Learning through Literature

I am currently taking a class on Dorothy Day (founder of the Catholic Worker Movement) and Thomas Merton (a Trappist monk) and we have been discussing how literature had a large impact on them. Literature, both religious and fictional, played roles in the development of their vocation. This made me think about the first book that made me interested in world religions and interfaith, Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Reading the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel was an important moment in my spiritual formation. It is a fiction book about a young Indian Hindu boy who discovers Christianity and Islam and begins to practice all three religious traditions. Although it was a work of fiction the thought that one person could practice three different faith traditions captured my attention and imagination. I began to think about what my faith life could look like if I integrated other faiths beyond my own Catholic beliefs and practices. It was this curiosity that drove me to begin to learn about other religions, and eventually made me decide to major in religious studies. The book made me broaden my understanding of religion, and strive to create within myself an understanding of the interconnectedness and commonality of religions. This exposure to the concept of integrating and practicing multiple faith traditions dramatically changed the way I thought about religion, and over time impacted my personal spirituality. In searching to discover where my eagerness to experience other religious practices and integrate them into my personal spirituality came from I remember my first encounter with interfaith was reading Life of Pi.

-Elaina Jo