We Hold Different Views on Abortion. Here's Why That Mustn't Divide Us

With the U.S. Supreme Court set to rule on a Mississippi case that bans abortion after 15 weeks, the Opinion editors at USA TODAY recently asked Eboo Patel, Interfaith America Founder and President, and other faith leaders to share how their faith impacts their views on abortion. Patel offered the following reflection:

“While I am an American Ismaili Muslim with my own religiously influenced views on the issue of abortion, I will choose to answer the question from my perspective as founder and president of Interfaith America, which works to advocate for using faith and religious diversity as a bridge in society.

The United States of America is a religiously diverse nation. Religious groups have profoundly different views on a whole range of significant matters, everything from when human life begins to what happens after people die. Where such issues impact law and public life, we should expect legitimate arguments among diverse religious groups. Abortion is, of course, among the most significant issues we debate, and we should expect heated arguments in our public life as the issue becomes more salient in the coming weeks. That is to be expected in a diverse democracy. In addition to guarding against violence, we need to guard against division. Our challenge is not only to guard against violence but also to guard against division.

Diversity is not just the differences you like or the viewpoints you already agree with. The only way to have a healthy religiously diverse democracy is for people who disagree on some fundamental things to work together on other fundamental things. Heart surgeons with different views on abortion need to continue to do operations together. Pilots who come down on different sides of the debate need to continue to fly planes together. Little League coaches who vote differently on the matter need to continue to coach together. People have a right to base their views on their identities, whether it is race, religion, sexuality, gender, geography or something else. Healthy democracies have open, searching, mutually enriching discussions on such matters, expecting heated argument but not total division or outright violence.”