by Gabriella Joy Donaldson
I walked along the slick asphalt towards class, the air was heavy with the previous night’s chill and that morning’s discomfort. My clothes didn’t feel right, my curls were wet, my sock was…
The Love and Light
The Pilgrimage of Adaptive Change
by Kara Markell
States continues to change in complex ways. Declining religious affiliation and the corresponding rise of the “nothing in particulars,” increasing threats of…
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…
Compassion as Strength: Reclaiming Religious Pluralism
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…
Experiencing the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions with Fresh Eyes
by Sofia Sayabalian & Cloë Poole
Two young leaders from the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIE) attended their first Parliament of the World’s Religions event. It was held in Chicago…
Niu Now: Reconnecting to the Tree of Life
featuring Manulani Aluli Meyer & Indrajit Gunasekara
This special article has as its focus a video and enriching dialogue rather than ta ext. NIU NOW: Reconnecting to the Tree of Life looks at the efforts by a grassroots group in Hawai’i tackling…
GreenSpirit: Where Green and Sacred Meet
by Marian Van Eyk McCain
A friend of mine who lives deep in a forest and is both an eco-activist and a practising Pagan once remarked to me rather ruefully
The Next Step ... We Must Pray Together
by Marcus Braybrooke
Recently a Muslim was invited to give an Oxford University sermon. The invitation attracted a number of protests. “He does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ!” some declared.
On the Future of Religion
by Ben Bowler
One of the biggest problems with discussing religion is the definition of the term. Few words have such breadth and depth of meaning and even fewer words can spark such passionate debate.
The Man Behind The Way: Lao Tzu & Daoist Spirituality
by Stephen Hill
Little is truly known about the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, the guiding figure in Daoism (also translated as Taoism), which is still a popular spiritual practice.
Review: The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg
by Paul Chaffee
The religions of India – Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism – are less familiar and stranger to most Americans than the Abrahamic religions, which have dominated America since Columbus.
God With(in) the World
by Diana Butler Bass
Here in the labyrinth, I struggle to find words to describe what I feel. Up on the mountaintop, I knew the language to describe God: majestic, transcendent, all-powerful, heavenly Father, Lord, and King. In this vocabulary, God remains stubbornly located in a few select places, mostly in external realms above or beyond: heaven, the church, doctrine, or the sacraments.
Recognizing the Secret Community
by Deborah Moldow
A vast spiritual community is emerging all over the world. It has no name. It has no church or temple and no scripture. No one sees it. And yet it is among the most potent forces for evolutionary change on the planet.
Embracing the "Full Catastrophe"
by Patricia Adams Farmer
Being present, the most basic attitude for the spiritual pilgrim, is not an easy practice. For being present means not only letting the bright gladness of summer daisies seep into our souls; it also means a face-to-face encounter with the fears that haunt our days.
Four Paradoxes on the Path of Yoga
by Philip Goldberg
Adapting the perennial wisdom of the Yoga tradition to contemporary life and a diversity of religious and spiritual perspectives is, and always will be, a work in progress. It is also a highly individual project, with few one-size-fits-all answers to the conundrums and challenges that arise. That’s why the Upanishads call the spiritual path a razor’s edge: You have to tread carefully, with keen vision, intellectual discernment, acute intuition, and a really good sense of balance.
The Wholeness of Nature
by Katie Reis
I’m not a religious person. I was baptized a Catholic but slowly realized that many of Catholicism’s beliefs and principles did not fit my own. Over the years, I have explored many different religions. After I visited Japan as part of a student exchange program about a year ago, I became fascinated with Shintoism. Shinto beliefs are encapsulated by a perspective of seeing nature and the world in all its beauty.
The Growing Edge of Interspirituality
by Kurt Johnson
Br. Wayne Teasdale is famous for his “interspiritual” worldview embracing all the spiritual narratives of the world as one collective heritage, arising historically from the conscious experience of our species, and seeks to draw from these resources the tools for altruistic behaviors that can actually build a world so envisioned.
Dogma is a Danger to Us All
by Ruth Broyde Sharone
“Religion is dead.” I winced as if I had experienced a body blow when I heard these words, delivered by one of the keynote speakers at an interspiritual conference on the East Coast three years ago.The keynote speaker happened to be a friend of mine, a cable show producer who for decades has extoled and promoted the “spiritual-but-not-religious” movement, a growing phenomena that has challenged the value and significance of traditional religions in our times.
Bede Griffiths – Interfaith's Interspiritual Pioneer
by Marcus Braybrooke
Brother Bede Griffith’s (1906-1993) life of physical and spiritual exploration has been important in the spiritual journeys of many, many people, including myself. He was one of the first spiritually resonant models for those of us engaged in interfaith activities more than 50 years ago. His life suggested that one could be spiritually grounded and thriving in more than one tradition at the same time.
Learning to Live in a Living Universe
For at least 12,000 years, since the end of the ice ages, humanity has been on a journey of separation – pulling back from nature and becoming ever more differentiated, individuated, and empowered. In recent decades, we have become so dominant as a species that we are producing Earth-changing trends – global warming, species extinction, unsustainable population, massive famines, waves of migration, and more – that threaten humanity’s future.