Matt Mitgang

Deliverance, the Christian a capella group on campus, performs at Rhythm, Rhymes, N’ Religion as part of the second annual Pluralism Week. The event at Ursa’s Stageside also feature WU-SLam, Staam, the Jewish a cappella group on campus, and the Sensasians, the Asian a cappella group of Washington University.

The week, which ends Sunday, introduced a variety of lectures and events for the sake of creating a dialogue between members of different religions.

According to junior Hannah Rabinowitz, the student who led coordination of this week’s programming, event organizers had attempted to incorporate aethiest and agnostic groups into this year’s programming after similiar concerns over their exclusion were voiced after the inaugural Pluralism Week in 2010.

The groups contacted by the event organizers, however, did not respond, according to Rabinowitz.

Graduate student Edward Lazzarin, president of the Washington University League of Freethinkers (WULF), wishes that his group was included in Pluralism Week.

“I’d say that this kind of thing, where there is no non-religious voice, is pretty typical for a moral or community building dialogue,” said graduate student Edward Lazzarin, president of the Washington University League of Freethinkers (WULF). “For thousands of years, religious leaders have held a monopoly on moral dialogue. We aren’t upset; it’s just the way things are at this point. It is a shame that they hold that monopoly. We don’t think religion is necessary to have meaningful dialogue on morality.”

The week was planned through the collaboration of Baptist Student Union, Bhakti Yoga Club, Catholic Student Union, Christian Science Organization, Jewish Student Union, Lutheran Campus Ministry and Muslim Student Association.

Although WULF is defined as a religious group affiliated with Student Union, it has not been part of Pluralism Week in 2010 or 2011.

WULF members define the group as “just like a religious group, except for non-believers, secular humanists, atheists and agnostics.”

Lazzarin said that he was contacted by a Pluralism Week leader earlier this year and responded that he was interested in WULF becoming involved in Pluralism Week.

The leaders behind the week blaim a failure of both parties to remain in contact for the lack of participation from Lazzarin and his group in the week.

Junior Philip Gibbs, a member of the Jewish Student Union executive board, said: “It was my personal goal to involve them, if I am still in a leadership position next year, I will push to have them from the very beginning.”

A group called the Inter-Beliefs Council was created this year in response to Pluralism Week’s need for further expansion. The council is a non-religiously affiliated group of students who come together for the sake of religious learning and discussion.

“[The Inter-Beliefs Council’s goal]sounds like what Pluralism Week ought to be about,” Lazzarin said. “WULF is all about educating people about religion. We are 100 percent about religious perspectives….We try to accomplish the same goals as other religious groups.”

WULF still hopes to gain the opportunity to become part of next year’s Pluralism Week.

Running future Pluralism Weeks through the Inter-Beliefs council could encourage collaboration from all interested groups.

“As of now, there is no central authority in the creation of Pluralism Week,” said freshman Gabrielle Dinkin, one of the group’s creators. “We are talking about the possibility of the Inter-Beliefs Council taking authority [for Pluralism Week in the future]. Having a non-religiously affiliated group may be a better idea to run Pluralism Week.”