Project Conversion: 12 Faiths In 12 Months

Rothwell Polk interviews Andrew Bowen in The Huffington Post about his "Project Conversion"; a project where Andrew is spending each month immersing himself in a different religion, adopting its rites and rituals, learning from its prayers and scriptures, meeting with its believers and sharing what he learns with the world."

Bowen is concerned about the anger and hostility generated by and toward religion in these times. He hopes to get people talking to each other and exploring religious ideas they have not considered before. "You open up the newspaper or cut on the television and there is usually something inflammatory going on about religion in the world."

"What if I do something so completely outrageous that it takes the attention off the fight and it gets people to talk about and share and look into faiths that aren't native to them before they start being indignant about it. The purpose of Project Conversion is to stop people in their tracks. Project Conversion is that shock and awe effort to try and bring some civility back to the table. It's a start," he said.

For the month of February, Bowen immersed himself in the Baha'i Faith; each week blogging about a different aspect of his experience. On Bowen's post about Day 1 as a Baha'i he discusses his first study circle and the Baha'i obligatory prayers. On week 2 he discusses Baha'i Architecture and A Culture of Service.

As Bowen explains on his site, week three of Project Conversion in any given month covers social issues of concern to the particular faith he is covering that month. "Few struggles penetrate the hearts of the Baha’i faithful as deeply as the their persecution in Iran." said Bowen.  "For the next four days, I will post an account of one person with a family member currently serving jail time in Iran…simply for being Baha’i." At the end of the week, Bowen described it as "one of the hardest weeks of Project Conversion thus far."

As Bowen wraps up his month as a Baha'i, he recounts his last study circle and shares his understanding that "studying the scriptures and performing the rituals of a particular faith is only half the journey. Religions involve people, and despite the rules and regulations of a faith, each person brings a particular and unique nuance to the faith. I could not appreciate what it is to be a Hindu or Baha’i had it not been for the intense interaction with the people of the faith. Religion is indeed a relationship with the divine, but also with its people."

As indicated by the numerous comments he's received from Baha'is around the world, it seems he's had quite a number of virtual interactions with members of the Baha'i Faith.

Next month? Bowen immerses himself in Zoroastrianism. Follow his interesting journey at: http://projectconversion.com.

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Reprinted with permission from the Baha'is of the United States
(see U.S. Baha'i News)