Drinking from Several Wells: Howard Thurman’s Interfaith Imagination and Multiple Religious Belonging

By primarily incubating his imagination and that of his audience, both as a writer and preacher, Howard Thurman draws from various resources: spiritual traditions, nature, poetry, and friendships, and invites himself and others to transcend the boundaries of a life contained by a dominant, totalizing narrative. This essay dives into a common theme that unites Thurman’s writings: the stretching of one’s vision and desire for interconnectedness amidst the vicissitudes of life, collective trauma, racial and class discrimination, and other forms of systemic oppression. Multiple religious belonging adds more taste buds to Thurman’s religious sense, metaphorically speaking. Thurman drank from several spiritual wells. Following my examination of Thurman’s spirituality, which finds roots in inter-spiritual experiences, I will reflect on Thurman’s spiritual fluidity and his philosophy of interdependence.