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Meaning Making, Environment/Climate, Coexistence
Sofia Sayabalian
Among Ice, Lichen, and Light

by Sofia Sayabalian

Having the opportunity to visit Reykjavík, Iceland was a special one. I always thought of Iceland as an isolated place–far, freezing, and frosted with whispers…

Among Ice, Lichen, and Light
March 2025, Inclusivity, Meaning Making, Ethics
Frank DiGirolamo
Authoring our Shared Story

by Frank DiGirolamo

“Wow! … You just listened to my whole anthem.” It was late at night, years ago, on North Broadway in Capitol Hill. “Miguel” had just recited his life story to me for a good 20 minutes…

Authoring our Shared Story
March 2025, Family, Meaning Making, October 2012, Beliefs
Camila Torres
Echale! The Story of Generations Past

by Camila Torres

When I was a child, I was terrified of the dark. I hated going to sleep, because, once the lights turned off, the sheer possibility of encountering a monster kept me awake…

Echale! The Story of Generations Past
Judaism, Family, March 2025, Young Adult
Amina Malkin
An Inheritance of History

by Amina Malkin

When talking about religion, my father will sometimes talk about “the chosen people,” a title that Jewish people have historically adopted as a way to reference being descended from…

An Inheritance of History
March 2025, Family, Young Adult, Catholicism
Gabby Prado
An Ongoing Legacy of Faith and Family

by Gabby Prado

Throughout my life, I’ve lived by the belief that my success and achievements are not solely mine but are deeply connected to the generations of my family who came before me…

An Ongoing Legacy of Faith and Family
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The History of American Pluralism

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The History of American Pluralism
This speech was delivered at a White House gathering celebrating and protecting “America’s Tradition of Religious Pluralism.” The speaker was Vanita Gupta, the head of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Kindling Love”

In the Northern Hemisphere right now, the days are shorter, darker, and often colder.

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Local Communities Affirm Solidarity with Muslim Neighbors

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Last month, December 2015, in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, with Donald Trump threatening to close American borders to Muslims, and increasing incidents of Islamophobic violence, the major media barely noticed one of the most important stories.

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Sri Ramakrishna: A Profile

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Except for students of Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna is a largely unknown figure in the West. Yet his teaching and influence have helped shape the global interfaith movement. His vision, if not his name, came to Europe and America through his student and devotee, Swami Vivekananda, whose electrifying contributions at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions are invoked as the beginning of the interfaith movement. Marcus Braybrooke’s profile is so carefully researched that TIO is breaking its long habit of not using footnotes. For those who want to study Ramakrishna, they point the way.

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Unpacking Pluralism

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“Remember that words have usage, not meaning.” This off-the-cuff remark from Dr. Frank Stagg in a seminary classroom more than thirty years ago has repeatedly helped to clarify my thinking. I might modify the statement, saying that “words have usage, not inherent meaning” or “the meaning of a word is shaped by usage and context.” But the point is, nonetheless, well-taken. Words have usage, not meaning.

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Ret. Lt. Colonel Shareda Hosein: Not Your Average Army Officer

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What would propel an 18 year-old, 4’10” Muslim girl, born in Trinidad, the daughter of immigrants, to join the U.S. Army and serve for 35 years?

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January 17, 2016 – World Religion Day: Celebrating Our Unity

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BahÁ’i-Sponsored Celebration Invites Us All to the Table “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until, its unity is firmly established.”– Bahá’i Writings

Do Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures?

In the song “Boy in the Bubble,” Paul Simon sings “these are the days of miracle and wonder.” And indeed they are, replete with powerful technology that effectively shrinks time and space, medical prowess that extends and improves lives and a staggering scientific understanding of our universe — from the minute to the magnificent.

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All or Nothing?

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If there is anything new under the religious sun in the United States it is the changing patterns of how people are or are not religious. What this means for feminist studies in religion is of interest to me because it reshapes the backdrop of our work.

Finding the Light

The struggle to find consensus in addressing a warming planet, the violence that infects our lives so many ways, the tempting xenophobia that fuels more violence, the growing flood of refugees … Mother Earth and her peoples are having a rough go at living together these days.

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In the Face of Proselytizing

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Messianic Judaism is a Biblically based movement of Jews who believe in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah of Israel. According to web statistics, from 2003 to 2007, the number of Messianic houses of worship in the United States grew from 150 to as many as 438, with over 100 in Israel and more worldwide. As of 2012, population estimates for the United States were between 175,000 and 250,000 members, for Israel, between 10,000 and 20,000 members, and an estimated total worldwide membership of 350,000.

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Does Protecting the Right to Proselytize Violate Religious Freedom?

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One of the more complicated religious freedoms, the right to proselytize has both supporters and detractors. Proselytism can be defined as the attempt to persuade another individual to change his or her religion.

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Going to the Heart of Interfaith on Song

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I admit, I shouldn’t have been rendered speechless when Ruth Broyde Sharone told me, nearly two years ago, that she was working on a new project: “INTERFAITH: The Musical.” I was stunned, finally murmuring, “A musical?!” Was she foolish or fearless or, probably, both?

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URI India Holds it Sixth National Assembly

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This report was written and edited by: Dr. Abraham Karickam (URI Asia executive secretary), Biswadeb Chakraborty (URI national coordinator), Subhi Dhupar (head of Reporting Committee CC, liaison officer, North Zone, India, Asia), P.K. Ramachandra (CC member, South Zone), and Savita Malpani (CC member North Zone).

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You Cannot Redeem Proselytism

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You Cannot Redeem Proselytism

by Hans Ucko

Last March the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Development, and World Affairs published a series of short papers about proselytism in their publication Cornerstone. Each author was…

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Nagging Tensions Around Development and Proselytizing

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Last March the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Development, and World Affairs published a series of short papers about proselytism in their publication Cornerstone. Each author was invited to respond to the following statement:

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Freedom to Proselytize Associated with Lower Religious Hostilities

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Last March the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Development, and World Affairs published a series of short papers about proselytism in their publication Cornerstone. Each author was invited to respond to the following statement:

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Taste-buds and Interfaith Bridge-building

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The holiday season is upon us, which means we are all twice as busy as we were before. The family schedule becomes more complicated, mail-order boxes arrive almost daily on our doorstep, and every time I walk through the living room I find myself picking up a strand of tinsel that somehow jettisoned itself off our tree. And then the holiday meals to plan… Menu items scurry around in the back of my mind like sand crabs on the beach as I drive my kids around and run errands. Who’s bringing the green bean casserole on Thanksgiving? Full-fat or low fat-egg nog? Christmas ham or Christmas turkey?

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Don’t Forget the Mystics

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The recent Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City has been called the “123rd birthday of the international interfaith movement,” which is often said to have had its origin at the Chicago Parliament in 1893. It was a time to celebrate the global growth of the movement and its growing maturity. The emphasis was no longer on the need to talk to each other but on what we should be doing together.

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Women Powerfully, Silently Walk Together For Peace

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Voices fell quiet as hundreds of women of different faith traditions filed silently through the busy throngs at the Salt Palace Convention Center on the opening day of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The gathering that happens every five years brings together thousands of religious and spiritual people from around the world.