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October 2023, LGBTQ, Meaning Making
Maij Vu Mai
The Space Between Us

by Maij Vu Mai

What is religious pluralism to the Survivor? To the one who’s lost faith in themselves? Lost faith in other people? Lost faith in humanity? To the one who’s lost faith in their ability to connect because…

The Space Between Us
October 2023
Miranda Hovemeyer
Putting Interfaith Inclusivity to the Test

by Miranda Hovemeyer

I’ll be honest. I haven’t felt at home in the field of interfaith work for quite a while. During one of the last interfaith conferences I spoke at, I was asked by an older white gentleman why I was there, then insisting…

Putting Interfaith Inclusivity to the Test
Arts, October 2023
Sable Manson
Interfaith Retreat-in-a-Box

by Sable Manson

n the spring of 2020, I was working with my higher education colleagues to prepare for an interfaith retreat set on Catalina Island, off the coast of southern California. We had planned numerous…

Interfaith Retreat-in-a-Box
October 2023, Emerging Interfaith Culture, Interfaith Relationships
Najeeba Syeed
Multi-Faith Relations in Rural Settings

by Najeeba Syeed

I’ve written about “casserole” hospitality, an ethic of care demonstrated in America’s Heartland found in communities of various traditions who welcome…

Multi-Faith Relations in Rural Settings
October 2023
Anum Mulla
Compassion as Strength: Reclaiming Religious ...

by Anum Mulla

When we talk about compassion, which by definition is found in aspiring to alleviate another’s suffering, it is far too often viewed as a path that only implores people to be kind. Some societies are…

Compassion as Strength: Reclaiming Religious Pluralism

December 2012

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Honoring our Spiritual Foremothers

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On November 3, University of Chicago’s magnificent Rockefeller Chapel hosted the inaugural event of the Women’s Task Force at the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The evening was dedicated to Bearing the Light: Honoring our Spiritual Foremothers. A gathering of 500 witnessed women representing diverse faiths sharing stories honoring a woman from their spiritual tradition during an evening punctuated by drumming, ethereal chants, and Indian dance.

[“Bearing the Light” at Rockefeller Chapel Photo: 8 Eyes Photography]

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Collaborative Peace Groups

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In today’s world, one could be easily be made to believe that religion primarily fosters hatred and violence. But the reality is that religious people and organizations have often been at the forefront of interfaith relations and restoring peace in violent regions. On International Day of Peace, HuffPost Religion is proud to share this list of national and international religious organizations that are working to promote peace on local, national and international levels.

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Report – World Congress of Religions 2012

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The World Congress of Religions 2012 was held in Washington, DC, November 30-December 2, 2012. It celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, honoring his legacy of peacemaking, human rights, ending poverty, and women’s empowerment. Speakers paid homage to Swamiji as a visionary spiritual leader who introduced Eastern religion to the West. His image graced every session, and according to Dr. Pradip Ghosh, chairperson of the Congress, “Swami Vivekananda’s ideals of universal acceptance go a long way to foster peace and harmony among people of different faiths.”

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Teaching World Religions for 40 Years

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The first class of a new semester is always magical for me: a clean slate, tabula rasa, and new beginning. As I gaze at the students filling the large lecture hall in the Science Math Building at Saddleback Community College, Mission Viejo, in southern California, my stomach rumbles with nervous energy: my 40th year of teaching, but it seems like I am just beginning.

What Light Can Do for Life

On any given day you can make a strong case for feeling bad – the recession, lying politicians, street violence, war, climate change, corruption, starters on a list that goes on and on. The miracle of life, though, is that even in dark times the sources of light insist on themselves like flowers blooming in spring. Sometimes sunshine rules, and we forget the pain and difficulties, captivated by what light can do for life.

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Shifting from ‘Millennium’ to ‘Sustainable’ Development Goals

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Shifting from ‘Millennium’ to ‘Sustainable’ Development Goals

by Caroljean Willie

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted by the United Nations Millennium summit in September, 2000. Government leaders from countries around the world agreed to set these goals…

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Biologist Explores the Roots of Religion in Trees

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Whether churchgoers realize it or not, the trees in their churchyards have religious roots.

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Women Provide Prophetic Voices in 1893 – Part 1

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“As Columbus discovered America, the Columbian Exposition in Chicago discovered woman.” This was the optimistic boast of Bertha Palmer (1849-1918), president of the Board of Lady Managers at the Exposition, of which the 1893 World Parliament of Religions was part. She was a businesswoman and philanthropist. The Palmer House, where many participants in the 1993 Parliament stayed, bears her name.

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Challenging Evangelical Assumptions

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Evangelicals face enormous challenges in the pluralistic public square in the 21st century, especially among Muslims. Suspicion and fear of Muslims exist in many quarters as a result of 9/11 and other radical Muslim acts of terror in places like Spain and London and some bad habits about how most of us absorb news. We firmly believe that radical Muslims do not represent the majority of Muslims in the West, who have repeatedly disavowed terrorism. Clearly, most Muslims in the U.S. seek to live out their Muslim faith in ways that affirm and resonate with American values.

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Linking Energy Conservation and Faith Communities

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Looking out over the audience, I saw that the room was filled with every seat taken and a number of participants standing along the edges. It was a gathering sponsored by the White House office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, attended by more than 150 representatives of widely diverse faith groups and congregations from across the country. Their common interest? Energy savings. A dollar saved [President Obama establishing the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Photo: White House] through energy conservation is a dollar that can be redirected toward more worthwhile ends – of which the various faiths have many.

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Love in a Time of War

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Here in the mountains of northern New Mexico where I have spent most of life, the winter solstice season is marked by fire. During Advent, families and businesses fill small paper bags with dirt and nestle yellow votive candles inside them. They line the adobe walls around their homes and the low hanging flat rooftops of their shops with these homemade lanterns, called farolitos, and kindle them at sunset. The entire valley glows with tiny golden lights. What began as a Spanish Catholic tradition is now a cherished ritual for our entire multicultural community.

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An Interfaith Advent

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Advent. ad·vent/’ad,vent/Noun: 1.The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. 2.The first season of the church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

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Looking Back – Interfaith 2012

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If you’re an interfaith activist, you may have noticed how the movement is growing exponentially, how our dreams to reach around the world in one giant interfaith embrace are slowly, surely coming true. Globally there is good news (and bad, I’m afraid) coming from all directions.

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More Interfaith Spiritual Resources

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While there is a rising group of Americans who don’t identify with any religious label, many of them are pursuing spirituality without being boxed into one faith. Historically, spirituality has usually been associated with a specific tradition, but that is changing. Today, for some, interfaith spirituality can mean belonging to more than one faith group. For others it can be observing multiple diverse religious rituals while on your spiritual journey. For others it can be just going on a Sunday morning hike with religiously diverse friends. Whatever your path, here is a list of resources to help you start exploring interfaith spirituality:

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2014 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Brussels Cancelled

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Late last month a joint statement was posted cancelling Parliament of the World’s Religions in Brussels, previously scheduled for 2014.