with different moral matrices and ideological realities that every person has some similar common values, and though one doesn't have to agree with another person's value, the moral foundations assign definitions to these values to encourage a logical discourse between different worldviews. This discourse is not meant to make people accept other views but simply help them practice acceptance (synonymous with toleration) in understanding the reasoning behind ideas different from their own.
Further, the way I am exercising this acceptance right now is that I have been working through Student Senate with faculty of the religion department to incorporate teaching of world religions into all Baylor Christian Heritage courses. I have worked closely with Blake Burleson, and we hope to finish this project by sometime early next semester. In this way, I hope to incorporate more acceptance of other cultures to the Baylor student body.
In the future, I hope to exercise acceptance in other ways through my vocation as a public interest attorney. I cannot predict exactly what ways I hope to fulfill this goal, but I know that as things arise, I will remember Haidt's foundations and the synthetic approach of Christ to culture that I learned at Baylor, specifically in this course, so thank you.
