If ‘interfaith’ is considered a big tent, you might say it covers the whole of humankind and our relationships, includes indeed all that lives, according to so many traditions. The 21st century really is different because we’re much more connected with each other, and our networks grow each day. So many changes in a few years, so many strangers who’ve become friends!
"Top 10 Things You Must Know About ..."
During the month of February, Religions for Peace USA (RfPUSA) is releasing a series of short educational videos inspired by World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW). The videos are viewable here.
In 2014, RfPUSA and the El-Hibri Foundation (EHF) co-sponsored a “Best of Interfaith Webinar Series” for WIHW, featuring leading experts in the field. A short summary video of the highlights from that series is available here and the whole series is viewable here.
Appreciating the Gifts in Our Midst
Exploring Prayer, and an Answer to Prayer Named Pope Francis
Taking ‘In Our Diversity is Our Strength’ Seriously
From Darwin to Zygon – Signs of Reconciliation
“Who isn’t at the table?”
“Who isn’t at the table?” Father Gerry’s Irish brogue pressed the question so often that it became a kind of mantra for the leaders of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in its formative years. “Who isn’t here yet?” P. Gerard O’Rourke has given more than half a century to grassroots and global interfaith relationships. His everyday passion for inclusivity helped inspire the Interfaith Center to invite an atheist to its board ten years ago. Henry Baer accepted that invitation and proved to be a leader whose interfaith passion and generosity enrich the cause in the San Francisco Bay area.
Secular Religion Not an Oxymoron
Is secular religion a contradiction in terms? The popular answer would be: ‘‘Of course! Religion can’t be secular, or it wouldn’t be religion.’’
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.
What Light Can Do for Life
On any given day you can make a strong case for feeling bad – the recession, lying politicians, street violence, war, climate change, corruption, starters on a list that goes on and on. The miracle of life, though, is that even in dark times the sources of light insist on themselves like flowers blooming in spring. Sometimes sunshine rules, and we forget the pain and difficulties, captivated by what light can do for life.
Spirituality in the 21st Century
How the Digital Revolution is Changing Who We Are
High technology’s new digital tools are a blessing for faith communities and the interfaith movement everywhere. At the local level, e-mail, websites, databases, and social media are quickly displacing the time and expense of poster production, paper newsletters, fliers, and snail-mail. At the national and international levels, new powers have been vested for those who have been voiceless in the public square, a clear opportunity for NGOs and communities of faith and practice. They have been scrambling to respond: surveys suggest that approximately 250,000 of the 335,000 religious congregations in the U.S. have websites today.
Learning About Interfaith Every Which Way
As with so much mainstream media, stories about religious education usually shine a bright light on particular problems – science versus creationism in the classroom, lawsuits over textbooks, prayer in public schools, renting space to religious groups, upset atheists – so many problems, so many conflicts.
Making it Happen in an Interfaith World
The interfaith movement is full of high hope and good intentions. But as T.S. Eliot put it, “Between the idea… and the act falls the shadow.” After enthusiasm and inspiration die down, the heavy lifting (and real satisfaction) comes in actually embodying our visions, working seedtime to harvest, and sustaining our commitment over the long term. TIO’s stories this month are about interfaith activists with those qualities, people who “get it done” and “make it happen” in a variety of contexts.
Getting To Know You
Without shared service, interfaith dialogue achieves very little. This interfaith commonplace is good advice for anyone committed to a healthy interfaith future. Dozens of TIO articles this past year draw their power from collaborative efforts among those who were strangers and now active in a larger family.
Identifying Interfaith’s Collaborative Imperative
A year ago “Social Justice” was chosen as the theme for the May 2012 issue of TIO. That developed into “The Big Issues – Peace, the Earth, Economics, and…” As we gathered material for this vast, still imprecise, amorphous arena, new issues emerged, along with the confirmation, over and over, that the big issues facing humankind and our future are interwoven, even interdependent.
Hearing the Emerging Voices, Including Your Own
Dynamic grassroots interfaith activities depend on our hearing the ‘voice’ of everyone participating. This can seem tedious and unnecessary in communities which have depended on clergy, teachers, experts, and trustees to do most of the talking and make most of the decisions. Without participatory inclusion, though, do not expect any sustainable vitality to develop. This learning about inclusivity surfaces in a number of this month’s stories.
“Meaning” Brings Everyone to the Table
Human beings, gifted with consciousness, have no choice but to explain, at least to ourselves, what life means. Even “meaninglessness” qualifies as a definition of meaning, as when Shakespeare’s King Macbeth cries out that life “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Easy for the King to say. Prey to his own worst instincts and reduced to violent tyranny, Macbeth’s “nothing” comes between hearing that his partner in crime, Lady Macbeth, has committed suicide, and his own beheading.
TIO at the American Academy of Religions
For anyone interested in religion, the American Academy of Religion annual meetings are an embarrassment of riches. What was new in San Francisco this year as 10,000 scholars, students, publishers, and advocates gathered was the unprecedented presence of interfaith studies. Professor Diana Eck from Harvard’s Pluralism Project, who served as president of AAR 2005-06, helped legitimize interreligious studies academically. Five years later the progress is encouraging for anyone interested in bridge-building among religious, spiritual traditions. Interfaith workshops, panels, and receptions punctuated the all four days of meetings last month.