Priest, rabbi, imam discuss faith, beliefs with students

Close to 200 students got up early Monday to hear a priest, a rabbi and an imam speak at University High School.

During its morning conference hour, the school, 421 N. Arcadia Blvd., hosted Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel, Imam Watheq Alobaidi of the Muslim Community Center and the Rev. Canon Megan Traquair of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona.

Hannah Traquair, the priest’s daughter and an AP human geography and AP government teacher, put together the interfaith dialogue to “humanize religion.” This is the second time she has organized the talk, but this time attendance more than doubled.

Any student could attend the presentation, but many world history and human geography classes offered extra credit opportunities. The dialogue corresponds with an AP human geography unit on culture, which includes religion.

The religious leaders explained how faith influences how they relate to God, why they believe and how that shapes daily living.

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Topics included trusting the divine, dealing with evil and observing the natural world. Eisen reinforced an idea students had explored in class — that faith is experienced internally and religion is the language used to express that personal understanding.

After several prepared questions, there was only time for one student inquiry about the compatibility of faith and science. All three speakers answered, asserting that religion does not exclude science.

The Rev. Canon Traquair noted that while Christianity, Judaism and Islam have distinct differences, they are all Abrahamic religions. Speaking to students allowed these leaders to demonstrate cooperation instead of hatred, even when perspectives differed.

“We get to demonstrate that in person,” she said. “Each of us values that.”