Dear TIO Reader,
GIWA – The Global Interfaith WASH Alliance
An ambitious Hindu inspired venture aspires to global impact through an interfaith alliance centered on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
A Conversation in Bangladesh about Religion and Women’s Roles
Secular and religious perspectives on gender roles and the meaning of women’s rights vary in different societies and can be a focus of considerable tension. Development practitioners often argue that women’s equal rights, including girls’ access to education, employment, and health care, are so fundamental that they amount to a litmus test of serious commitment to social progress. But lingering doubts are often framed in religious arguments.
Religions for Peace USA at the Parliament
The Parliament of the World Religions gathers in Salt Lake City, Utah this October 15th-19th, and many of RfP USA’s religious communities will be presenting their work. Religions for Peace USA will be featured on two panels, we hope to see you there supporting our work. Don’t miss this chance to learn more and connect!
KAICIID Launches Peace Mapping Program
As world leaders prepared to adopt the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” at the United Nations on September 25-27, the Vienna-based International Dialogue Centre, known as KAICIID, launched the “Peace Map” in New York City: At the heart of its first phase, the Peace Map offers an interactive database of over 400 organizations that work to promote interreligious dialogue around the world.
Talking about Disgraced
One of the great things about this play is it’s going to lead to fantastic post-theater discussions and arguments
Our Muslim Neighbor
Creating a Community of Inclusion in Middle Tennessee Join us for this unique opportunity to learn from leading authorities on Islamophobia, community, and welcoming our Muslim neighbor. To register for this conference please visit: https://faithandculturecenter.org/fall-conference/
New Encyclopedia of Asian American Religion Celebrated
Graduate Theological Union faculty members and other contributors will celebrate the publication of their encyclopedia Asian American Religious Cultures at a special event this coming October 1, 2015. The editors and authors will share their insights on Asian American spirituality and on the project.
Finding Meaning in the Mess
Environmental degradation, air pollution, animal extinction … how can we be good caretakers of our planet without becoming overwhelmed by the magnitude of these issues? How can scholars and religious communities respond to the call issued by 2014 president of the American Academy of Religion and GTU alum, Dr. Laurie Zoloth, to help fight climate change?
Why is the Parliament of the World’s Religions Important?
Anyone who has attended one or more of the modern Parliaments (starting with the 1993 centennial celebration in Chicago) comes away with a multitude of stories and new friendships. Being with thousands of interfaith activists, by itself, tends to change your perspective on the world. TIO asked leaders from the interfaith movement to share with us briefly what they think is important about the Parliament of the World’s Religions. For a longer response, see Marcus Braybrooke’s reflection in this TIO on attending all the modern Parliaments.
A Brief History of the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions
This brief history is reprinted from the Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology edited by William Wildman. This excerpt is the opening section of an entry that also surveys the themes of the Parliament and its legacy. You will find a bibliography there and footnotes for the various quotations.
NAIN Heads to Regina Next Month
“Restoring Spirit through Sacred Listening” is the theme of this year’s North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) Connect, July 19-22, being held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is being planned by an thoroughly interfaith coalition of leaders, with strong input from First Nations communities.
Center for Swedenborgian Studies
The Center for Swedenborgian Studies will become an affiliate of the Graduate Theological Union on July 1, 2015 after partnering with Pacific School of Religion as a House of Studies since 2001. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was an eighteenth-century Swedish scientist who was also an active member of Sweden’s national parliament. He underwent a dramatic mid-life spiritual crisis that resulted in a vocational change from one as a natural philosopher and government official to that of secluded biblical revelator and Christian prophet.
The Shifting Sands of Religion in the United States
Last month Pew Research Center for Religion and Public Life published “America’s Changing Religious Landscape,” based on 35,071 interviews done between June and September last year, and comparing the new data with a similar survey in 2007.
New Options for Interreligious Studies
The GTU is a great place to study different religious traditions. Resources abound for students interested in Christianity (Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox), Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, and now Hinduism and Sikhism. But in today’s increasingly pluralistic world, many students come to the GTU not to study any single tradition but to explore the connections between two or more of them. Students may be interested in Muslim-Jewish relations, or Buddhist-Christian dialogue, or the history of interaction between Hinduism and Sikhism. Or they want to learn how different religious traditions address a critical contemporary issue such as climate change or religious violence.
New CEO Selected by the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Daniel Hostetler began as the new executive director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions on April 20. Hostetler brings more than 30 years experience in corporate consultancy and non-profit management, most recently directing operations and finance with the Dupage-Aurora World Relief in Illinois, an international Christian nonprofit supporting refugees and immigration issues.
“Heartbeat” Brings Israeli-Palestinian Music to Tennessee
What is truly amazing about Heartbeat is not their music. It is the way they make their music. A group of ten 14-22 year olds, all of them but one an Israeli citizen, often proclaim that their music is simply a medium for a deeper message. Clearly inspired by a desire to love across boundaries of race, religion and ethnicity, the members proudly observe that what they are doing is anathema in many of their home communities. They are embracing the other in a way that is both constructive and creative.
Renouncing the Doctrine of Discovery/Reclaiming Mother Earth
Hidden Seeds of Natural Healing & Curing was held last July, a gathering of 33 indigenous representatives from six continents, including two youth, ages 13 and 14, a council of leaders gathered to reflect on the global situation they and their peoples face. Hosted by United Religions Initiative’s Global Indigenous Initiative, participants met for three days near Napa Valley in Northern California.
Dalai Lama and Karen Armstrong to Keynote 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Dr. Karen Armstrong will be keynoters at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions, to be held October 15-19, 2015 in Salt Lake City. The theme of the Parliament is “Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity: Working Together for a World of Compassion, Peace, Justice, and Sustainability.”
The Shifting Terrain of Interfaith Relationship
TIO: As a second-generation American Muslim, raised in Chicago, with a doctorate from Oxford, you are an examplar of meeting the challenge of growing up in one culture and navigating the culture we share today. Your books unpack the complexities of ‘growing up Muslim in America’ beautifully, vividly. And today you relate to thousands of young people in American universities and colleges, coming into constant contact with second-generation religious minorities. Could you share the biggest challenges they face collectively?