The Interfaith Observer

January 14, 2018

Journal 2017, December 2017

December 2017 - The Road to Trust

The Interfaith Observer

January 14, 2018

Journal 2017, December 2017

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

December 15, 2017

Featured

Breaking Down the Walls of Our Hearts

by Marcus Braybrook

have been thinking a lot about breaking down walls, as I have just returned from an interreligious peace conference in South Korea.The highlight was a peace rally in the World Cup Stadium that included speaker after speaker who affirmed the longing for peace and reunification of Korea.

A Surprising Surge of Hope

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

On November 8, 2016 an already divided America was further fractured. For many of us who are working to make America a more welcoming, just, and inclusive nation – to make the America that never was, but that we pray must someday be...

Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids

by Vicki Garlock

There are plenty of kids’ books out there for most of these holidays, but as the number of interfaith and multicultural families rises, so does the need for books that explore multiple traditions.

the road to trust

Featured

Review: Learning to Live Well Together (Wilson and Ravat)

by Paul Chaffee

Like so much else in this contemporary culture, the ‘interfaith movement’ is at a watershed moment. For the past quarter-century, spontaneously, globally, thousands of groups have gathered to promote interfaith harmony.

A Bold, Flagship Experiment in Living Well Together...and a query

by Bud Heckman

Numerous efforts have been made over time to bring people of different walks of faith together and think creatively about the meaning of community and accountability. Yet few visions are as refreshingly bold as what has been happening in Omaha, Nebraska.

Aziza Hasan: Breaking New Ground

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Aziza Hasan is one of the most admired Muslim women in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of a small Mennonite college in Kansas, where she studied conflict resolution and mediation and spent two years as a member of AmericaCorps.

Meeting People Where They Are

by Rev. Andrea Goodman

Can a ten-year-old religious nonprofit that is not a church thrive and grow without fundraising and with no employees? Yes! Here is the story of The Interfaith Peace Project.In 2006, Fr. Tom Bonacci and I were in a café sharing a meal in San Francisco, CA. We each carried the grief of recent program losses.

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.

7 Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids

by Susan Katz Miller

This time of year, many interfaith families are preparing to feast on latkes, light Hanukkah candles at the Thanksgiving table, and then move on to making Christmas cookies. But beyond holiday celebrations, is it a good idea to raise kids in two religions?

A Call to Professionalize Interfaith in Higher Education

by Cody Nielsen

In the past twenty years, the world of religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) has grown considerably on college and university campuses across North America. Once a forgotten and at times taboo topic, higher education is slowly embracing these identities as it re-imagines itself as a force for global citizenship.

Coming to Grips with Christian Normativity

by Kevin Singer

This fall I started the journey toward a Ph.D. in higher education at North Carolina State University. While walking around various parts of campus, I noticed the presence of several bi-fold signs fastened to campus fixtures like streetlights and trees with bike locks.

Tri Faith Initiative: Bridging Communities

St. Philip's Centre: Building a Stronger Britain Together - Army Training

Header Photo: Zellox

Featured

Differences & Disagreements: Crossing the Final Bridge

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Anyone in recent years who has seriously organized local interfaith activities knows about the boundaries of dialogue. There is often pressure to focus on shared values and easy issues; to master easy topics before jumping into disagreements that are unlikely to be solved.

Featured

Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017

New Interfaith Activism – Back at School – Living at Risk – Interfaith Department of Scarboro Missions is Closing

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Interfaith Conference – 2018 Religion Communicators Council Conference

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

CONVERGENCE

Convergence: An Idea, Cody Nielsen

Musings from a Faitheist Educator: Happy Holidays

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Scaling Back the Sacred: A Word from the Executive Director

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Elizabeth Dabney Hoffman

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

URI Welcomes 12 New Cooperation Circles

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

Varun Soni Explains LA's Religious Diversity

The Interfaith Observer

December 14, 2017

Journal 2017, November 2017

November 2017 - Interfaith in Africa

The Interfaith Observer

December 14, 2017

Journal 2017, November 2017

Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

November 15, 2017

Featured

Donna Bollinger Tapped to Lead Religions for Peace-USA

by Paul Chaffee

She was raised in a home on a dirt road in rural western North Carolina, without indoor plumbing or a telephone. The family lived off the land and had never sent a child to high school before. Asked if there was some seminal moment, a particular experience as a youngster that influenced her for the rest her life, Donna Bollinger says “Yes!”

interfaith in Africa

Featured

15 Facts on African Religions

by Jacob K. Olupona

1. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people.

Interfaith Themes in Sub-Saharan African Tales (for Kids)

by Vicki Garlock

Interfaith engagement serves as a near-constant reminder that the central teachings of the world’s belief systems are more similar than different. This is especially true when working with kids. For centuries, adults have taught important life lessons through stories, handed down from generation to generation.

Despina Namwembe and Grassroots Interfaith in Africa

A TIO Interview

Despina Namwembe is a force of hope to be reckoned with when it comes to grassroots interfaith work in Africa. A social scientist with a masters in peace and conflict studies, she coordinates the work of more than 30 grassroots interfaith organizations doing different social action projects in the Great Lakes countries of Africa.

Uganda Welcomes Refugees with Hospitality and Love

by Despina Namwembe

On the 31st of January, we left for the northern part of Uganda in a place called Adjumani (which borders Southern Sudan) to celebrate the Interfaith Harmony Week. We celebrated with our brothers and sisters who are now refugees in Uganda because of the insurgency going on in their country.

'We are Your Aunties, and We Are Coming for Mediation'

by Kira Zalan

Over the past three years, funded by a modest grant from the Dutch government, 16 women and the local organizations they run in Sudan have intervened in dozens of disputes and brokered solutions. In some cases, that meant building a freshwater well—in others, assistance in drafting laws and power-sharing agreements.

Doing "God's Work" in Tanzania

by Daniel Bellerose

Bumping down the red dirt roads in East Africa, my wife and I made our weekly voyage to the city of Iringa. Our driver was Eliah, a biologist, birder, and devout…

When All Roads Lead to Morocco

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In a quest to uncover and promote interfaith engagement around the globe, many roads have led me – unexpectedly – to Morocco, a monarchy ruled by a young king. One of the most liberal Muslim countries in the Middle East, Morocco reflects a unique culture of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, and European influences and simultaneously supports a refreshing integration of ancient traditions with a modern outlook.

A Pagan's Adventures in Egypt

by Don Frew

In 2005, I attended the annual meeting of the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative. That year, it was held at a retreat center near Seoul, South Korea. One day, we took a long bus ride to the Buddhist monastery of Haensa, during which I sat with Monica Willard, URI’s representative at the United Nations.

Five Children from Five Faiths Show How Pure Prayer Can Be

The inspiration for "Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda"

Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

Featured

Opening Doors to Africa

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

What we don’t know we oversimplify. As a pre-teen, I had a few desolate images of India – a really hot climate, vast arid deserts, cows wandering down city streets, and overwhelming poverty. Little more.

Featured

Interfaith News Roundup - November 2017

Stunning News from Saudi Arabia – Nations Pursuing Interfaith Solutions – Religion for Good for Ill – Around the Interfaith Movement

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Religion Conference – New Pages in URI's Story – Intern with ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast – The Multifaith Storytelling Institute Kicks off another year of Storytelling this March

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

CONVERGENCE

Convergence: An Idea, Cody Nielsen

The Angst of Atheism and Journey to Secularism

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

Enabling Opportunity

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew Addresses Arctic Circle

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Dena Merriam

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

Northern California Faith Communities Prepare to Support Those Affected by Wildfires

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

Mindfulness through Meditation and Music

The Interfaith Observer

November 14, 2017

Journal 2017, October 2017

October 2017 - Spiritual Explorations

The Interfaith Observer

November 14, 2017

Journal 2017, October 2017

Spiritual Explorations

October, 15 2017

Featured

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.

Encountering Mary Magdalene

by Kathe Schaaf and Kay Lindahl

We are living in a time of profound spiritual crisis – and opportunity. As old systems break down, it is clear patriarchy is no longer a viable option. Everywhere around us we see the harm and imbalance that has resulted from the lost wisdom of the feminine on this planet. How can we animate a powerful wave of feminine spiritual leadership that will ground and nurture a new way of being on this planet now?

Learning to Live in a Living Universe

by Duane Elgin

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.

Spiritual Exploring with Kids

by Vicki Garlock

Kids love to explore. And a quick look at any summer camp guide will support that claim. Last summer, kids in our area could attend Camp Explorer, Camp Eco-Explorer, Camp Adventure, Camp Discovery, Camp Run Wild, Camp Invention, or Nature Adventures, to name just a few!

Religion and the Spiritual Journey: InterSpiritual Dialogue with Fr. Thomas Keating:

Bede Griffiths: The Mystical Experience that Changed my Life

Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

Featured

Spiritual Exploration in Tough Times

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Squeezing in a prayer on a comfortable day in a self-satisfied life is more difficult than turning to the Spirit (however that happens on your path) in times that seem bleak, broken, and hopeless.

Featured

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2017

Nations Behaving Badly – Religious Communities Behaving Better – United Religions Initiative (URI) Leaders Meet in Sarajevo

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

CONVERGENCE

Convergence: An Idea, Cody Nielsen

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

Being a Bystander is not an Option

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Dr. Menas C. Kafatos

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

TOGETHER: International Day of Peace – September 15, 2017

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

Mindfulness through Meditation and Music

The Interfaith Observer

October 14, 2017

Journal 2017, September 2017

September 2017 - Interfaith and the Global Climate Crisis

The Interfaith Observer

October 14, 2017

Journal 2017, September 2017

Interfaith and the Global Climate Crisis

September, 15 2017

Featured

Ecology of Our Minds

by Nimai Agarwal

When I was eight years old, my parents used to take me to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We would go every week of the summer, spread out a blanket on the grass, and enact a tradition central to our monotheistic branch of Hinduism: singing devotional songs to passersby, often accompanied by a harmonium and brass hand symbols.

Caring for Creation (for Kids)

by Vicki Garlock

Once creation, in all its splendor, has been spoken, dreamed, resurrected, danced, and cracked open into existence, we can turn out attention toward creation care. Since all the major faith traditions emergbed when people lived in harmony with the land, stories highlighting our connection with nature are readily found in the sacred texts and narratives of the world’s religions.

A Plea for the Sake of Us All

from Voices for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons

This summer, two events of nuclear significance happened. First, North Korea successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated greater reach and sophistication, signaling that, soon, it will have the capacity to drop nuclear weapons on the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. Second, at the United Nations, 122 nations of the world voted “never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devises.”

Where's the Moral Outrage?

by Katherine Marshall

“Where is the moral outrage?” A questioner at a recent Washington event demanded some explanation for the seeming indifference in the United States to hunger that affects tens of millions of people in Africa and the Middle East. Is it lack of knowledge? Citizens numbed by an unending deluge of horrifying news? A hardening of spirit accompanying Americans’ turning inwards?

Acts of Mercy and Saving the Environment

by James Kurzynski

On September 1, 2016, Pope Francis introduced two new works of mercy pertaining to the environment...Why did Pope Francis add these works of mercy? What does this mean for the Church? In answering these, it is important to reflect on why popes make these kinds of changes in the first place.

Eco-Dharma: Awakening to the Environmental Crisis

by David Loy

Interest in eco-dharma — the ecological implications of Buddhist teachings — is growing after years of apparent indifference and little conversation about it in Buddhist sanghas (communities). The environmental crisis has been in and out of headline news since at least 1992, when the first President Bush attended the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro

Teilhard de Chardin – Envisioning a Unitive Evolution

by Marcus Braybrooke

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-55), a distinguished paleontologist, theologian, and visionary, held a unitive vision that covered a wide canvas. He tried through his writings to bring the worlds of science and religion together, believing their combined insights held the key to creating a greater sense of global community.

John B. Cobb Jr. – Environmental “Evangelist”

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

No ivory tower has ever been able to contain Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. Even at 92, the premier “eco-theologian” of our times is a man on a mission. He urgently wants to convert us. But not in the conventional sense. He wants us all – regardless of our religious orientation, our racial, national, and cultural origins – to “evangelize” for an “ecological civilization”

Seizing an Alternative

by Philip Clayton

This is the story of the interfaith movement and climate change. It is also the story of a scholar of science and religion who gradually realizes that global climate change is the most urgent threat that humanity faces.Rampant poverty, social inequalities, the unjust treatment of the global South, each of these is magnified ten or a hundred fold by climate disruption.

Interfaith Collaboration in the Wake of Global Climate Change

by Justin Catanoso

On May 24, 2017 a grim-faced Pope Francis handed a signed copy of Laudato Si to President Trump during his visit to Rome. The U.S. president, who has called climate change “a hoax,” promised to read the papal encyclical, a spiritual and secular plea to save the Earth from environmental destruction. A week later, Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement

Daring to Dream: Religion and the Future of the Earth

by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

There is a dawning realization from many quarters that the changes humans are making on the planet are comparable to the changes of a major geological era. The scientific evidence says we are damaging life systems on Earth and causing species extinction at such a rate as to bring about the end of our current period, the Cenozoic era, and ushering in the Anthropocene.

Oren Lyons - "We Are Part of the Earth"

Solar panels light up Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech

Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

Featured

While We Still Can

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

The decision to devote the September TIO to eco-justice came months before Harvey, Irma, and Jose ravaged the Caribbean, Texas, Florida, and eastern Mexico with torrential wind and water, before all-time heat records in the West sparked hundreds of fires...

Featured

Interfaith News Roundup - September 2017

A Troubled World – Signs of Hope – NAIN Goes to San Diego

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

The Importance of Grassroots Peacebuilding: Apply for the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Marc Barasch

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

TOGETHER: International Day of Peace – September 15, 2017

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

August 14, 2017

Journal 2017, July 2017

July 2017 - Summer Potpourri

The Interfaith Observer

August 14, 2017

Journal 2017, July 2017

Summer Potpourri

July, 15 2017

Featured

Sri Aurobindo: Proposing an Integral Evolution

by Marcus Braybrooke

During times of violence and war, it can seem like humanity is on a downward slide. And yet there are those who look past the present state and envision something greater emerging. Such is the case with Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950).

Involving Creation in the Creation (for kids)

by Vicki Garlock

While numerous creation stories center on how the entire world came to be, others focus on particular aspects of creation. Many stories center on celestial features. How did we get night and day? Why are there clouds? Why is the appearance of the moon constantly changing? Why does the sun appear to move across the heavens?

Teenagers for a More Tolerant Future

by Ryan Polsky

“World Religions” is being taken to a whole new level in high schools across the country. Young interfaith activists are bringing it beyond the classroom to engage not only mind, but heart as well. These young grassroots activists are inspiring their peers to learn about different religions through clubs that promote dialogue and service.

Choosing Friendship

by Patrick McInerney

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” These opening lines from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities could equally describe our times.

Rabbi David Rosen: Building Global Interfaith Communities

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Tension can be at a rolling boil during interfaith encounters, but Rabbi David Rosen, a modern Orthodox Rabbi, born and educated in England, who lives with his family in Israel, has never been intimidated by the heat.

Beyond the Words on a Page

by Megan Weiss

Very few religious, much less interfaith news publications have a related social arm, an active presence in the community they address. But Spokane Faith and Values (SpokaneFāVS), a small digital interfaith news platform in Spokane, Washington is proving it can happen.

What's Love Got to Do With It?

by John Hewko

We’ve all heard of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched to much fanfare in New York in September 2015. Yet less well known are the Bristol Faith Commitments, adopted just a few weeks earlier, when representatives from 24 different faith traditions launched 100 ten-year pledges as a response to the SDGs

On Discovering and Re-Imagining Interfaith

by Bud Heckman

When I first started working for interfaith cooperation, I could not find or figure out much of anything. I was hungry to learn, but it was more intuition, inductive reasoning, and plain old dumb luck of “finding” some of the trails of pioneers that moved me forward in figuring out what interfaith was.

Meet The Neighbors: Hindus of Spokane

Make Friends Across Religions

Featured

Potpourri in the Midst of Disruption

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Potpourri? This month’s TIO, concluding our sixth year of publication, begins with a profile of Sri Aurobindo, an historic, pioneering religious thinker who helped open humankind to the possibility of a peaceful interfaith world.

Featured

July 2017 - Interfaith News Roundup

Coping with Religious Oppression –Progressive Religion Making Progress – More News You May Have Missed

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

The Value of Knowing Your Neighbor

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

In Defense of Multiculturalism

Building and Assessing a Culture of Interfaith Learning

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Amanda Lucia

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

Celebrating URI's First 17 Years

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

July 14, 2017

Journal 2017, June 2017

June 2017 - Interfaith Vitality

The Interfaith Observer

July 14, 2017

Journal 2017, June 2017

Interfaith Vitality

June, 15 2017

Featured

Interfaith Activist Running for Congress

by Audri Scott Williams

Recently I decided to run for political office in 2018 for the state of Alabama. I will be a progressive Democratic candidate in Alabama’s Congressional District 2, for the U.S. House of Representatives. Friends who know me well have asked me, “Why are you running for a political office?”

Reimagining Religion: The 10 Qualities of Creative Communities

by Brie Loskota

We are in a period of flux, a period of rapid and continuous change, where the old order is being torn down, where people are disaffiliating from groups, and where institutional life is being stressed and stretched.

Expect Miracles in Ajmer

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In the heart of the city sits a sprawling central mosque and the burial site, Dargah, of the revered Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty – responsible for bringing Sufism to this part of the world hundreds of years ago.

Forging Community Through Fasting

by Vicki Garlock

Increasingly, both Muslims and non-Muslims are using Ramadan as a chance to forge friendships across religious boundaries. Since iftar is a community meal anyway, it provides a ready-made way to change negative stereotypes about Islam and the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims.

Christian Vitality in an Interfaith Culture

by Bud Heckman

Researchers tell us one of the most important assessments made by young people in sizing up any faith is “authenticity.” They are discerning consumers in a marketplace of ideas. Does this tradition/scripture/institution/leader/group appear authentic? One mark of authenticity is its vitality. Is it “vital” in the sense that it has relevance to the ways of the very diverse world we all now live in? It must pass a sniff test.

Don't Think Twice

by Seán Rose

As an interfaith educator, trainer, and dialogue facilitator, Don’t Think Twice got me thinking about what improv can teach us about intercultural and interfaith work. Here are five principles which I believe can shape and inform great interfaith encounters.

Humankind and Contemplation

by Jeff Genung

From the moment a frustrated Neanderthal said to herself, “How am I supposed to cut this meat without a knife?” to the day Gutenberg’s boss blurted “I need thirty copies of this document by noon,” our species has been creating tools that transform life as we know it.

Featured

Discovering Our Interfaith Vitality

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Oxford Dictionary writers say that vitality is “being strong and active,” and the word comes with all sorts of synonyms – lively, energetic, exuberant, growing, dynamic, enthusiastic…

Featured

Interfaith News Roundup - June 2017

Tourists, Billboards, and 'Just War' Theory – Improving the World

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Building and Assessing a Culture of Interfaith Learning

8 Principles of Interfaith Relations from President Obama

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

Egyptian Copts Refuse to Respond to Killings with Hatred

For Portland Stabbing Victims, Love Prevails

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

June 14, 2017

Journal 2017, May 2017

May 2017 - Interfaith Living

The Interfaith Observer

June 14, 2017

Journal 2017, May 2017

Interfaith Living

May, 15 2017

Featured

Toronto to Host the 7th Parliament of the World's Religions

Press Release

Toronto – acclaimed the most diverse city in the world and home to six million Canadians – has been chosen as the host city of the 7th Parliament of the World’s Religions, to be convened in November 1-7, 2018. The selection of Toronto was made by the Board of Trustees of the governing organization at its April 2017 meeting.

An Excerpt from "The Hundred-Year Walk – An Armenian Odyssey"

by Dawn Anahid MacKeen

The following is a chapter from MacKeen’s book recounting how she finally meets the descendants of Sheikh Hammud al-Aekleh, whose family welcomed in her grandfather, saving his life. Some members of the family that greeted her in 2007 today are Syrian refugees themselves.

TIO is on YouTube! (and a few other things)

by Megan Weiss

TIO is now on YouTube! What is on our channel? Since the launch of TIO’s new website in September 2016, each issue has included “feature videos” which are included in one of that month’s articles or seemed important to share with TIO readers.

Interfaith Living

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Reassessing the Role of the "Senses"

by Donald Miller

We often make the mistake of identifying religious vitality with assent to particular beliefs. In this process, we forget that intellectual assent to beliefs is merely one element of religious experience. I was reminded of this fact recently when I observed the Procession of Santa Ana in Antigua, Guatemala.

Listening as Peacebuilding

by Ana Patel

Last year, while facilitating an experiential peacebuilding workshop, I invited the participants to try a listening exercise. Simple idea – simple activity. Participants were asked to divide into pairs, one listener and one speaker. The listeners were asked to spend three minutes listening to the speaker on climate change – keep eye contact, make encouraging gestures and sounds, but don’t interrupt. Then switch.

What do Clothes Tell Us?

by Marcus Braybrooke

The vicar of the parish where I was a curate always wore a cassock. He said it was “the only classless garment.” He did not wish to be identified with either the wealthy or poorer members of the parish. I had not at the time realised how quickly people form an opinion of you by what you wear.

Living Life as an Interfaith Family

by Vicki Garlock

I often tell people that I have the easiest interfaith job in the world because I work with kids. It’s easy to assume that kids are too young to wonder about life’s “big questions,” but my experience suggests the opposite. Kids frequently have lots of thoughts about how the world came to be, about the nature of the Divine, and about how one might begin to understand and connect with the Great Mystery.

True Grit: A Profile of Marium Mohuiddin

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

You can understand the power of one individual to make a difference when you meet 39 year-old Marium Mohuiddin – feisty, independent, and articulate – proud to be a Muslim and not afraid to take on the big issues of our times.

Interfaith is Political. Interfaith is Personal.

by Bud Heckman

My first memories of interfaith encounters were innocent and rather comical. I grew up in a bubble – an almost exclusively white, Christian, rural/suburban region of Ohio. Everyone that I knew went to church, or so it seemed.

Katy Perry's Not the Only One Who Wants to Live in a Convent

by Megan Sweas

I moved into a convent 10 years ago this summer. My roommates were not Catholic sisters, but other recent college graduates, who sometimes acted a little too much as if we were still living in a college dorm. But most of our time was dedicated to service of our community.

Peacemaking with "the Other"

by Paul Chaffee

What does living life as an ‘interfaith activist’ mean? Millions have joined the cause in recent months, so we can well ask ourselves: What do interfaith activists share in common within our own communities and in the world? A quick, simplistic answer might be that all of us are striving towards peacemaking with ‘the other.’

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Generosity of Spirit and Interfaith Living

by Paul Chaffee

So, what does it mean to live well in an interfaith culture? This issue of TIO suggests that making peace with ‘the other’ is a daily task for all interfaith activists.

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Interfaith News Roundup - May 2017

News You May Not Have Heard – Resisting the Trump Administration – Pope Francis, Continued

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

AGAINST RACISM
Valarie Kaur's plea to her country in the times of Donald J. Trump

BUILDING PEACE IN DIFFICULT TIMES
Learning from global activists

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

8 Principles of Interfaith Relations from President Obama

Report from the 2015 Parliament

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

Out of Many, One

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Mirabai Starr a Second Time

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

International URI Members Attend Interfaith Mangrove Planting

To Concerned Citizens Around the World

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

May 14, 2017

April 2017, Journal 2017

April 2017 - The Interfaith Journey

The Interfaith Observer

May 14, 2017

April 2017, Journal 2017

The Interfaith Journey

April 15, 2017

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Bahá’u’lláh – Founder of the Bahá’í Faith

by Marcus Braybrook

At this turbulent time, we need to hold on to Bahá’u’lláh’s message of hope. Voiced some 150 years ago, it deserves a high place among those who will influence the future story of the human spirit. In his teachings, Bahá’u’lláh anticipated many of the creative developments of the twentieth century.

REPORT: Religion Communicators Convention Dives Deep

by Paul Chaffee

A largely unknown treasure for interfaith activists is the convention held each year by the Religion Communicators Council (RCC). Founded in 1929, the RCC has given annual awards to religious communicators and to secular communicators working on religious subjects since 1949.

The Art of Interfaith Cooperation and the Science of Data

by Bud Heckman

There is something to be said for following your gut. But sometimes those instincts are nothing more than following your own biases and perspective on the world. They reinforce frames that don’t necessarily challenge or change anything.

What if Animals Believe in God?

by Andrew Aghapour

Chimpanzees believe in God. This news, widely reported last year, is only a slight exaggeration. Using hidden cameras, scientists have indeed captured footage of chimpanzee behavior that resembles religious ritual.

The Interfaith Journey

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How the World Came to Be (for Kids)

by Vicki Garlock

The oldest, most common myth in human history is the creation story. These tales – hundreds of them from around the world, help transmit cosmological truths from generation to generation, regardless of whether they are taken literally or symbolically.

An Unexpected Vocation

by Kevin Singer

I remember like it was yesterday; cracking open an old Baptist hymnal to the first hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” (Robinson and Wyeth, 1759). “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace” the first verse begins. The final refrain ends in resounding fashion: “Take my heart Lord, take a seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”

Stepping Stones on My Interfaith Journey

by Megan Weiss

My first step into the interfaith world was an experience I had during a global issues class in high school. My teacher projected an image of a man wearing a turban holding a gun, violence ensuing in the background, and then asked a question: “Is this a terrorist or a man protecting his family?”

A Trail of Thorns

by Jim Burklo

Each spring break, I lead a group of University of Southern California students down to “baja Arizona” for a week to experience the humanitarian realities along the U.S. side of the border with Mexico. We meet with progressive Christian activists.

Bill and Jean Lesher's Lifetime Interfaith Partnership

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In the past 30 years of grassroots labor, I’ve occasionally encountered couples as devoted to interfaith activism as they are to one another. Such is the case of Jean and William Lesher, two people who live, breathe, and exemplify what it means to be in partnership and to share a lifelong commitment to the interfaith movement.

Where We've Been – Where We're Going

by Katherine Marshall

Exploring the interfaith landscape drives home the dynamism and complexity of the array of formal organizations, initiatives, and largely unstructured efforts that fall under a loose interfaith rubric. They come in all sizes and shapes and touch on virtually every area of human endeavor.

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Paying Attention to Your Interfaith Journey

by Paul Chaffee

Let’s stop to remember that each of us journeys with a unique personal faith and interfaith perspective. We’re shaped by who we know – crucial events – major influences – our own unique history – our decisions

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Interfaith News Roundup - April 2017

Global Glimpses – Since Trump's Election – An Interfaith Treat

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Women and Children Stepping Up at Charter for Compassion

I AM – Exhibit of 31 Middle Eastern Women Artists

MAORI CREATION STORY IN SAND ART
Told by indigenous New Zealand sand artist Marcus Winter

AMERICAN MUSLIMS: FACT VS. FICTION
Refuting the distortion of Muslim realities in America

NEWTOWN
Having hope when it seems all is lost

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

Interfaith Partnerships and Emerging Muslim-Jewish Alliances

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Report from the 2015 Parliament

A Statement to the Global Interfaith Community on the Exclusionary Actions of the American Government

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Mirabai Starr a Second Time

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

To Concerned Citizens Around the World

Victor Kazanjian in the Huffington Post

News from URI Great Lakes Africa

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

April 14, 2017

Journal 2017, March 2017

March 2017 - Interfaith Women Collaborating

The Interfaith Observer

April 14, 2017

Journal 2017, March 2017

Interfaith Women Collaborating

March 15, 2017

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Interfaith Activism – A Giant Awakening

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

We are witnessing an awakening in the interfaith movement across the United States unlike anything we have seen since Civil Rights marches 50 years ago. This awakening seems to have surfaced as a direct result of the presidential election and in response to new policies and measures initiated by President Trump in his first 30 days in office.

Religious Leaders Agree to Resistance Agenda

by Bud Heckman

It is an understatement to say that America is in a very tense political situation. The rabble rousing of the political cycle and unpredicted election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States have brought to the forefront very difficult public discussions and challenging situations.

TIO's Library - Formatted, Catalogued, and Ready for "Check-out"

by Megan Weiss

I have always loved libraries. I worked at my hometown library for six years and at one point dreamed of becoming a librarian myself. Now this dream has come true, although in an unexpected way, since never once did I think I would be building a library from the bottom up!

In Memory of Father Albert Nambiaparambil CMI

by Marcus Braybrooke

Father Albert Nambiaparambil, “the prophet of religious harmony,” as The Malayala Manorama, Kerala’s leading newspaper, called him, died on February 6 after a brief illness. He was 86. Albert made an important contribution to interfaith fellowship in Kochi (or Cochin), where he lived for many years...

Interfaith Women Collaborating

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Teaching the Divine Feminine

by Vicki Garlock

The recent celebration of Purim – one of the most entertaining holy days in Jewish culture – provides an opportunity to reflect on the ever-present, but somewhat elusive nature of the divine feminine. Queen Esther, the heroine of Purim, is never described in terms of divinity, but her role in the miraculous deliverance of her people...

About International Women's Day (March 8)

From internationalwomensday.com

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since in the early 1900s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women’s Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity.

Finding Power in Ribbons

A TIO Report

The United Nations is perhaps the most diverse ‘community’ in the world, and yet in its early years it was adverse to anything ‘religious.’ Wasn’t their territory – until Robert Muller (1923-2010), Assistant Secretary-General of the UN for 40 years, slowly brought his interfaith-friendly influence to bear in this family. He is credited with helping the United Nations and its global representatives grow past their religious phobia.

Women Transforming the Globe

From Women's Earth Alliance and United Religions Initiative

URI and WEA come together at a critical time – when efforts to build bridges across nations, learn from each other, and activate people power are needed more than ever. Our partnership enables both organizations to reach deeper and wider, catalyzing a global ripple effect that begins in our communities. The time is now.

The Challenge of Teaching Religious Diversity in America

by Kristen Looney

As protesters fill the streets across the country, clog airports, and march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, many other Americans – on both sides of the partisan divide – take to social media denouncing President Trump’s recent executive order on immigration and refugee policy as un-American. Religious leaders, civic leaders, and elected officials are calling for a reversal of the “Muslim ban"...

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A Sea of Change and a Silver Lining

by Paul Chaffee

From the halls of the White House to community discussion groups, for the past eight years the United States has been generally open and supportive of interfaith dialogue.

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Interfaith News Roundup - March 2017

Demographics – Underreported Interfaith Stories – From the Heart

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

May 8-9: Religion & Citizenship at Canada's 150th

Free Online Interfaith Courses at Harvard

Full Peacemaking Scholarship Offering at Hartford Seminary

THE RIBBON STARTS HERE
from The Ribbon International

WORLD RELIGIONS THROUGH THEIR SCRIPTURES
from Harvard University

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Blog

ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Report from the 2015 Parliament

A Statement to the Global Interfaith Community on the Exclusionary Actions of the American Government

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Varun Soni

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

To Concerned Citizens Around the World

Victor Kazanjian in the Huffington Post

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

March 14, 2017

Journal 2017, February 2017

February 2017 - Rethinking Food & Faith

The Interfaith Observer

March 14, 2017

Journal 2017, February 2017

Rethinking Food & Faith

February 15, 2017

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Sailing Through a Storm

by Ameena Naqvi

The waves crashed softly against the boat, pushing it towards the shore. My grandfather stepped off the boat and tied the rope to the dock. That day my grandfather was going to teach me how to sail. He described sailing as flying over water. It was like freedom to him, to set sail into the wide blue sea and leave his responsibilities on shore. However, I did not see the appeal of sailing as he did.

All I Have Is a Voice

by Marcus Braybrooke

The row over reading verses of the Qur’an in a Cathedral in Scotland has, I gather, reached across the Atlantic. Certainly the Cathedral has had a lot of abusive online messages from the U.S.A. During an Epiphany service at the Cathedral a Muslim law student was invited to read the Qur’anic account of the birth of Jesus, which also says, as Muslims believe, that Jesus was a prophet but not divine.

When Did "Interreligious Dialogue" Begin?

by Thomas Albert Howard

It is hard to find today a major city that does not have an “interfaith” or “interreligious” council or a university that does not sponsor some sort of “dialogue” among world religions. But when and where did “interreligious dialogue” begin? Most scholars would point to Chicago in 1893 when the first “Parliament of the World’s Religions” met in conjunction with the World’s Columbian Exposition of the same year. But most things in history have antecedents.

The Chaplaincy Institute: Pioneering Interfaith Ministry

by John R. Mabry

Andrea paused at the doorway to the hospital room to gather her thoughts. Her last patient had been a Sunni Muslim grandmother who was scared of what her tests might say. This next patient is an atheist who may or may not want to talk to her. After that, she has a Jewish person, and a Seventh Day Adventist. While that kind of rapid-paced paradigm-shifting might cause vertigo in some chaplains, it’s all par for the course for Andrea and others...

Rethinking Food & Faith

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If There is No Bread, There is No Torah

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In the adage “If there is no bread, there is no Torah,” Judaism recognizes that one needs to feed the body before you can feed the soul, because deep learning cannot occur on an empty stomach. The Jewish tradition also recognizes the power of food to enhance the body’s availability to be spiritually nourished.

The Underside of the Food Chain

by Vicki Garlock

Potlucks. Catered events. Happy hours. Home-cooked family dinners. Farm-to-table menus. Carry-out eateries. Fine dining establishments. Many of us enjoy a cornucopia of food options on a regular basis. We can also testify to the social nature of eating with others. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend when discussing her first silent Zen retreat. “It’s was really amazing, but I found mealtimes difficult.

Interfaith Perspectives on Food and Fasting

from the Center of Christian-Muslim Relations of Sydney

“Similar to fasting and abstinence, communal meals play an important seasonal role in the life of the Melkite, that is Greek-Catholic, Church. As a practicing Melkite, my church community often celebrates together with meals on the church grounds, particularly on feast days ...

Sustainable Food and Faith

by Janet McGarry

The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative (ISFC) is a nonprofit organization working in California’s Sonoma and Marin Counties. It gathers clergy and lay-people for monthly roundtable discussions about food and faith. In June 2014, members of Lutheran, Quaker, Congregational, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Episcopal, and Catholic congregations met at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Rosa, California to learn how their congregations could buy food directly from farmers...

Hunger Fighter Retires from Interfaith Food Shuttle

from the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle

(Raleigh, N.C.) After more than 27 years as a trailblazer in hunger relief and food system change, Jill Staton Bullard is leaving the organization she co-founded in 1989. Bullard, co-founder and Emeritus CEO of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, announced in a June 16th all-staff meeting that it was time to retire from day-to-day work at IFFS...

The Slow Food Movement – Revaluing What We Eat

by Paul Chaffee

For those who would love to find some middle ground between the strictures of a vegetarian or vegan diet, on one hand, and the sometime travesties of big agriculture, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), packaged food, and fast food, on the other, the slow food movement may be a satisfying alternative in reflecting on and choosing what you eat and how you eat.

The Unlikely Vegetarian

by Charles P. Gibbs

It seems unlikely that someone who co-founded Tulsa Beef and Feed, a motorcycle “gang,” would become a vegetarian. And, yet, I did; and I did. Here’s the story of an unlikely vegetarian. I was born and raised in the great southwest of the United States – born in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment; and mostly raised in Oklahoma, the Sooner State, puzzlingly named after...

The Ten Commandments of Food

a TIO Report

Religions East and West, conservative and progressive, ancient and new, almost always express their concern for the disinherited, particularly for the hungry. As an ancient Hebrew proverb says, “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” (Proverbs 28:27) Yet despite the injunction and an abundance of food grown on Earth each year, the hunger statistics today are staggering.

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Food, Glorious Food (for those who have it)

by Paul Chaffee

The wonders of ethnic cuisines from around the world and their connections to a community’s religious life make ‘food and faith’ a ripe topic for extended interfaith reflection. But reflecting on food can be troubling.

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Interfaith News Roundup - February 2017

Responding to Donald Trump – Shifts in Religious Influence – Continuing Good News

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Religion Communicators Convention in Chicago March 30-April 1, 2017

NAIN Goes to San Diego This Summer

William Vendley Explores “Visions of Peace 2017”

from Religions for Peace

UNIVERSAL SEDER
Coming together as a community to celebrate Passover

INDIGENOUS TERRA MADRE
Celebrating culture and working toward a sustainable future

TIO'S SUPPORTING PARTNERS

INTERFAITH CENTER AT THE PRESIDIO

BAIC — Bay Area Interfaith Connect

PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS

Report from the 2015 Parliament

A Statement to the Global Interfaith Community on the Exclusionary Actions of the American Government

RELIGIONS FOR PEACE – USA

SPIRIT MATTERS

Interviewing Dena Merriam

UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE

To Concerned Citizens Around the World

Victor Kazanjian in the Huffington Post

USC OFFICE OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Mindfulness at USC

The Interfaith Observer

February 14, 2017

Journal 2017, January 2017

January 2017 - Empowering Yourself, Empowering the 'Other'

The Interfaith Observer

February 14, 2017

Journal 2017, January 2017

Empowering Yourself, Empowering the 'Other'

January 15, 2017

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Huston Smith – The Passing of a Giant in Our Midst

by Paul Chaffee

If Swami Vivekananda’s clarion voice at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions introduced us to the challenge of living happily in an interfaith world, it was Huston Smith’s voice in The Religions of Man (1958) which taught us what that meant.

Stuck on the Spiritual Spectrum

by Philip Goldberg

A dispute at a small evangelical college; the death of a Supreme Court Justice; the presidential election campaign – these and other recent events remind me, yet again, that our religious attitudes and spiritual orientations are almost infinitely diverse. Not only are there vast differences among adherents of every tradition, but also diversity within the diversity within the diversity.

Interfaith's Role in Empowerment

by Vicki Garlock

Empowerment comes in a dizzying array of forms. It might involve building a water well, playing in a rock band, practicing martial arts, or owning a scooter. But what happens when one person’s empowerment triggers another’s moral outrage?

They Found Faith in Interfaith Lives

by Lucy Gellman

Sitting in a drafty, castle-like Presbyterian church on Easter Sunday with my partner’s family, I could feel anxiety bubbling up with each hymn I didn’t know. Around us, the white walls of his church stretched out toward the ceiling like long, sinister fingers. The organ struck a round note. A light wind pressed at the side door, rattling its heavy handles.

Ethics in the Swamp: the Rot of Corruption

by Katherine Marshall

Corruption is a live topic today. Since 2005, international anti-corruption day has been “celebrated” on December 9, in hopes that a visible day marking the topic can raise awareness about corruption and bolster a sense that something can be done to combat and prevent it.

Michael Servetus – the Martyred Interfaith Prophet

by Marcus Braybrooke

Michael Servetus, who wrote for Jews and Muslims as well as Christians, has been called by Jerome Friedman, “a prophet of interfaith dialogue.” He was a man of prodigious intellect, a scientist and a free-thinking theologian

Religious Pluralism is God's Will

by Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Most college students have at one time or another asked, ‘If there is only one God why are there so many religions?’ This is a good question that I as a Rabbi have often been asked.This is my answer. The Qur’an declares that Allah could have made all of us monotheists, a single religious community, but didn’t in order to test our commitment to the religion that each of us have been given by God.

REPORT: Youth Organize "Words Matter (Stop Hate)" Conference

from URI-Europe

The conference Words Matter (Stop Hate) was held on Friday, November 18, 2016, at City College in Coventry, UK. This conference was initiated for a reason; following the UK EU referendum to leave the EU, there has been an increase in hate speech and crime. Especially amongst young people, there has been an increase of online hate speech and an increase of tension in and between communities, thus harming the region’s harmony and prosperity.

"Policing in Today's Multi-Faith New York"

by Henry Goldschmidt

Imagine you’re an officer in the New York City Police Department. It’s Friday night, and you’re working on a block that’s closed for police activity. A young woman wearing a long, modest skirt and full-sleeved blouse says she lives on the block and needs to get past the police line. You ask for identification to check her address, and she tells you bluntly, “I can’t carry ID on Shabbos – it’s against the Torah.” Is she for real, or maybe up to something?

Ruminations on Em-Powerment

by Frederica Helmiere

After my second child was born, I found myself yearning for a hearty dose of vocational discernment. Perhaps it was the presence of this new little life in our home that compelled me to reassess my own life’s calling, or perhaps it was a general growing dissatisfaction with my work that I could no longer ignore.

A Muslim Reminds Americans of their Birthright

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Who could have predicted that a Muslim immigrant, Khizr Kahn, known by family and friends as a gentle, soft-spoken man, would make history on the fourth and final night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention or that he would become one of the most sought-after speakers in the country – especially on the Interfaith circuit?

On Dinner Parties and Self-worth

by Noorjehan Asim

The moment I sat down at the dinner table, a little voice in my head began to scream. My instincts told me to run, but my body ignored them. I remained glued to the posh furniture that lined the hallway. Dining with Mr. Richard Olson, the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, was bound to be harrowing for any 15-year-old looking to make a lasting impression.

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Empowerment for Goodness Sake

by Paul Chaffee

Empowerment is a tricky word, wrapping itself around a particularly complex word – power. For half a century empowerment has been popular cultural theme, particularly in management circles, albeit not without controversy.

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