“We’re only alive intellectually when we get out of our depth, when dive into complex questions to which we don’t know the answer.”

As I listened to Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP utter these words, I found myself nodding along. Yes, I thought. The opportunity to wrestle with complicated questions alongside peers with varying and diverse perspectives ranked among the top of my considerations when deciding to pursue an MSc at LSE.

But, more specifically, it was the reason I found myself hearing Fr. Radcliffe’s words in the first place.

Last term, the LSE Faith Centre announced its inaugural Faith and Leadership certificate. Billed as a chance to “deepen your understanding of different religions and develop your leadership skills,” it sounded like a perfect mix of my interests, an extracurricular programme right up my alley.

In recent years, encouraged by experiences during my undergraduate career, I’ve grown increasingly interested in developing a more well-rounded comprehension of the values shared by the world’s major religions. It is my hope this newfound appreciation would lead to a practical ability to leverage these commonalities to address global issues of social justice.

Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to continue to cultivate this passion.

The seminar sessions will unfold over seven weeks, followed by a weekend residential in March. If the first three weeks have been any indication, the course will challenge me to broaden my worldview, to open my eyes, and to delve into some of the most difficult of life’s questions.

Our first two guest speakers, Fr. Radcliffe and Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand, speaking on the Christian Imagination and the Jewish Imagination, respectively, emphasised the crucial need for interfaith dialogue in our world today.

Rabbi Gelfand explained her belief that the lack of contact and engagement between individuals of different religious traditions breeds prejudice and hatred. This separation has brought us to a pivotal crossroads, and the way our society chooses to move forward will have far-reaching effects.

It is not enough however, Gelfand said, to be nice to one another. We must also develop a rapport allowing for an honest dialogue, a dialogue open to questions, no matter how tricky they may seem. It is only in attempting to better understand one another that preconceived notions have the occasion to melt away.

The next few weeks will take me out of my comfort zone and into the world of the Eastern Imagination and the Islamic Imagination. But, as our first two guests have illustrated, perhaps these next few weeks will also offer me the greatest opportunity to learn.

Twenty students from across disparate faith traditions, all with unique beliefs, joining together to learn from one another and to open a dialogue aimed at mutual understanding may not seem like a big splash in a world riddled with prejudice and conflict. But it is certainly a start, a start in which I feel immensely grateful to participate.