WCC NEWS: WCC president from Asia speaks on cross-cultural religious literacy

Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat Lebang, pastor of Toraja Church in Indonesia, is general chairperson of Indonesia Bible Society and World Council of Churches president from Asia.  Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat-Lebang, World Council of Churches president for Asia. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 07 May 2025 She served as a resource person at a conference on "Human Dignity & ASEAN: Pursuing Peaceful and Inclusive Societies in South East Asia and Inclusive Societies" held in Le’ia at Brigham Young University - Hawaii on 22-25 April.  She shared a reflection on “Cross-cultural Religious Literacy in Fostering Peaceful and Inclusive Societies” based on her experience as a resource person at a Program on Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy initiated by Institute Leimena in Indonesia. Cross-cultural religious literacy is an effort to facilitate the meeting of people from different religious backgrounds. It is designed to combat prejudice and hatred that is sometimes instigated by lack of knowledge, understanding, and respect toward others. “Sadly, these attitudes often lead towards conflict and politicization of religion, especially in Asia,” said Lebang.  Cross-cultural religious literacy is an approach to thinking, behaving, and acting to be able to work together with people of different religions and beliefs, based on an understanding of moral, spiritual, and personal self-knowledge, and other people of different religions and beliefs. Lebang reflected that a genuine love for each other is a requirement for promoting cross-cultural religious literacy.  Since its inception in October 2021, the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy Program in Indonesia has been attended by more than 9,000 teachers from different religious backgrounds: Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Confucianist.  See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland