.sqs-featured-posts-gallery .title-desc-wrapper .view-post

June 2018

And the Enemy is Interfaith

And the Enemy is Interfaith

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

“It makes me crazy!” my pastor cried out, more than once, in last week’s sermon. She was responding to a New York Times article about American Christian nationalism she’d read the day before.

Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror

Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror

by Richard Reoch

The Buddha was no stranger to genocide. His own people, the Sakyas, were the victims of mass slaughter. One of the final acts of his life, recounted in the opening verses of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, was to refuse a request to give his blessing to an act of genocide.

Preparing the Heart for Engagement

Preparing the Heart for Engagement

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

There is one particular passage in the Torah, in the tenth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, that both disturbs and delights me. For centuries it has provoked lively debate and wide-ranging interpretations among our sages and rabbis.

Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids

Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids

by Vicki Garlock

The interfaith movement is all about bringing people together. Most of the time we focus on adults, and social justice issues. Don’t get me wrong. I fully support any and all interfaith efforts. But we need to do more, and we need to do it better.

Where do we go from Here?

Where do we go from Here?

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

As a kid growing up in Punjab, India my first formative engagement with interfaith understanding was with a high school friend who was Muslim.

Naming, Growing, and Collaborating

Naming, Growing, and Collaborating

by Marcus Braybrooke

What’s in a name? In June, the Three Faiths Forum, founded 21 years ago in the UK, is changing its name to the Faith & Belief Forum. This reflects the way its work has expanded to include people of all faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious. 

Opening the Door to Collaboration

Opening the Door to Collaboration

by Paul Chaffee

The most important thing to know about Reimagining Interfaith (RI), the upcoming conference in Washington DC (July 28-August 1), is how collaborative it is.

Reimagining Interfaith Narratives

Reimagining Interfaith Narratives

by Aaron Stauffer

Good organizers consistently emphasize the importance of leaders “understanding” and “working” on their stories. When they are first getting to know a leader, they ask questions like: What keeps you up at night?

Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"

Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"

by Maha Elgenaidi

After decades of leading a national nonprofit that counters bigotry through education, I am now firmly convinced that we need new partners to overcome racism, Islamophobia, and exclusivist thinking in our nation.

From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity

From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity

by Kathleen A. Green

Three years ago, I shared my idea for a doctorate of ministry dissertation – bringing humanists and religious adherents together in interfaith engagement – and received some blank stares, a few shaking heads, and even a couple of flat out discouraging declarations such as “What’s the point?

Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World

Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World

by Jason Pitzl-Waters

For modern Paganism as a movement to effectively interface with the rest of the world’s religions, we have to be conscious of how we are progressing with Pagan ecumenical and intrafaith initiatives.

Welcoming Marginalized Traditions

Welcoming Marginalized Traditions

by Hans Gustafson

Marginalized traditions, including contemporary Paganisms and Earth-based traditions, are beginning to be welcomed to the table of interreligious engagement in pockets around the U.S. However, the rest of us can still be more welcoming.

Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test

Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test

by Kevin Singer

In the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, a controversial guru from India and his followers attempt to build a utopian society in Wasco County, Oregon.