The most tragic pattern in the history of world religions is the habitual violent suppression and genocide of Indigenous, Aboriginal, Earth-based religions by large, institutional religions. The best ‘first fruit’ of the interfaith movement over the past 20 years is the growing recognition of this travesty, first steps at reconciliation, and, finally, access to the spiritual wisdom woven into these traditions that the world badly needs.
American Academy of Religion Opens Door to Interreligious Studies
It all began when I sat next to Prof. Barbara McGraw at an Interfaith Youth Core conference in Chicago in 2009. We were both impressed by the energy and passion of the religiously diverse young people gathered to talk about models of interfaith cooperation. Having helped launch the IFYC in my younger days and now learning the ropes of academic life in my position at Andover Newton Theological School, it struck me how powerful it would be to combine the scholarly depth of the academy with the passion of the interfaith movement. Barbara looked at me and suggested simply, “what about starting a new area at the AAR (American Academy of Religion) focused on interfaith work?”
Virtual Tools for Building Interfaith Communities
Happy Black History month! TIO’s theme this month is new models of interfaith community. So it seems appropriate to explore different social media platforms supporting interfaith engagement, particularly with the younger generation. These five resources are the tip of the iceberg in terms of new social media platforms. But they are the most popular, free, and accessible social media resources, providing good ways to start for anyone beginning to explore social media platforms.
Crafting Costa Rica’s Commitment to Peace with Mother Earth
Stunned silence followed when nine year-old Grace’s innocent question was repeated by her mother during a working session of a Peace Summit held in San Jose, Costa Rica, last December.
40 Years of Interfaith Activism as Political Lobby
Disagreement seems to be the norm in politics these days. From what to do about the fiscal cliff and the right way to balance budgets to foreign policy decisions and health care, consensus is nowhere to be found. Compromise is a teeth-grinding, inch-by-inch process.
Pachamama – Renewing Our Love Affair with Mother Earth
Around 1995 an intact and healthy aboriginal community’s pristine Amazonian environment was threatened by development companies looking for oil, minerals, and other resources. The Achuar people of Ecuador are a “dream culture”; their leaders began to perceive in their visions that they needed to connect with like-minded spirits among people of the very same developed world which was threatening them.
First Steps in Building a Global Interfaith Community
Death, destruction and United Nations preventive military efforts often command public and media attention. The other purposes and activities of the U.N. – concentrating, for instance, on developing respect for rights, preventing discrimination, economic development, and cultural coexistence – receive less attention.
Interfaith Immersion in the Big Apple
Faith House Manhattan, where I serve as executive director, has announced a new turn in our work, a development I believe will be the catalyst for similar programs elsewhere. But first let me share the journey that led to this latest experiment with experiential interfaith work.
New Interfaith Communities – a Wonder to Behold
The best evidence of interfaith community emerging globally this month was the third celebration of World Harmony Week, proposed in 2010 at the United Nations by H.M. King Abdullah II of Jordan. Thousands of celebrations were held this year to huge press coverage. Google “World Harmony Week” today and 67.3 million responses pop up. Terrific news! TIO’s stories this month show why what is happening so much bigger than the numbers.
On the Birth, Death, and Rebirth of Community
Community has always been one of those important words with dozens of meanings, each with its own history, issues, and values. And in a world which increasingly resembles a global village, issues of community have become more complex.
Love is the Means and the End
I approached this book with high hopes and some trepidation. I longed for interspirituality when I had no name for it. I knew I wanted more than interfaith dialogue, useful as that is as a starting place. I am usually disappointed when authors compare faiths. My experience of heavily negative criticism of Christianity and blithe misinformation makes me wary.
Five Interfaith Resources to Make 2013 a Green Year!
Happy New Year! While everyone is still thinking about New Year’s resolutions, why not consider making 2013 the year you reduced your carbon footprint and helped the community at large by planting a sustainable vegetable garden.
The Heart of My Grandfather
Detroit, where I was born, formed, and raised, straddles a bittersweet line between two worlds. It is a place where the American Dream has already died four or five different times. It is a spent shell from its days as the “arsenal of democracy.” As I visited my family during a recent holiday trip, the starkness of this reality took on a deeper clarity. Walking and driving through the city, I came upon the supremely haunting vision of the burnt-out yet still elegant remains of the old Michigan Central Station. Pete and Frank’s, a grocery store my mom and her mom had scoured for bargains for nearly 50 years, is now empty and on the auction block.
Just Sign Up for the Goodies?
I was prepared not to like this book. I did not disagree with the author’s core belief that, in the words of Brother Wayne Teasdale, there is a “shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.” Nor did I have trouble with naming that heart “interspiritual.”
Faithful to the Truth
Mirabai Starr speaks of the great tree of monotheism with its roots entrenched in the immutable soil of the metaphysical truth of love and its trunk extending heavenwards.
Elijah Interfaith Leaders Claim Hope as a Shared Principle
The Elijah Interfaith Institute is a multinational organization dedicated to fostering peace among the world's diverse faith communities through interfaith dialogue, education, research, and dissemination. Its unique programming generates interfaith dialogue at the highest levels, bringing together world religious leaders and renowned scholars the world over, through research projects, public conferences, and community-based initiatives. Its abiding commitment to harmony in the holy land finds many expressions, including Hope Booklet published in support of hundreds of [Eliijah Interfaith Institute leaders looking across Jerusalem.] peacebuilding activities around the world last month.
SARAH Celebrates 10 Years
Eleven years ago I awoke to the unbelievable imagery of a catalytic shock to our world, a wake up call inspiring millions of people to co-create a new world. In particular, it would be the activating yeast mobilizing women to embrace leadership in a familiar but long forgotten way.
Sacred Ground by Eboo Patel: A Review
With Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America, Eboo Patel establishes himself as the preeminent voice of the interfaith movement. The book is about the “promise of American pluralism,” because, “Simply put, it is people who have protected the promise of pluralism from the poison of prejudice.” Patel unabashedly notes that “the main character” in this book “is the one I love the most – America.”
Mirabai Starr – An Interview about Writing God of Love
Mirabai Starr’s new book, God of Love – A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, will be disconcerting to many in an arena that seems sometimes to have been written to death – the complexities of the Abrahamic faiths. The interconnections Starr explores seem novel but obvious at first. As the interconnections accumulate, though, familiar sacred texts become powerful and compelling in new ways, a source of hope for those who’ve concluded that Abrahamic violence is forever intractable.
The Beloved Community in the Face of Violence
This story was originally posted in Huff Post Religion on July 7, 2012, following the tragic violence at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Entering 2013, Susan Baller-Shephard’s story about the Sikh community continues to resonate and offer lessons for us all. Ed.