Ethics play a huge role in peace: sociologist

TEHRAN, Dec. 6 (MNA) -- Nancy Ramsy Tosh, an instructor of sociology at the Ventura College, is of the opinion that “ethics play a huge role in peace” and “in order to achieve peace you must have personal integrity and your word must be good.”

She said: “How could one nation trust another to keep the peace if they had no ethical foundation regarding honesty, responsibility, and keeping one's word.”

Tosh made these remarks in an interview .

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: What are the roots of Islamophobia?

A: I cannot pinpoint the historical beginning of islamophobia and misunderstandings between Europe and the Middle East; however, I would think that misunderstanding, fear, and islamophobia began shortly after first contact and was propelled forward because of the military aims of both groups. I suspect that as long as trade was the primary exchange, islamophobia remained dismissive misunderstanding of a religion and culture other than your own. We tend to be ethnocentric as a species and this leads to many misunderstandings and also, if nurtured, ethnocentrism leads to a lack of a desire to understand those who are different.

Q: Elaborate on the negative impact of this phenomenon on the international system?

A: Unfortunately, when I teach about Islam in class, I come across many students who not only have to learn something new, but they also have to unlearn massive amounts of lies and misinformation about Islam. A google search will show you hundreds of websites apparently devoted to spreading lies about other religions. I am sometimes sent forwarded emails by concerned students and others about the evils of Islam. This was especially true during the last presidential election. People will, regrettably, act on fear and those actions are seldom wise - nor are they built on sound information and critical thinking. This makes the fear worse and so it's a vicious cycle.

Q: What approaches should be adopted to root out Islamophobia?

A: In my classes, one of the most effective strategies I have is to make use of Muslim students (and students of other misunderstood religions) who are in my classes. I let them speak for themselves, I defer to them and often ask questions when I am lecturing on their religion, because the knowledge they have as a Muslim, or Sikh, or Hindu, or Witch, is different from book knowledge. I have also required students to attend a religious service in a religion that is not their own and present on the topic. I do talk extensively on how to be respectful during the visit and what questions to ask and how well informed they should be before they attend. I do this primarily for the benefit of their hosts. Almost across the board, students come away with less fear and more understanding of the religion and they are excited about all they have learned and they are able to share that excitement with the class. I know this is very much a "what I can do as an individual" answer to the question, but, I tend to approach life that way. I believe that religious intolerance and islamophobia are great wrongs and it is everyone's duty to do what they can as an individual to lessen these evils.

Q: What is the role of ethics in promoting world peace?

A: I think ethics play a huge role in peace. In order to achieve peace you must have personal integrity and your word must be good. How could one nation trust another to keep the peace if they had no ethical foundation regarding honesty, responsibility, and keeping one's word.

Second, one's ethical foundation must involve a respect for others and a true valuing of life and the lives and well-being of others. This respect cannot be ethnocentric - just valuing me and mine - but must embrace the stranger.

Third, I think thankfulness and openness to diversity are important. A person cannot just tolerate diversity while secretly harboring the thought that everything would be so much nicer if everyone was more like me. Likewise nations must respect, celebrate, and rejoice in culteral diversity.

Q: Are there persistent ethical principles in the international system?

A: I think we can. There are cultural universals - especially in the field of ethics. Murder, dishonesty, theft, etc., are almost universally considered wrong. What it means to be an honorable person also finds agreement in most parts of the world.

In these days, I think the Internet opens up the field to the people and we have more of a role in interaction and finding common ground than ever before. I think the more citizens of various parts of the world can talk to one another, the better off we'll be. I think fear of this is why some more repressive elements seek to isolate a populace.

Q: What is the role of religion in shaping the identity of man in a globalized community?

A: I think that as material culture especially is becoming more global - McDonald's and Starbuck's in every corner of the world, that the sense of a cultural identity is becoming more diffuse and harder to grasp. Music and other forms of media are also becoming globalized. The Internet links us in a very immediate way. With all this sameness in one vast, growing, global culture, I think people look to religion and tradition to give them more of a sense of who and where they are and how they are unique and where they fit in.

I think this is especially true of immigrants, who have left their home culture behind but have tried to bring much of it with them. This is evident in the Buddhist temples in the surrounding towns, the Sikh gurdwara just down the street, the Muslim community center one town up from my home.

Culture is a curious thing and currently it is becoming more globalized as elements from various cultures diffuse throughout the world. This diffusion is also making culture far more diverse than it was when cultures were less connected and trade and exchange took time and money and often meant danger. As this process continues, I think religion will continue to play a huge role in our identity.

Q: Can religion act as a facilitator in diplomacy (religious diplomacy)?

A: I think religion is a factor in diplomacy because it is a part of life. I think it can best be used through religious dialogue between parties open to learning about other religions and through a recognition that ethics are one of the areas where there is the greatest agreement.

Q: Is it morally correct that university professors defend of their own viewpoints in class?

A: I can't speak for all professors, but, I try not to "teach" my viewpoints in class. One sign of my success, which means a lot to me, is that I've had students remark that they come to the end of one of my classes with no idea what religion I am because I have presented all the religions covered with equal enthusiam.

Q: How do you analyze different views?

A: In the classroom, I challenge views rather than criticize them.
It depends on the nature of the challenge. I ask students to think more deeply, back up their views with solid research, argue their point more clearly - sometimes they change their mind, on occasion I do. It's the nature of debate. If I were not also open to persuasion, it would not be a true debate.

For instance, in one religion class I had a student argue that if Islam were so peaceful, why didn't we ever hear about them protesting terrorist acts.

I didn't let that stand - I had to challenge his conclusions. But I didn't criticize or tell him he was wrong. In my answer, I did provide a few sources - group websites, etc. - of Muslims doing just that and asked if I had found these in under a minute with a simple Google search, then why weren't we hearing anything. I asked the student what he thought - I was challenging him to do his own research so that we could together figure this out.

This led to his own research and a discussion of bias in the media. In the course of his research and our discussion, he realized that he had been wrong and thanked me for helping him realize that.

To me, criticism is telling someone they are wrong - implying that they are stupid. Debate and challenge is starting where the student is and asking them to consider this or that aspect of their view and whether it is as solid and based on fact as they want it to be.

Q: Do you focus on their propositions or reasoning?

A: Reasoning and research - I encourage solid critical thinking skills. I also teach students how to find good, solid sources. Good reasoning still won't work for a student if it's built on incorrect data.

Q: Do you have some ethical codes for criticizing views?

A: I strive never to shut a student up or imply that they are stupid. I will challenge them and often model good research and reasoning skills in our discussions.
I never seek to prove or disprove religious beliefs. I teach religious studies from a sociological perspective.

I will not allow a student to criticize or condemn or slander a religion - these attacks are invariably based on ignorance and faulty research.

Q: Humanities does not have advantages of natural sciences in our era? So why have you chosen humanities for your specialty?

A: I have moved more and more to the generalization required to teach sociology classes. The class I actually teach the most is Introduction to Sociology and that class covers every aspect of human behavior. Even my religious studies classes are classes which deal with religion on a broad-based, global level. I don't teach or live as an academic within the narrow focus of my graduate study or dissertation.

Nancy Ramsy Tosh is an instructor of sociology at the Ventura College Community College District. Her publications include “Mirror Images: Wicca from the Inside Out and Outside In” (in Toward Reflexive Ethnography) and “Marginal Realities: Insider Scholarship in a Magical World,” which appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her main fields of study are new religions in the United States, women and religion, and sociology of religion.