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Differences & Disagreements: Crossing the Final Bridge

Differences & Disagreements: Crossing the Final Bridge

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Anyone in recent years who has seriously organized local interfaith activities knows about the boundaries of dialogue. There is often pressure to focus on shared values and easy issues; to master easy topics before jumping into disagreements that are unlikely to be solved.

Breaking Down the Walls of Our Hearts

Breaking Down the Walls of Our Hearts

by Marcus Braybrook

have been thinking a lot about breaking down walls, as I have just returned from an interreligious peace conference in South Korea.The highlight was a peace rally in the World Cup Stadium that included speaker after speaker who affirmed the longing for peace and reunification of Korea.

A Surprising Surge of Hope

A Surprising Surge of Hope

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

On November 8, 2016 an already divided America was further fractured. For many of us who are working to make America a more welcoming, just, and inclusive nation – to make the America that never was, but that we pray must someday be...

Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids

Interfaith Holiday Books for Kids

by Vicki Garlock

There are plenty of kids’ books out there for most of these holidays, but as the number of interfaith and multicultural families rises, so does the need for books that explore multiple traditions. 

Review: Learning to Live Well Together (Wilson and Ravat)

Review: Learning to Live Well Together (Wilson and Ravat)

by Paul Chaffee

Like so much else in this contemporary culture, the ‘interfaith movement’ is at a watershed moment. For the past quarter-century, spontaneously, globally, thousands of groups have gathered to promote interfaith harmony.

A Bold, Flagship Experiment in Living Well Together...and a query

A Bold, Flagship Experiment in Living Well Together...and a query

by Bud Heckman

Numerous efforts have been made over time to bring people of different walks of faith together and think creatively about the meaning of community and accountability. Yet few visions are as refreshingly bold as what has been happening in Omaha, Nebraska.

Aziza Hasan: Breaking New Ground

Aziza Hasan: Breaking New Ground

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Aziza Hasan is one of the most admired Muslim women in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of a small Mennonite college in Kansas, where she studied conflict resolution and mediation and spent two years as a member of AmericaCorps.

Meeting People Where They Are

Meeting People Where They Are

by Rev. Andrea Goodman

Can a ten-year-old religious nonprofit that is not a church thrive and grow without fundraising and with no employees? Yes! Here is the story of The Interfaith Peace Project.In 2006, Fr. Tom Bonacci and I were in a café sharing a meal in San Francisco, CA. We each carried the grief of recent program losses.

Recognizing the Secret Community

Recognizing the Secret Community

by Deborah Moldow

A vast spiritual community is emerging all over the world. It has no name. It has no church or temple and no scripture. No one sees it. And yet it is among the most potent forces for evolutionary change on the planet. 

7 Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids

7 Myths About Raising Interfaith Kids

by Susan Katz Miller

This time of year, many interfaith families are preparing to feast on latkes, light Hanukkah candles at the Thanksgiving table, and then move on to making Christmas cookies. But beyond holiday celebrations, is it a good idea to raise kids in two religions?

A Call to Professionalize Interfaith in Higher Education

A Call to Professionalize Interfaith in Higher Education

by Cody Nielsen

In the past twenty years, the world of religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) has grown considerably on college and university campuses across North America. Once a forgotten and at times taboo topic, higher education is slowly embracing these identities as it re-imagines itself as a force for global citizenship.

Coming to Grips with Christian Normativity

Coming to Grips with Christian Normativity

by Kevin Singer

This fall I started the journey toward a Ph.D. in higher education at North Carolina State University. While walking around various parts of campus, I noticed the presence of several bi-fold signs fastened to campus fixtures like streetlights and trees with bike locks.

Opening Doors to Africa

Opening Doors to Africa

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

What we don’t know we oversimplify. As a pre-teen, I had a few desolate images of India – a really hot climate, vast arid deserts, cows wandering down city streets, and overwhelming poverty. Little more.

Donna Bollinger Tapped to Lead Religions for Peace-USA

Donna Bollinger Tapped to Lead Religions for Peace-USA

by Paul Chaffee

She was raised in a home on a dirt road in rural western North Carolina, without indoor plumbing or a telephone. The family lived off the land and had never sent a child to high school before. Asked if there was some seminal moment, a particular experience as a youngster that influenced her for the rest her life, Donna Bollinger says “Yes!” 

15 Facts on African Religions

15 Facts on African Religions

by Jacob K. Olupona

1. African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people.

Interfaith Themes in Sub-Saharan African Tales (for Kids)

Interfaith Themes in Sub-Saharan African Tales (for Kids)

by Vicki Garlock

Interfaith engagement serves as a near-constant reminder that the central teachings of the world’s belief systems are more similar than different. This is especially true when working with kids. For centuries, adults have taught important life lessons through stories, handed down from generation to generation.

Despina Namwembe and Grassroots Interfaith in Africa

Despina Namwembe and Grassroots Interfaith in Africa

A TIO Interview

Despina Namwembe is a force of hope to be reckoned with when it comes to grassroots interfaith work in Africa. A social scientist with a masters in peace and conflict studies, she coordinates the work of more than 30 grassroots interfaith organizations doing different social action projects in the Great Lakes countries of Africa.

Uganda Welcomes Refugees with Hospitality and Love

Uganda Welcomes Refugees with Hospitality and Love

by Despina Namwembe

On the 31st of January, we left for the northern part of Uganda in a place called Adjumani (which borders Southern Sudan) to celebrate the Interfaith Harmony Week. We celebrated with our brothers and sisters who are now refugees in Uganda because of the insurgency going on in their country.

'We are Your Aunties, and We Are Coming for Mediation'

'We are Your Aunties, and We Are Coming for Mediation'

by Kira Zalan

Over the past three years, funded by a modest grant from the Dutch government, 16 women and the local organizations they run in Sudan have intervened in dozens of disputes and brokered solutions. In some cases, that meant building a freshwater well—in others, assistance in drafting laws and power-sharing agreements.

Doing "God's Work" in Tanzania

Doing "God's Work" in Tanzania

by Daniel Bellerose

Bumping down the red dirt roads in East Africa, my wife and I made our weekly voyage to the city of Iringa. Our driver was Eliah, a biologist, birder, and devout…