The use of language pervades every aspect of life within the Judeo-Christian faith traditions. The importance of language in religion and ethics is well known, but the remarkable diversity of languages and types of speakers within religious communities has been overlooked. Such neglect undermines current understanding because linguistic diversity is at the heart of many religious practices (e.g., using multiple languages in worship, training participants to interpret texts in unusual ways, and violating norms of communication to speak with a transcendent God). Implicit with such practices is the intriguing idea that linguistic diversity increases our ability to speak faithfully to and about God and that a linguistically diverse community is more likely to be a spiritually flourishing community.
This project investigates the relationship between linguistic diversity, religious language, and human flourishing by bringing together ten theologians, psychologists, and cognitive scientists to run five distinct, but coordinated, research projects. The project reaches across religious divides by including 2 Jewish, 5 Christian, and 3 agnostic researchers. Together we will answer two big questions: 1) How does linguistic and cognitive diversity affect humanity’s ability to conceptualize and represent God in the Judaeo-Christian tradition? (2) How do minority speakers thrive in religious communities, and what does this reveal about the relationship between language and human flourishing? The new methods and discoveries made will result in 10-15 publications, 10+ presentations at conferences and major science festivals, 8+ videos and a podcast series. These outputs will inspire more equal interdisciplinary collaborations and increase the flourishing of minority language users within religious communities. This project will make it impossible for credible research into religious language to again overlook the role that linguistic diversity places in the life of faith.
