Pablo TalaveraResearch AssistantReligious Freedom & Business Foundation

Relationship and

Community Building

Self Reliance

IntegrativeBusiness

The Pilot

1. Reach out to and mentor at-risk individuals, imparting empowering skills and networks.

2. Catalyze sustainable businesses that increase integration and resiliency of non-integrated communities where extremism can grow.

Mission

Volunteer teams composed of people with business know-how and sincere spirituality will use an interfaith self-reliance Empowerment toolkit to bring those at risk of radicalisation into a wider group of people who help each other acquire the key temporal and spiritual skills needed to be empowered and successful in the societies where they live.

Interfaith Self-reliance Empowerment Toolkit

Volunteer Groups

Business Oriented People

Person at Risk

The Empowerment Toolkit

• The Empowerment toolkit has multiple tracks, channeling participants to the most appropriate pathway for them.

• These include:– Starting and Growing a Business– My Job Search– Education for Better Work.

Interfaith Self-reliance Empowerment Toolkit

Education for Better

Work. My Job Search

Starting and

GrowingA Business

Why Faith?

For Person at Risk-Faith is Very Important

Why do you need a Faith Based Pilot?

• The pilot aims to target individuals at the edge of becoming radicalised. These individuals hold faith to be a crucial and important aspect of their lives.

• Many are contemplating the question: ‘What does God want me to do?’

• This question is a threat with a wrong theology and in an isolated opinion. However, the same question in a group and with a right theology becomes an opportunity to do great works.

‘Right Theology’ = Right Praxis • The Empowerment toolkit is intentionally designed to be

used in a group (eliminating isolation).

• To provide practical results (overcoming desperation).

• To demonstrate acceptance (ending rejection).

• To model the radical spiritual power of serving others (replacing spiritual anomie with spiritual right theology and right praxis.)

Interfaith Approach

• The toolkit provided from the Church of Latter-Day Saints holds spiritual values to be translated to major faiths and humanitarian principles.

Interfaith Principles

Love of God and love of neighbor.

(Mission/Purpose in life)

The divine dignity of the human person. (The human person has a divine value established by God)

Faith in God and His Providence. (God will provide)

God’s will and calling. (Develop the gifts and talents that God has given me)

Love of God and love of neighbor.

Faith in God and His

Providence.

The divine dignity of

the human person.

God’s will and calling.

Interfaith Principles

Self- Reliance

How is being ‘Self-Reliant’ a faith and/ or Spiritual reality?

Self-Reliant = empowered, integrated, contributing, loving, serving and successful member of society.

- The Empowerment toolkit has as its goal to help members of society become self-reliant. This is a spiritual reality because people of faith believe in a God that wants to provide for his people. In addition, when people of faith seek God, God challenges people to act.

- The Empowerment Toolkit and the way it will be implemented (in a community), will provide the right type of action.

Curriculum- Example on ‘Faith in God and His Providence’ Principle

• In the texts, we can find quotes from the Church of Latter-Day Saints:– “It is my purpose to provide for my saints”

(D&C 104:15).

• The New Testament Text will read:– “And we know that God causes all things to work

together for good to those who love God.” (Rom 8: 28)

Example on ‘God’s Will and Calling’ Principle

• In the texts, we can find quotes from the Church of Latter-Day Saints:– “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are

many gifts and to every man is given a gift by the spirit of God. To someone is given one, and to someone is given another, that all may be profited thereby.” (D&C46:11-12)

• The New Testament Text will read:– “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to

each of us.” (Romans 12:6)

Example on ‘Divine Dignity of Human Person’ Principle

• In the texts, we can find quotes from the Church of Latter-Day Saints:– “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a

good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” (D& C 58:27)

• The New Testament Text will read:– “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2: 10)

Example on ‘God’s Love and Love of Neighbor’ Principle

• In the texts, we can find quotes from the Church of Latter-Day Saints:– The poor and the rich must be one. All must serve one

another and love one another. (D&C 56:16-17)

• The New Testament Text will read:– "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I

have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

Interfaith- Curriculum• We can then imagine a curriculum that can

have the same principles from different traditions and religions, and different sacred scriptures:

Book of MormonDoctrine and

Covenants

Old TestamentNew Testament

Quran Torah Interfaith-Spiritual

Principles

“It is my purpose to provide for my saints” (D&C 104:15).

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.Rom8: 28