Despite being a country with a rich historical tradition of pluralism, the people of Poland suffered one of the worst genocides against a religious community in modern history. Poland’s history is a powerful reminder for people everywhere—no matter how “enlightened”—that we cannot take for granted the importance of understanding one another and learning how to engage across our deepest differences to prevent misunderstanding and conflict. One of the tools we can use to do this and promote lasting peace and security is through cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL). Through CCRL, individuals develop a deeper understanding of their own faith and how it informs their engagement with others, and they develop skills for engaging one another in meaningful ways. CCRL can be a powerful tool for peacebuilding in communities with religion-related conflict. In other words, Poland’s history is a clarion call for practical education and experiential learning in CCRL.
In this context, Krakow provided a moving backdrop for the June 4-6, 2025 “CCRL Summit” co-sponsored by Love Your Neighbor Community (LYNC), Templeton Religion Trust, and The Review of Faith & International Affairs. As a practitioner in covenantal pluralism, I was honored to join LYNC and other like-minded leaders from around the world to discuss how to advance greater understanding and respect for one another through CCRL. It was a rare and valuable opportunity to share best practices and explore new opportunities.
Today, Krakow stands as a beautiful capitol city in modern Europe, far removed from the scars of religious conflict and violent oppression of its recent past. Following our daily meetings, we had an opportunity to explore several historic sites and learn about the “Peasant King,” Casmir the Great III who built Wawel Castle, codified the law, and welcomed Jews to Poland. Casmir had also built the oldest university in Europe—Jagiellonian University—where Copernicus studied and developed his love for astronomy. From these rich roots in respect for the law, the poor, and an openness to new ideas and people, we visited Ghetto Square and contemplated how the country was overcome by the horrific persecution of Polish Jews during WWII. However, in the center of the Square was a reminder of Poland’s enduring spirit of pluralism—a pharmacy stood on the corner that had been run by a Catholic man who refused to leave the Ghetto and helped Jews escape throughout the war. His story offered a glimmer of hope during a dark period of the country’s history and showed us the power of one person who embraces the ideals of CCRL.
When Poland was finally liberated from communism many years later, it was another Polish Catholic—Krakow’s Archbishop, Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II—who ignited a national dialogue about the importance of human dignity and inspired a revolution that brought the country back to its historic roots as a nation that welcomes the dignity and freedom of all people. The Pope’s encyclical Dignitatis Humanae during the Second Vatican Council has become one of the most important documents worldwide in recognizing the right to religious freedom based in the dignity of every person.
As someone who has helped advance religious freedom globally for more than two decades, I was inspired by LYNC’s focus on the role people of faith have in pursuing dignity and freedom for others. For many in this work, our faith inspires us to serve others and seek religious freedom for one another—just as the lone Catholic pharmacist did in refusing to leave the Ghetto and serving persecuted Jews during their darkest hour.
It can be difficult to understand how communities can descend to the levels of violence and inhumanity witnessed in Poland during WWII, and yet more than 80 years later we are still facing global conflict—often affecting religious believers and their freedom. To prevent and mitigate recurrent conflict, and its impact on individual freedom, CCRL serves as an important tool. Through CCRL, we recognize the value of understanding one another and develop the skills needed to build more peaceful, pluralistic societies.
At Hardwired, we have developed our own trusted and proven theory of change related to covenantal pluralism, and CCRL programs echo these conclusions in the field. Through CCRL programs, individuals develop a deeper understanding of their faith and what that faith teaches about how to treat others. From this, individuals can begin to seek to understand the beliefs of others and what motivates others to engage with people of different beliefs. By focusing on the importance of faith, CCRL programs move toward increased collaborative engagement among people who share a common set of values—humility, empathy, patience, etc.—in communities. And finally, they develop a set of skills that flow from these values to learn how to effectively negotiate differences and communicate effectively with one another.
At Hardwired, we recognize a pluralistic society as one in which people with diverse ideas, beliefs, opinions, practices, and behaviors can live freely in community with others. In its fullest expression covenantal pluralism is not merely coexistence or tolerance—or even diversity—but a deep respect for the humanity of others who share the same inherent human rights. At the same time, pluralistic societies require energetic engagement with diversity and dialogue, rather than blind acceptance of ideas or an aversion to debate or expression of dissenting opinions. Individuals in a pluralistic society recognize the equal rights of others who hold different beliefs and engage in different practices, especially when they disagree. In this way, pluralism is antithetical to intolerant ideologies that fuel social and violent conflict.
Understanding one’s own faith shapes how we engage others. Like many practitioners in this space, I developed an appreciation for religious freedom and human dignity—two of the enabling conditions for covenantal pluralism—as a young child. I founded Hardwired built on these principles and the need for greater covenantal pluralism in the world. I grew up in a religious home and after my parents divorced, my father converted to a different religion. For many years we had challenging conversations about our beliefs and often had opposing views. Through that interaction I developed a deeper understanding and dedication to my faith, and how I should treat others, which I applied during our conversations. And because my faith taught me that others deserved the freedom to believe what they wanted and to live with dignity, especially when we disagreed, I tried to understand my father’s beliefs and what motivates them. And from there, I began to engage with other people who have different beliefs which taught me other skills and helped me build more meaningful relationships.
Understanding of others’ faith is essential for identifying shared values. At Hardwired we like to say that we are all “hardwired” to believe in something and this religious or spiritual impulse is what makes humans distinct. The vast majority (over 80%) of the world’s population identify with a religious faith. Religious belief and expression are what bring meaning and value to life for so many. Therefore, if we are not connecting with people at the deepest level of their humanity, recognizing the innate dignity and value of each person as a unique spiritual being, then we are missing one of the most important aspects of human interaction and meaning.
Through CCRL programs, the religious or spiritual impulse is celebrated, and individuals learn how their faith informs their values and interactions with others. In this way, CCRL is not simply understanding the other’s religion, it is about understanding the religious impulse and truth-seeking nature of every human being and finding ways to engage with one another as truth seekers.
I saw the importance of cross-cultural understanding in Sri Lanka following a tsunami, during an overwhelming outpouring of humanitarian aid to the small nation. The humanitarian agencies were motivated to respond to the disaster because of their faith, which called them to love and serve others regardless of their ability to respond or do anything. However, some of the people they served in Sri Lanka were offended by the aid and even called for laws to restrict the activities of certain religious groups and their freedom. In the local religious culture, there was a belief that when you give a gift, you require something in return. In this way, the local people were offended because they assumed that by accepting the aid from religious organizations they would be forcibly converted to another faith. The humanitarian organizations never intended to coerce the people, but this is how it was perceived because the different communities did not understand one another or how faith motivates their actions in different ways. In this situation, CCRL programs would have helped these groups understand one another and prevent conflict and restrictions on religious freedom.
Respect for the rights of others is essential for meaningful collaboration and engagement. Importantly, CCRL programs help people move beyond understanding themselves and others to greater respect for the rights of others, including the freedom of religion or belief which is essential for people anywhere to effectively engage with others in a pluralistic society. In this way, respect for the rights of others is built on an understanding of the nature of the “other” as a human being with equal and inherent rights and value, and the unique nature of humanity as a spiritual being, and the rights that secure spiritual expression.
Throughout the CCRL Summit we had an opportunity to model this by engaging with others, across different beliefs, through a shared respect for truth-seeking on a variety of issues. While challenging, the ability to engage with people across their deepest differences on issues of concern—from the situation in Gaza and Israel to restrictions on religious expression in certain countries—was made possible because people of faith used their shared respect for the right to religious freedom and dignity of the other to work toward greater freedom and dignity for all.
Hardwired’s approach to CCRL supports covenantal pluralism. Like other organizations in the CCRL space, Hardwired was established to help people of all beliefs live together in peace by catalyzing greater respect for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. To do this, we work within the national, cultural, and religious context to develop a local culture of respect for human dignity and the freedom of religion and belief for all people—two enabling conditions of covenantal pluralism. Through an innovative simulation that involves fruit as an analogy for people, we help participants in our training program explore the importance of religious faith and how it shapes their values and treatment of others. The analogy provides an indirect model for helping participants understand their faith and the faith of others. For example, through fictitious “tribes” of fruit that have different beliefs and practices, participants explore the concept of religion or belief.
Throughout Hardwired’s programs, participants develop a deeper understanding of the importance of religious faith and the equal dignity and rights all people have regardless of their religion or beliefs. However, because this is a simulation using fruit, we do not teach about specific religions or beliefs but rather fictitious examples that can later be applied to local contexts. The simulation creates an environment where participants learn how to engage with others and learn the importance of the spiritual impulse in humanity. Throughout the simulation, participants become more confident to share their own beliefs and express them with others and are better equipped to engage with others across their deepest differences. And as we engage, we practice the skills needed to increase collaboration and improve negotiation and communication.
Hardwired’s approach teaches people that how we engage with one another is as valuable as what we engage about. In this way, CCRL is both a component and natural outcome of Hardwired’s pluralism education program. With our primary emphasis on training teachers in pluralism in more than 30 countries worldwide, we are unique in the field. The result is locally-led initiatives that build lasting peace and understanding among people of different beliefs.
Importantly, CCRL is also a natural outcome of Hardwired’s education work across all contexts in which we work. The objective of Hardwired’s education program is to promote a culture of pluralism in classrooms and communities. Through our programs, individuals are equipped to recognize the rights of others and cultivate a culture of pluralism by holding and expressing their own beliefs while engaging respectfully with others of diverse beliefs. It is from this place that Hardwired-trained individuals are: (1) able to understand and affirm the rights of individuals to have and express diverse beliefs, and (2) more open to understanding different—and at times opposing—beliefs without fear of losing their own deeply held truths. The consequential openness, both about their own perspective and toward others with different perspectives, is essential for CCRL.
Through Hardwired’s program, participants experience a conceptual shift in their understanding of the innate dignity and rights of individuals who believe differently from them, even when they disagree on fundamental truth claims. Our work affirms the right of all people to hold and express their beliefs. By applying this pedagogy in our teaching of freedom of conscience and pluralism, our programs have been shown to instigate a paradigm shift in the way individuals see and interact with one another and open the individual to greater engagement with and respect for the expression of a diversity of opinions and beliefs in society.
Our research has shown that conceptual shifts in a person’s understanding of the rights and dignity of others is foundational to religious and cultural literacy. Participants who experience this conceptual change do not exhibit less conviction or weaker beliefs relative to a plurality of other beliefs. Rather they are more confident to hold their beliefs because they more deeply understand their right to do so. Significantly, they also affirm the rights of others who believe differently to hold and practice their beliefs. A robust understanding of pluralism can support individuals’ efforts to develop CCRL because they can more deeply engage with others without fear of losing their own deeply held beliefs.
In 2018, we conducted a study of more than 1,200 students across 56 diverse school communities in Iraq, Lebanon, and Morocco. The study showed that youth who completed pluralism education activities developed by Hardwired were: more resilient to the ideas that fuel extremism, more likely to mitigate conflict through dialogue rather than violence, and more likely to defend and actively engage with people of difference religions and beliefs. Additionally, students were more supportive of the role of religion in public and private life, more likely to support women, girls, and minority groups against discrimination, and more empathetic of others, particularly those with different beliefs.
For us teaching about human rights is not the same as teaching for human rights, and the same is true of CCRL and covenantal pluralism. Both must be modeled and discovered through engagement with others through a common language for human dignity and religious freedom. Through our programs, participants begin to see one another differently and develop values that enable them to engage with humility, empathy, patience, courage, service, generosity, sacrifice, and more across their deepest differences.
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About the Author
Tina Ramirez is the Founder and President of Hardwired Global, with 25 years of experience in human rights law, religious freedom, and foreign policy.