Online resource to build bridges in gay debate -19/5/04

As people of faith all over the world grapple with questions about marriage and the place of lesbian and gay people in faith communities and in the eyes of the law, a new online community has been set up to build bridges and create dialogue between divergent perspectives.

Peace Building Dialogues is a new online community that offers ordinary people from diverse faith traditions a chance to bring their perspectives to an issue that according to organisers has been “dominated by pundits, politicians and their sound bites.”

The project is a collaboration between the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Web Lab, a New York-based non-profit think tank that encourages and supports innovation on the Web. More than 300 people have registered for the Dialogues in less than a week – a record according to organizers.

The AFSC is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

“The questions at the centre of the marriage debate confront us in our homes and our places of worship,” says Kay Whitlock, AFSC national representative for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. “Only as family members and people of faith can we tackle these questions and search our own hearts for answers.”

Web Lab places a special emphasis on developing the potential of the online medium to bring people together to explore both personal and public issues.

According to Web Labs, more civil online discussions are possible through its Small Group Dialogue process – an extremely powerful communications medium that provides unprecedented opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to connect with, and learn from, each other. Previous Web Lab ventures include PBS’s American Love Stories dialogue, Reality Check, a non-partisan discussion group that explored the Clinton impeachment hearings; and forums on MSNBC.com.

“Our country has seen an often polarizing collision of conflicting beliefs over the true meaning of family, marriage, morality, and the role of law in a religiously diverse society,” Whitlock adds. “Perhaps worst of all, this passionate discussion about matters of faith, morality, and family has become an increasingly polarized and angry ‘cultural war,’ rather than a thoughtful exchange of spiritual convictions and personal beliefs.”

Peace Building Dialogues participants sign up in advance of the discussion and are divided into small groups of approximately 30 – 50 people. Each member keeps their anonymity by creating a unique username. They also complete a short biographical statement that explores how their life experience helps shape their opinions.

Peace Building Dialogues will run for two weeks beginning the week of May 17. All you need to participate is an email address and regular access to the Internet. To join the dialogues or learn more, go to the web site

Internationally recognized for its humanitarian work during World Wars I and II, the American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based international social justice organization that, along with the British Friends Service Council, won the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Quakers worldwide. AFSC has offices throughout the United States and in 22 countries of the world.

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