by Clement Awanfe Ngueto
Global Compassion is an interfaith group composed of Christian, Muslim, and various Indigenous representatives drawn from more than 200 ethnic groups and linguistic expressions in western Africa’s Cameroon.
From the Field
from URI CC’s
Becoming a URI Cooperation Circle (CC) entails being a group of at least seven people, representing at least three religious traditions, and committed to a Charter whose purpose is…
Voices of Hope
by URI Members
The United Religions Initiative enjoys a kind of latitude and scope that invites the whole world in, but does so while honoring each of us and where we come from. That approach makes it a very personal
Faith Communities Stand Together Regarding Nuclear Weapons
Religion News Service Press Release
On October 16, Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons, a group of diverse faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world
To New Zealanders and Muslims Everywhere
Today we grieve with those affected by the mosque shootings in New Zealand. We grieve for the 49 lives lost and the pain of those who remain. We grieve for the fear and loss of a sense of safety that live on in the aftermath. And we grieve for the hatred that seeps into hearts leading to tragedies like this one.
Collaborative Compassion: A Secular Perspective
by Chris Highland
One sunny Bay Area afternoon I was walking down a sidewalk under shade trees with my class of developmentally disabled adults.
Faith and Water: Thinking, Acting and Living for a Healthy Future
by Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati
The cycle of life is intricately linked to water. From our first nine months swimming in a womb to our ashes being immersed in a sacred river or scattered across the ocean…
Caring for Creation: First Nations Teachings and Survival
by Louise Mangan
There is a longer and lovelier story about the Earth than most of us have been taught. This older wisdom story is grounded in the beauty and goodness of the natural world.
GreenSpirit: Where Green and Sacred Meet
by Marian Van Eyk McCain
A friend of mine who lives deep in a forest and is both an eco-activist and a practising Pagan once remarked to me rather ruefully
Rooting Environmental Action in the Islamic Faith
by Kamran Shezad
In September 2018, the Bahu Trust in Birmingham, United Kingdom, won ‘Best Green Initiative’ at the British Beacon Mosque Awards. The Bahu Trust represents 22 mosques around the country.
A Plea for the Sake of Us All
from Voices for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons
This summer, two events of nuclear significance happened. First, North Korea successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated greater reach and sophistication, signaling that, soon, it will have the capacity to drop nuclear weapons on the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. Second, at the United Nations, 122 nations of the world voted “never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devises.”
Highway to Paris
As we move towards the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP 21) in Paris, there are still a few people living in denial about climate change. The good news is that increasing numbers of people are now acknowledging climate change. But the bad news is that this increase is proportional to the climate-change impacts we are facing, and nature will continue to act.
How a Year with Trappist Monks Led Me to The Citizens’ Climate Lobby
I’m a Mennonite Christian with strong Unitarian Universalist leanings. I was raised Presbyterian and discovered Mennonites in an unusual setting, preparing the way for my involvement in interfaith environmental advocacy.
To Be Your Khalifa
They say many people have a calling in life. Well, I knew from a very young age that my calling was to protect the ocean.
Faiths for Earth Campaign Launched
Join Your Name to the Global Climate Movement
On the evening of Sunday December 7, faith communities around the world staged vigils, calling for climate action. These vigils were organized through the Our Voices campaign, a global multi-faith campaign expressing the moral imperative behind climate change, of which Religions for Peace USA is a continental partner.
Why Hindu Americans Should Care about Advocacy
About seven years ago, I found myself in the rather awkward situation of having to describe advocacy to my Hindu friends. I had just left a consulting job to join the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) as a fulltime staff member. Speaking with Jewish or Christian friends was easy: they generally nodded their heads in understanding when I explained that HAF is an advocacy group for the Hindu American community. But the response from most of my Hindu friends was a blank stare. And my attempts to explain the breadth of HAF’s advocacy efforts – from education and curriculum reform to media outreach to human rights – barely did anything to alleviate their confusion.
The Challenge of ISIS in America: Perspectives of Interfaith Leaders and Peacebuilders
A complex history of religious, political, and ethnically based conflict has now thrust the world into a wrenching conversation around the significance of a terrorist organization calling itself the Islamic State (known by other acronyms such as ISIL or ISIS or simply IS). Here in the U.S., this conversation has broadened to a more volatile discussion around religion, secularization, Islam and human rights.
Allen Downey and the Internet & Religion Debate
This past April, Allen Downey, a professor of computer science at Olin College of Engineering, published his study on the relationship between Internet use and the decline in religious affiliation among Americans. His findings went viral. Downey concluded that the Internet is responsible for a growing number of Americans who do not associate themselves with a religion. Many news outlets reported on Downey conclusions, most without any criticism: a quick Google search of “The Internet and religion” results in nothing but paraphrases from this single study.
Faith Voices Unite Against Gun Violence
August was a month full of social strife and tension: global conflicts seemed to reach an apex, while hope in the possibility for peace was at a new low. At moments like these, it can be difficult to find outlets that guide us through the crises. The tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri turned the public’s gaze toward the weighty conversation of gun violence and racial relations. Yet within these challenges there are voices of hope. Religious traditions can be reservoirs of inspiration. It is in these voices of faith that we hear values that help to bridge the deep divisions of the world.