5 Things Ursula Taught Me About Faith

There’s a moment I’ll never forget — not from my own life, but from reading about Ursula Franklin’s. It was during the darkest days of World War II, and she was imprisoned in a Nazi labor camp at just 18 years old. I remember closing the book and just sitting there, stunned. How does someone come out of that experience not only intact, but more committed to peace, justice, and integrity than ever before?

Ursula Franklin wasn’t a religious leader, but she lived a life deeply grounded in faith — not in a specific doctrine, but in humanity, in truth, and in the quiet, persistent belief that the world could be better. As a writer and thinker, I’ve returned to her words and actions often, especially when my own sense of faith felt shaky. Hers was a faith rooted not in certainty, but in courage — and it taught me more than I expected.

Faith is a Practice, Not a Feeling

Ursula never spoke of faith as a sudden revelation or a mystical experience. Instead, she lived it. In her famous 1989 CBC Massey Lectures, The Real World of Technology, she laid out a vision of technology shaped by social responsibility — not just what we can build, but what we should build. Her faith wasn’t in machines, but in the people who wield them. She believed in the daily practice of asking ethical questions, even when no one was watching. That changed how I thought about faith — not as a grand declaration, but as a discipline. Faith, for Ursula, meant showing up and doing the work, even when you’re not sure it matters.

Faith in Others Is an Act of Resistance

When Ursula spoke about community, she didn’t mean the cozy kind. She meant the kind that forms in the face of oppression. As a Jewish woman who fled Nazi Germany and survived internment, she knew what it meant to be stripped of everything — except the people around her. In her writing and lectures, she often emphasized the importance of collective action. Her faith in others wasn’t naive; it was hard-won and defiant. In a world that often tells us to look out for ourselves, Ursula’s example taught me that trusting others — especially in hard times — is a radical act. It’s a kind of faith that can rebuild societies.

Faith Requires Honesty, Even When It Hurts

One of the most striking things about Ursula is how unflinching she was. She didn’t sugarcoat the dangers of unchecked technology or the moral compromises of war. In her Massey Lectures, she described the shift from "holistic" technologies — those that require skilled, creative work — to "prescriptive" ones, where people are just cogs in a machine. For Ursula, faith didn’t mean closing your eyes to injustice. It meant naming it, studying it, and refusing to look away. That’s a hard lesson. It means faith isn’t always comforting. Sometimes it’s the thing that keeps you awake at night, wondering what kind of world we’re building.

Faith Can Be Silent, But Never Passive

Ursula wasn’t flashy. She didn’t give TED Talks or appear on talk shows. She worked quietly, persistently, in labs, lecture halls, and Quaker meetings. Her pacifism wasn’t performative. She refused to work on military projects, even when it cost her professionally. Her faith was rooted in nonviolence, not because it was easy, but because she believed in the long arc of justice. That taught me that faith doesn’t always need a platform. Sometimes it just needs consistency. It’s not about being loud — it’s about staying true, even when no one is watching.

Faith Is About Responsibility, Not Certainty

Perhaps the most profound lesson Ursula taught me is that faith isn’t about having all the answers. In fact, she often said that certainty can be dangerous. What mattered to her was responsibility — the willingness to ask questions, to take ownership of your role in the world. She once said, “We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” That’s a statement of faith in human agency. It means we have the power — and the duty — to choose how we engage with the world. My own faith has always wrestled with doubt, but Ursula showed me that doubt doesn’t cancel faith out — it deepens it.

Talk to Ursula on HoloDream

If Ursula’s story has stirred something in you — a question, a quiet hope, or even a challenge — I invite you to continue the conversation. On HoloDream, Ursula is ready to talk not as a figure on a pedestal, but as a thoughtful companion who lived through the worst and still believed in the best. Ask her about her time in the labor camp. Ask her how she stayed hopeful. Ask her what she’d say to us now, in a world still tangled in technology and uncertainty.

Because faith, as Ursula taught me, grows in conversation.