Identities of Encounter

How Comparative Theology and Interreligious Dialogue assist College Students to counter Echo Chambers

Abstract

The presence of echo chambers on social media platforms is particularly concerning for young people, the primary demographic of social media users, as their personal and social development is increasingly shaped by these digital environments. This paper aims to advance Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as applied to echo chambers among undergraduate students at US universities. Employing the CST framework of See-Judge-Act, I argue that young adults require targeted support in navigating echo chambers. Comparative Theology and Interreligious Dialogue (CT&IRD) are identified as a significant resource for this support, given their ability to cultivate the skills, dispositions, and identities necessary to counteract echo chambers and polarization. Drawing on a range of sociological studies, and without vilifying social media or the internet, this analysis “sees” the risk of echo chambers among young people as a catalyst for polarization and the formation of identities based on confirmation bias rather than on encounter and open-mindedness. The Catholic Church, as articulated in the writings of Pope Francis and John XXIII, explicitly “judges” echo chambers and polarization to be incompatible with its commitment to human dignity, gentleness, and encounter. While CT&IRD are not the sole means of “acting” against these challenges, they provide an effective way to foster, both intellectually and practically, the empathy and critical thinking young adults need to deconstruct echo chambers. By examining interreligious learning modalities, virtues, the E Pluribus Unum student program and university peer ministries, the following demonstrates that CT&IRD offer undergraduate students a multifaceted way to develop identities rooted in encounter and self-reflection rather than in self-promotion and isolation. 

echo chambers, comparative theology, interreligious dialogue, young adults, identity