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The Boniuk Center
 

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The Boniuk Institute
6100 Main Street MS 350
Houston, Texas 77005-1827

713-348-4536



Mailing Address:
PO Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892
tolerance@rice.edu

 Sacred Sites Quest

Sacred Sites Quest 2011

What 2011 SSQ Students Said:

"Thus far, the quest has been amazing. Despite not being a part of any of the religions we have dealt with thus far, I feel at peace at each sacred site. I feel interconnected with people of all faiths and have actually noticed more similarities than differences. Every religion places value in light--illumination--and in the earthly elements."

“Every time I visit a sacred site, I feel at peace and all the materialistic things in my life start to fade away.”

“Now I can see the connections that all the religions we have visited have. I came into this program thinking that the only similarities were the basic: you worship someone or something; but now that I experienced some sacred sites it opened my mind to other possibilities that can be similar. Also, I have noticed not just the similar things but the differences [too].”

What 2011 Students Said - 1

“I always thought of religion as a path up a mountain; there had to be a point. I think I’ve begun to see that while many religions do set a goal of some sort of salvation, it’s really about the thoughts, actions, and feelings along the way. Even for an atheist, religion isn’t a meaningless relic—it’s a mechanism for understanding myself and the world around me.”

"At my church, my Pastor speaks for two and a half hours to nail down our purpose. At these sites I just have to walk in and look around and I feel more than what my Pastor has ever made me feel with words."

“I really liked the Rothko Chapel. In comparison to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral it was a lot more personal of an experience. It was quiet and calm, which allowed my mind to wander. Each of the paintings were similar (but still different), which could symbolize the similar (but different) religions in our world. The architecture pointed up to one light on the ceiling, which is sort of like all religions trying to connect with similar ideas on the big questions in life.”

What 2011 Students Said - 2

“I’m not confused. Entering the Rothko Chapel has only confirmed my suspicion: All religions are one. We can pray, meditate or stare at what is important to us and do it in a quiet, respectful manner. The black paintings just serve for us to make what we want from them. I know this because I began seeing faces, animals, water, mountains and etc. What does any of it have to do with a chapel? Who knows? But that’s the mystery of religion.”

“Certain places of worship draw an extrospective experience: think of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral where the church makes you think of the wonders of God; certain [other] places draw out an introspective experience: think of Rothko Chapel where you think within and conjure memories.”

“This experience so far has been nothing like what I had imagined [it would be]. I didn’t know sacred places could so much differ from one to the next, with basically all the same goal. Their ways of reaching god or whatever or whomever they wish to reach are so different, yet they all generally get you to the same place. A lot of religion comes from the cultural background.”

What 2011 Students Said - 3

Spotlights

Best Public Art Project
The Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance turned to the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston (a past Houston Press MasterMinds Award winner) to add a visual arts aspect to the 2011 Sacred Sites Quests program. »

 

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Webcasts

An Intrafaith Panel on Islam
Moderated by Mike Ghouse, Religious and Cultural Pluralism Commentator,President of the Foundation for Pluralism & America Together Foundation.

Panel Participants:
Imam Azhar Haneef
Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of the US, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Imam Wazir Ali
Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur'an,Houston, Texas

Imam Moustafa al-Qazwini
Founding Director of the Islamic Education Center of Orange County, California

Imam Zia Shaikh
Islamic Center of Irving, Texas »

 

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Radio Podcasts

Peaceful Coexistence Radio 90.1 KPFT
Peaceful Coexistence Radio 90.1 KPFT
These podcasts are from the Peaceful Coexistence Radio program which is no longer airing as of 2009. 
 »

 

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