The proliferation of ‘interfaith resources’ is an embarrassment of riches. Googling the matter draws more than 5 million items in under half a second. And most at the top of the list are sectarian products – that is, interfaith resources created by this, that, or the other faith tradition – even when it is not obvious. So how do you find the best resources available? How can you find trustworthy information? Here are three ways to start.
The Bigger Picture
Before finding your favorite resource websites, take a gander at the bigger picture. The web opens up a pool of religious and interreligious resources vast beyond imaging. Still, it’s possible to get some sense of the scope. On the religion page at Allport, an internet news aggregator, 400 article titles from nearly a hundred religious or interreligious publications are listed, surveying the past three months in the world’s overall religious press. Browse the titles and you are likely to find interesting publications from new-to-you traditions; each title links to a full article.
By contrast, the smart way to begin exploring The Pluralism Project at Harvard University is to schedule a couple of uninterrupted hours for the pleasure. The website is a huge library about religious pluralism, particularly in the United States, packed with dozens of resources and links to more detailed information. For serious students of interreligious relationship, it should be part of the digital bookshelf you keep close at hand. One section by itself, the Religious Diversity Newsfeed , offers two dozen newsfeeds, depending on your interests. Click into your interest group, “Interfaith,” for instance, or your particular faith tradition, and find out what the world is talking about.
Your Particular Interest
On the other hand, your interest may lie in a particular arena of interfaith culture. Take enough browsing time to identify a major stakeholder in your arena, one you can trust. If you are interested in religious concerns about the environment, for example, the Interfaith Consortium for Ecological Civilization could be such a place. Why? It is a consortium, which means it has a collaborative strategy and isn’t the hobby-horse of a particular group. The Consortium is directed by the widely respected Temple of Understanding, one of the world’s first international interfaith organizations. And the Consortium is vision driven, offering resources, opportunities, and connections for anyone who cares deeply about the Earth and wants to engage religious communities in the cause.
If spirituality rather than religion attracts you, an excellent site is Spirituality & Practice . Developed by Frederick and Mary Ann Brussart, it introduces several dozen teachers from different traditions, surveys a variety of resources, posts dozens of different spiritual study and retreat opportunities, and circulates a newsletter.
Interfaith Activists
For grassroots interfaith activists engaged in their own local groups and causes, a tide of excellent resources has come in. Two sites are particularly well-suited to find those ‘irreplaceable’ resources that vitalize day-to-day interfaith interaction. Andrew Kille , in San Jose, California, and Terry Weller , in Aurora, Canada, outside of Toronto, are pioneers in publishing grassroots interfaith information, news, and resources on the web.
Andy’s resource list grew out of the monthly e-newsletter he edits, the Bay Area Interfaith Connect, a publication of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio. His continually updated list surveys all manner of books, videos, curricula, websites, organizations, and events. Likewise, Terry’s resource list grows out of the Interfaith Unity Newsletter, a Canadian monthly that surveys international as well as Canadian interfaith activities and resources. Together these two lists are a better interfaith source than any bookstore on the planet.
In the future TIO will survey exemplary interfaith publications and news sources.