College of Humanities faculty and staff lecture on the importance of creating welcoming communities.
Education Week at BYU lasted from August 21 to 25, 2023. Robert Martinsen, Joshua Perkey, and Bruce Haraguchi presented on diversity, belonging, and inclusion.
The Cultural Iceberg
By Lydia Hall
From bisous (cheek kisses) in France, to bowing in Japan, to a nice firm handshake in the United States, the way we greet and interact with other people differs from one culture to another. Sometimes these cultural differences cause division amongst even the most tolerant of people, which is why Professor Robert Martinsen (Spanish Pedagogy) discussed the value of cultural diversity and tips on how to include people of many cultures in our communities, congregations, and conversations in his Education Week presentation on August 22, 2023.
Martinsen contextualized the importance of his topic with statistics. Since 1995, the number of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living outside the United States and Canada have exceeded the number of those living inside the US and Canada. As the global membership of the Church increases, we become more likely to interact with folks from various backgrounds.
Martinsen explained, “Culture is sometimes thought of as being an iceberg.” Like an iceberg, some elements of culture are easy to see, such as food, fashion, flags, festivals, and language. Others—communication styles, courtesy and manners, the concept of time, approaches to marriage and family—are harder to see, but underpin the visual elements of culture.
In the spirit of the two great commandments, to love God and our neighbor, Martinsen shared these five tips and explained why each assist us in our efforts to create unity:
- Ask. “Asking questions in a friendly sort of way will go a long way.”
- Listen. “Sometimes peoples just really, really need to be heard.”
- Withhold judgment. “If we can stop ourselves from labeling [people’s cultural differences] as good or bad, that can go a long way towards creating goodwill.”
- Learn. “Take time to learn about others: their perspective, their patterns, their habits . . . we can be different and still be very happy and comfortable.”
- Adapt. “We’re going to need to adapt and change at least our perspective on certain things in order to be successful.”
Though understanding cultural differences takes significant effort, Martinsen testifies of God’s love for diversity and His patience as we learn to ask, listen, withhold judgement, learn, and adapt. He said, “[God] knows you and loves you exactly as you are. And He is aware of every aspect of you and accepts even the many parts of you that are not like Him yet.”
Grace, Judgment, and Belonging: A Convert’s Perspective
By Emma Farnsworth
We all find comfort in cultural norms and familiar patterns—they help us know how to act and interact with each other. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have many cultural norms about clothing, appearance, and behavior. These can be a little unsettling for new converts or those returning to Church activity when their dress or appearance doesn’t follow the pattern. And as members, we sometimes struggle to be compassionate, in spite of our best efforts, when we observe others at church who look different from the rest of the crowd. In his BYU Education Week presentation on Thursday, August 24, Joshua Perkey, manager of the College of Humanities Digital Media and Communications team, offered insights from the perspective of a convert on the challenges that new members, investigators, and less active members face. He explained that if we strive to offer grace instead of judgment to those who seem different from us, we can become better disciples of Christ and build a culture of belonging in our church communities.
Perkey explained that joining the Church is a major life transition; most converts have grown up with a different culture that may result in visual or behavioral differences such as tattoos, piercings, habitual speech patterns, ongoing struggles to overcome addiction, and many other vestiges of a life lived outside the Church.
For those born and raised as Latter-day Saints, it can be easy to cast aspersions, make assumptions, or offer judgment when it comes to people who are visibly different. Perkey reminded his listeners that, usually, these judgments result from fear. Those who experience this fear may worry that associating with people who lead different lifestyles can damage their standing in the Church or cause them or their children to go astray. While it’s important to exercise righteous judgment when it comes to the people we associate with, these fears can prevent Church members from offering others the love and acceptance Christ expects them to give.
Perkey concluded by explaining that instead of interacting from a place of fear or judgment, members can focus on building friendships with non-members, investigators, new converts, or less active members. If we focus on offering grace, acceptance, and love instead of judgment, we can help others feel the belonging and love that Christ offers to each of us. In Perkey’s words, “The most important thing in determining whether a convert will remain active is not testimony or service opportunities or study. It’s not how well they understand the gospel or how deeply they’ve felt the Spirit. The most important factor is relationships.”
The Importance of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging within BYU
By Rylin Green
In an ever-growing effort to globalize the Church, creating spaces of belonging becomes increasingly essential. In his August 25, 2023, Education Week class, Bruce Haraguchi (Diversity and Inclusion Officer) emphasized that people need to have open conversations about diversity to make the university a safe place for everyone, regardless of their beliefs.
Haraguchi cited ways in which BYU has worked toward increasing diversity and belonging on campus. In 2020, former BYU president Kevin J. Worthen formed the Committee on Race, Equity, and Belonging, which surveyed thousands of students and reported on their findings. The committee found that many students of color reported feeling unsafe on campus due to “marginalizing comments, otherizing questions, and exhausting racial slights.” Haraguchi expressed deep sadness that students felt unsafe on campus and challenged audience members to look inwards to see how they can improve themselves to support other children of God.
In the past year, BYU has hosted panels to let those in minority communities speak out. Haraguchi highlighted two of those panels, which focused on neurodivergent students and Muslim students. In the first panel, neurodivergent students expressed that the opportunity to share their experiences helped them feel like they belonged. In the second panel, Muslim students felt that they belonged when friends showed a genuine interest in their religion and their culture.
Haraguchi concluded by saying, “I have a lot of confidence in the BYU community. As a member of the body of Christ, it is my privilege to tell [students], ‘You are an essential part of the body, and if you choose to be here, to risk things to be here, we need your gifts.’ And that’s the privilege of every one of us in the body of Christ.”