Religious Diversity in Kingston


A Working Vocabulary

by Ryann Miller

  • RELIGION
    (1) One’s ultimate concern. (2) The belief in and/or worship of a higher power or force, as individually expressed and manifested. (3) Also an adherence to a set of moral or ethical codes or rules, by which one conscientiously lives their life.
  • RELIGIOUS CENTRE or PLACE OF WORSHIP
    A building that is or has a sacred place or inner sanctum for worship. A religious centre may be both religious and social, with multiple functions to accommodate a religious community, or it may be solely a place for worship.
  • RELIGIOUS GROUP
    A group of people who define themselves by their affiliation to a philosophy or guiding theology.
  • CONGREGATION
    A group or community of believers who attend and perform in a religious or spiritual service or observance.
  • RELIGIOUS LEADER or MINISTER
    A person whose role it may be to lead regular services; or to guide a congregation; or to be the visible head of a religious community; or to chiefly inspire others; or to act as a physical embodiment of a core set of beliefs.
  • COMMUNITY
    All the people living in one district; or a group of people with shared origins; or the public/society.
  • RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
    This term assumes that religion has a social dimension that requires people to come together.
  • RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
    The fact of the coexistence of different religious traditions and faiths side-by-side. Or perhaps of differing religious views within the same group.
  • WORSHIP
    The formal expression of religious devotion or adoration, i.e. prayer.
  • RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
    The concept that all religions possess validity and truth in their own right. These religions are understood as different cultural expressions or reflections of the same divine reality or ultimate concern. 
    "Diversity alone does not constitute pluralism."—Diana Eck


Some Quotations:
 “A Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things"—Emile Durkheim
 “Religion is what an individual does with his [or her] solitariness”—Alfred North Whitehead
 “Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern”—Paul Tillich

Resources:

  • Collins Papeback Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers, 1995
  • Larouse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions. Larouse plc, 1994
  • Penguin Dictionary of Religions. Penguin Books, 1995.
 

 

About the Methods We Are Using:

The purpose of these interview questions is not to report on a particular group. Instead, the project examines large-scale trends involving religion in Kingston on an across-the-board basis. Some of the information gathered will be kept confidential. Please see the Letter of Information and Consent Form.

Other available material and these interviews will enable the Research project on RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN KINGSTON to prepare a Profile of each Religious Site.

The Interview Questionnaire:

History

  1. What is the background or history of your religious group in Kingston?
  2. Did you worship somewhere else before?
  3. Who founded this centre? Did you face any challenges when you first established this site?

Description of the Centre/Place of Worship

  1. Please describe this religious centre or place of worship.
    Did it have a previous use?
  2. How have you adapted, renovated, or rebuilt this centre to suit your religious needs?
  3. How is your site publicized (bulletin board, bulletins, website, posters, yellow pages, newspaper)?
  4. What facilities exist and what are their uses (additional worship room, basement, day-care, religious school, on-site kitchen, gymnasium or activity centre)?
  5. Is this centre shared with another group? If so, how often do they worship on this site? What is your religious centre’s relationship with that other group?

Demographics

  1. What is the ethnic makeup of the congregation here?
  2. What languages are spoken here? Is there a dominant cultural or social challenge which you and your congregation face as a result of your ethnic makeup?
  3. What is the dominant age group? Is there a relatively equal number of women and men? Do you feel this religious centre has a healthy population of young people in regular attendance?

Governance

  1. Has the leadership changed? Why and how did this take place? How has leadership change affected your group?
  2. If a dispute arises in this religious group or congregation, how does it get settled? (E.g., what if the leader's views conflict with the congregation, or the congregation with the parent body?)
  3. Do you defer to and derive solutions from scripture or a holy text? If so, what process is followed to find a solution?

If there is a board, what is its role? Who is represented on the board, and how are its members chosen?


Relationship With the Community

  1. What role does this centre play in the city/community? E.g., what
    is your mission in the community?
  2. Where does this religious centre interface with the community (Hadassah Bazaar, public lectures, socials)?
  3. Are there any specific events which the Kingston community has come to appreciate and depend on (talent shows, suppers, etc.)?
  4. Are there volunteer programs in your religious centre? How do they fit within your overall mission (outreach: helping/feeding/housing the homeless, book drives, bake sales, used clothing sales etc.)?
  5. What important events have helped to shape your group?
  6. How have you dealt with them?
  7. What do you think the city of Kingston looks like from your religious standpoint (Is it supportive of your religion? Does it have a healthy social fabric? Is it a good place to raise religious children)?
  8. Does your place of worship have any religious traditions that have changed or adapted to the local Kingston (or wider Canadian) context?
  9. How has your congregation reacted and/or dealt with any changes in your tradition?

Conclusion

  1. What is the defining characteristic of your congregation's way of being religious?
  2. Has the presence of new and different religious traditions in Kingston affected your religious tradition?
  3. How do you think Kingston is changing as this new multi-religious reality starts to be visibly present?

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