1163 – Types of Religious Leaders
Mary: I feel like an idiot!
Alexei: Why? What happened?
Mary: I just called the bishop over there “pope.”
Alexei: That’s not so bad. You gave him a promotion. At least you didn’t call him “rabbi.”
Mary: Don’t laugh! When I agreed to work at this interfaith conference, I didn’t know I’d need a crash course in identifying religious leaders from their dress.
Alexei: It can’t be that hard. That man over there is clearly a cardinal and the woman next to him is probably a minister by the look of her clerical collar.
Mary: What about the man in robes over there?
Alexei: He’s probably a lama or a guru. He’s definitely not an imam, but I’m not entirely sure how I would address him.
Mary: See what I mean? I keep saying the wrong thing.
Alexei: These religious leaders don’t expect laypeople like you and me to know as much as they do about religious dress.
Mary: That’s what you think! I called that man over there “preacher” and he gave me a dirty look.
Alexei: No wonder. He’s the caterer.