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?”
Bowled Over by Emerging Interfaith Voices
The cornucopia of interfaith resources coming online each day can be an embarrassment of riches. With so many saying so much, to whom do I turn? The plan for TIO’s March issue was to highlight exemplary “emerging voices” in the global interfaith community. Enough good material showed up to justify dedicating both March and April issues of TIO to important, largely unknown, voices emerging from interfaith sources.