Two years ago I sat in a room crowded with 300 angry people and 700 more outside shouting, and I nervously whispered, “I’ve never been in a room where I’ve felt so much white Christian rage.”eMy colleague, a pastor from Pulaski, Tennessee, nodded as I straightened up in my chair.
U.S. Senior Religious Leaders Convene on Race and Violence
The moments are few and far between when senior-level religious leaders of most religious communities get the chance to spend a whole day with grassroots community organizers working to end structural racism and religious prejudice.
Nicholas Hayes – What Defines a Millennial Interfaith Leader
Michael Hayes of Criterian Institute is the second young leader interviewed in this three-part series with Millennial leaders in the interfaith movement. To see the first, with Jen Bailey of Faith Matters Network, click here.
Rev. Jennifer Bailey – What Defines a Millennial Interfaith Leader?
Often in the interfaith movement, we speak about the changes in the religious landscape and the impact these sociological, religious and political shifts have on the movement. Rarely, however, do we get the chance to hear from young leaders of the movement who spend time thinking about and challenging our expectations of what it means to be a leader in the interfaith movement today.
Neuropeace: Putting Science to Work for Peace
Imagine this elephant picture as the human brain. The rider on top – he represents conscious processes. Out of all of the brain’s activity, he seemingly directs everything, allowing us to “know” what we are doing. The rest of the elephant? It represents the unconscious aspects of our brain, the parts that we don’t have so much information about. Surprising, isn’t it? Here we thought that we lived in a rational age where cognitive science had at least figured out much of what there is to know about the brain. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.
Collective Impact and Islamophobia
I was first introduced to Middle Tennessee two years ago when I attended a community meeting addressing hate crimes against Muslims. What was planned to be a small group of concerned citizens turned out to be a behemoth of a gathering: more than 1,000 protestors arrived from neighboring states and beyond, led by Islamophobe Pamela Geller and her Act! for America.
The Joys of Interfaith in Hard Times
As we take stock of 2014, it can be difficult locating the joys of interfaith peacebuilding. The state of interreligious relations and social justice work in the U.S. is at a crucial turning point. It seems that our social fabric is increasingly being cut away by decaying trust in democratic social and civic institutions. It is up to leaders of faith and good will to take the helm, proclaim a way forward together and provide for alternative visions of life together in the U.S.
Muslim Students Exploring 'Religion and Science'
Why Democracy Needs the Interfaith Movement
Five Students Travel the World Promoting Interreligious Activity
A Faithful Democratic Response to Immigration Reform
The intersection of citizenship and immigration is finally coming to the fore in national conversations. President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union message forcefully addressed immigration. On its heels came the Group of Six’s immigration reform bill. Pieces in The New York Times and The Nation, respectively on immigration and workers’ rights and deportation and detention halts, stand out as worthy markers.