June 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Institutional Stories– Between Church & State – For Our Kids’ Sake – Gifts of the Spirit

Interfaith News Roundup - June 2023
May 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Reaching Out for Goodness Sake – The Ethical Struggles We Share – In Memoriam

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2023
April 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Interfaith Steps Forward – Religious Troubles – News & Newsmakers

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2023
March 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Christians, by the Numbers – Muslims in the News – Interfaith Complexities – Paying Attention to Right-wing Christians – Religicide – What’s Possible … What to Consider

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2023
February 2023
Paul Chaffee
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2023

by Paul Chaffee

Women Finally Welcome – Church & State – The Dark Side of Religion – Interfaith Solutions – Heads Up!

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2023
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June 2018 - Reimagining Interfaith

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

June 15, 2018

Featured
Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror
Meditating on the Buddha in the Midst of Buddhist Terror

by Richard Reoch

The Buddha was no stranger to genocide. His own people, the Sakyas, were the victims of mass slaughter. One of the final acts of his life, recounted in the opening verses of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, was to refuse a request to give his blessing to an act of genocide.

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Reimagining Interfaith

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Preparing the Heart for Engagement
Preparing the Heart for Engagement

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

There is one particular passage in the Torah, in the tenth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, that both disturbs and delights me. For centuries it has provoked lively debate and wide-ranging interpretations among our sages and rabbis.

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Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids
Reimagining Interfaith: Taking Our Lead from Kids

by Vicki Garlock

The interfaith movement is all about bringing people together. Most of the time we focus on adults, and social justice issues. Don’t get me wrong. I fully support any and all interfaith efforts. But we need to do more, and we need to do it better.

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Where do we go from Here?
Where do we go from Here?

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

As a kid growing up in Punjab, India my first formative engagement with interfaith understanding was with a high school friend who was Muslim.

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Naming, Growing, and Collaborating
Naming, Growing, and Collaborating

by Marcus Braybrooke

What’s in a name? In June, the Three Faiths Forum, founded 21 years ago in the UK, is changing its name to the Faith & Belief Forum. This reflects the way its work has expanded to include people of all faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious. 

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Opening the Door to Collaboration
Opening the Door to Collaboration

by Paul Chaffee

The most important thing to know about Reimagining Interfaith (RI), the upcoming conference in Washington DC (July 28-August 1), is how collaborative it is.

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Reimagining Interfaith Narratives
Reimagining Interfaith Narratives

by Aaron Stauffer

Good organizers consistently emphasize the importance of leaders “understanding” and “working” on their stories. When they are first getting to know a leader, they ask questions like: What keeps you up at night?

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Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"
Reimagining the "White Man's Burden"

by Maha Elgenaidi

After decades of leading a national nonprofit that counters bigotry through education, I am now firmly convinced that we need new partners to overcome racism, Islamophobia, and exclusivist thinking in our nation.

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From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity
From the Shared Love of Justice and Humanity

by Kathleen A. Green

Three years ago, I shared my idea for a doctorate of ministry dissertation – bringing humanists and religious adherents together in interfaith engagement – and received some blank stares, a few shaking heads, and even a couple of flat out discouraging declarations such as “What’s the point?

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Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World
Pagans in an Interfaith/Intrafaith World

by Jason Pitzl-Waters

For modern Paganism as a movement to effectively interface with the rest of the world’s religions, we have to be conscious of how we are progressing with Pagan ecumenical and intrafaith initiatives.

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Welcoming Marginalized Traditions
Welcoming Marginalized Traditions

by Hans Gustafson

Marginalized traditions, including contemporary Paganisms and Earth-based traditions, are beginning to be welcomed to the table of interreligious engagement in pockets around the U.S. However, the rest of us can still be more welcoming.

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Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test
Trumpers: The Interfaith Movement’s Greatest Test

by Kevin Singer

In the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, a controversial guru from India and his followers attempt to build a utopian society in Wasco County, Oregon.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

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And the Enemy is Interfaith
And the Enemy is Interfaith

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

“It makes me crazy!” my pastor cried out, more than once, in last week’s sermon. She was responding to a New York Times article about American Christian nationalism she’d read the day before.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - June 2018

The Heavy Hand of Government – From the Vatican – Worth Noting

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Introducing KidSpirit Shorts! – Convergence One-day Training at Furman University - October 4

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May 2018 - Who Isn't at the Interfaith Table?

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

May 15, 2018

Who Isn't at the interfaith table?

Featured
‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’
‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’

by Bud Heckman

A question for you: Why isn’t the movement for interfaith cooperation seen and taken as seriously and central in our societies as are other movements for social justice and the common good, such as race, gender, abilities, the environment, and so on?

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Missing Voices
Missing Voices

by Marcus Braybrooke

After the inauguration of the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development in Vienna last month, I visited the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

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Religion’s Response to Refugees
Religion’s Response to Refugees

by Anashwara Ashok

Many factors affect the decisions being taken on the fate of refugees, but one factor is often overlooked: the historical relationship between religion and refugees.

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Hearing the Interfaith Voices Least Often Heard
Hearing the Interfaith Voices Least Often Heard

by Don Frew

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone in a group say “We even have a Witch” and point to me to emphasize how inclusive they are. So, in terms of diversity, I occupy a place at one extreme end of the interfaith spectrum.

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Enlarging the Interfaith Tent
Enlarging the Interfaith Tent

by Hans Gustafson

Despite an ever-widening door to the growing tent of interreligious engagement, there remains work to do. Interreligious studies in the academy, as well as the interfaith movement in the wider community, have blossomed in the West over the last few decades.

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Finding Faith, Then Interfaith
Finding Faith, Then Interfaith

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

Her lineage offers no clues. Martha Alice Perkins was born in La Fayette, Indiana in 1947, the daughter of a state policeman and devoted church-going Methodist mother, as well as the granddaughter of a member of the local Ku Klux Klan.

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A Visit to the Yánesha, Indigenous Peoples of Central Peru
A Visit to the Yánesha, Indigenous Peoples of Central Peru

by Lyla June Johnston

The sky was black and beautiful. The stars shone above like glistening guardians of the night. Guided only by fire light, we scaled the Amazonian hillside.

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SabangMerauke – Setting the Interfaith Table in Indonesia
SabangMerauke – Setting the Interfaith Table in Indonesia

by Vicki Garlock

SabangMerauke, a non-profit organization in Indonesia, offers a loving, yet straightforward antidote to the fear that sometimes finds its way into human hearts and minds. Their message?  Get to know one another!

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California Interfaith Connections Growing
California Interfaith Connections Growing

by Stephen Albert

Certain things in life are no-brainers. In Jim Croce’s 1972 song “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” he told us: “You don't tug on superman's cape, You don't spit into the wind, You don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger, And you don't mess around with Jim.”

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The Man Behind The Way: Lao Tzu & Daoist Spirituality
The Man Behind The Way: Lao Tzu & Daoist Spirituality

by Stephen Hill

Little is truly known about the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, the guiding figure in Daoism (also translated as Taoism), which is still a popular spiritual practice.

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Review: The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg
Review: The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg

by Paul Chaffee

The religions of India – Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism – are less familiar and stranger to most Americans than the Abrahamic religions, which have dominated America since Columbus.

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Beau Rogers, C.c. 2.0 nc

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Who Isn't at the Table?
Who Isn't at the Table?

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

“Who isn’t at the table yet, who isn’t here?” P. Gerard O’Rourke’s voice, a gruff and gentle Irish brogue, asked the question each month at the start of interfaith board meetings.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Tragic Report – Donald Trump and the Religious Right – Provocative Report – Interfaith Achievements – Working Together in the Interfaith Movement

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Beyond Dialogue? Interfaith Engagement in Delhi, Doha & London

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April 2018 - The Global Ethic 25 Years Later

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

April 15, 2018

The Global Ethic 25 Years Later

Featured
The Global Ethic – How it Came to Be
The Global Ethic – How it Came to Be

by Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez

The historic document, Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration, was one of the most significant outcomes of the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions. More than 200 scholars, religious leaders, and theologians from the world’s religions were consulted during a two-year period.

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Interfaith's Foundational Document: A Brief History
Interfaith's Foundational Document: A Brief History

by Marcus Braybrooke

The Global Ethic, adopted at the 1993 Parliament of World Religions, is clear evidence that the coming together of people of faith is not an end in itself but part of the search for a more just and peaceful world.

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An Interreligious Moment is Upon Us
An Interreligious Moment is Upon Us

by William E. Lesher

First, it is important to recognize that the interreligious movement is a global phenomenon. While the movement as we experience it in the U.S. has a distinct Western texture to it, the fact is that interreligious initiatives are coming from around the world.

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An Heroic Opening Gambit
An Heroic Opening Gambit

by William E. Swing

On Tuesday afternoon, April 2, 1996, I had just presented a paper in Oxford on “The Coming United Religions.” It would be mild to say I failed in gaining backers. Afterwards, a young doctoral student from Germany, Joseph Boehle, came up to me and asked, “Would you like to have a conversation with Dr. Hans Küng?”

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First, Master Dignity
First, Master Dignity

by Husnaa Hashim

Upon walking into Temple Rodeph Shalom one particularly crisp autumn afternoon, I feel welcome to appreciate the beauty of today. The windows of this sanctuary are stained glass, allowing the slightest distillation of light to shine through.

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An Evolving Dialogue for Promoting the Global Ethic
An Evolving Dialogue for Promoting the Global Ethic

by Paul Chaffee

If the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago made history by opening the door to interreligious relationships, the 1993 Centennial Parliament made history by endorsing and promoting Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration.

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Breathing Life Into the Global Ethic
Breathing Life Into the Global Ethic

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

What would the manifestation of a global ethic look like in everyday life?Is it possible to translate the lofty ideals for humanity imagined by theologians and professors into a flesh and blood reality that people of all beliefs can accept and commit to?

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A Goldmine of Possibilities
A Goldmine of Possibilities

A TIO Interview

Dr. Wilson is director of St Philip’s Centre in Leicester, UK, providing training and consultancy on interfaith issues for a wide range of local and national bodies. For this issue of TIO, dedicated to Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration, TIO interviewed Tom to learn more about transforming disagreement into trust.

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Lifting Up Indigenous Stories
Lifting Up Indigenous Stories

by Vicki Garlock

Toward a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration put forth by the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1993 provides important guidelines for achieving a sustainable and just world. But if we hold any hope of transforming those principles into reality, we absolutely have to start with kids

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A Compass for Saving the World
A Compass for Saving the World

by Katherine Marshall

A compass is sorely needed when navigating rough and uncertain terrain. That’s certainly the situation in today’s turbulent world. 

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Featured Videos

 

Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

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Setting the Interfaith Agenda
Setting the Interfaith Agenda

by Paul Chaffee

For all the Global Ethic has and has not achieved, much discussed in this issue of TIO, the document set the agenda for the interfaith movement that has blossomed around the world in the quarter-century since it was published.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

The Middle East, Intrafaith Conflict, and Anti-Semitism – China Stiffens its Antireligious Stance  – The Many Shades of Inclusivity – Children and Religious Violence – Bud Heckman to Head the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

NAINConnect Heads to Edmonton Alberta this Summer – Groundbreaking New Biography of Paramahansa Yogananda – KAICIID International Fellowship Programme

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - May 2018

Tragic Report – Donald Trump and the Religious Right – Provocative Report – Interfaith Achievements – Working Together in the Interfaith Movement

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - April 2018

The Middle East, Intrafaith Conflict, and Anti-Semitism – China Stiffens its Antireligious Stance  – The Many Shades of Inclusivity – Children and Religious Violence – Bud Heckman to Head the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska

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March 2018 - Interfaith's Embrace of the Arts

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

March 15, 2018

Interfaith's embrace of the arts

Featured
An Artful Approach to Interfaith Chaplaincy
An Artful Approach to Interfaith Chaplaincy

by Jenifer Miller

With my calligraphy pen I write the name of the tiny beloved baby boy, on the inside of a Comfort Angel, and hand it to his father, for safekeeping.

 

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An Artist's Journey Beyond the Walls of Division
An Artist's Journey Beyond the Walls of Division

by Andre van Zijl

We enter a completely darkened room which is set up with a foot-wide border of white muslin covered by unlit candles alternating with round black river stones.

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Epiphany at the Altar of a Sand Mandala
Epiphany at the Altar of a Sand Mandala

by Billy Doidge Kilgore

Five Buddhist monks stand in a row, torsos wrapped in maroon robes and scalps adorned with golden headdresses. In their arms, they hold cymbals, drums, and horns.

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Reimagining Religion: New Stories, New Communities
Reimagining Religion: New Stories, New Communities

by Rev. Bud Heckman

One of the biggest religion stories today is the rising number of Americans who no longer identify with a particular religion. That is a given. But disaffiliation is only one side of the story.

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Groundbreaking Interfaith Curriculum Being Published
Groundbreaking Interfaith Curriculum Being Published

by Paul Chaffee

Interfaith Made Easy may initially inspire caustic remarks like “then it can’t be much about interfaith.” A closer look by either novice or seasoned interfaith activists is likely to inspire awe and appreciation.

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How Stories Can Smash Stereotypes
How Stories Can Smash Stereotypes

An INTER Interview

One thing that breaks down barriers between people is sharing stories. When we hear someone’s story and hear their hopes and struggles, we can’t help but see their humanity.

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'Music Unites, Where Words Divide'
'Music Unites, Where Words Divide'

by Marcus Braybrooke

The recent visit of the Pontamina Interreligious Choir to the UK reminded me of the adage that ‘music unites, where words divide.’

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Sacred Sound & Music
Sacred Sound & Music

by Todd Glacy

During a recent visit to Arizona, I was invited to be the guest on a local Baha’i radio show sharing some of my songs and insights regarding music and spirituality.

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Of Music and Martyrdom
Of Music and Martyrdom

by Zola Jesus

One of the most common questions I get asked about my musical project is to explain the name Zola Jesus. My usual response is “Émile Zola + Jesus Christ = Zola Jesus.” Simple. But, why? 

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Where Does the Interfaith Muse Reside?
Where Does the Interfaith Muse Reside?

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

It began suddenly in the fall of 2014. There were no early warnings. During my daily walks I started to hear melodies in my head that seemed to erupt, complete with lyrics, like fully-formed children.

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Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

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"Now That's Really Living"
"Now That's Really Living"

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

All of us, I suspect, have had powerful, breakthrough experiences not only with music but with storytelling, poetry, dance, theater, film, art, and crafts. 

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Community Run Amuck – Evangelical Complexities – Buddhist Complexities – Children and Religious Violence – Middle East Peacemaking

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Wanted: KidSpirit Editorial Board Coordinators – Temple of Understanding Youth Summer Internship at the UN – Micah Institute Seeking Seminary Intern for Spring 2018 – Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies – Leading Spiritual Development withing Higher Education

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - March 2018

Community Run Amuck – Evangelical Complexities – Buddhist Complexities – Children and Religious Violence – Middle East Peacemaking

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February 2018 - Best of TIO 2017

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

February 15, 2018

Featured
A Tribute to Bill Lesher
A Tribute to Bill Lesher

by Joseph Prabhu

The Reverend William E. Lesher – Bill to his friends – was a man of many parts and roles. Seminary president, theological scholar and educator, pastor and religious leader, civil rights advocate and marcher, pioneer of the modern interfaith movement, and toward the end of his life, a tireless promoter of a possible new civilization for humankind.

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Best of TIO Videos 2017
Best of TIO Videos 2017

by Megan Anderson

Below you will find our top picks from 2017. They cover the prayerful to the prophetic; they call us to reflect and to take action. Their messages are pertinent to the situations today and contain lessons each of us can learn from. So kick back and prepare to be inspired, challenged, and have your thoughts provoked.

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best of tio 2017

Featured
Ethics in the Swamp: the Rot of Corruption
Ethics in the Swamp: the Rot of Corruption

by Katherine Marshall

Corruption is a live topic today. Since 2005, international anti-corruption day has been “celebrated” on December 9, in hopes that a visible day marking the topic can raise awareness about corruption and bolster a sense that something can be done to combat and prevent it. 

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All I Have Is a Voice
All I Have Is a Voice

by Marcus Braybrooke

The row over reading verses of the Qur’an in a Cathedral in Scotland has, I gather, reached across the Atlantic. Certainly the Cathedral has had a lot of abusive online messages from the U.S.A. During an Epiphany service at the Cathedral a Muslim law student was invited to read the Qur’anic account of the birth of Jesus, which also says, as Muslims believe, that Jesus was a prophet but not divine.

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The Slow Food Movement – Revaluing What We Eat
The Slow Food Movement – Revaluing What We Eat

by Paul Chaffee

For those who would love to find some middle ground between the strictures of a vegetarian or vegan diet, on one hand, and the sometime travesties of big agriculture, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), packaged food, and fast food, on the other, the slow food movement may be a satisfying alternative in reflecting on and choosing what you eat and how you eat. 

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What if Animals Believe in God?
What if Animals Believe in God?

by Andrew Aghapour

Chimpanzees believe in God. This news, widely reported last year, is only a slight exaggeration. Using hidden cameras, scientists have indeed captured footage of chimpanzee behavior that resembles religious ritual.

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An Excerpt from "The Hundred-Year Walk – An Armenian Odyssey"
An Excerpt from "The Hundred-Year Walk – An Armenian Odyssey"

by Dawn Anahid MacKeen

The following is a chapter from MacKeen’s book recounting how she finally meets the descendants of Sheikh Hammud al-Aekleh, whose family welcomed in her grandfather, saving his life. Some members of the family that greeted her in 2007 today are Syrian refugees themselves.

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On Discovering and Re-Imagining Interfaith
On Discovering and Re-Imagining Interfaith

by Bud Heckman

When I first started working for interfaith cooperation, I could not find or figure out much of anything. I was hungry to learn, but it was more intuition, inductive reasoning, and plain old dumb luck of “finding” some of the trails of pioneers that moved me forward in figuring out what interfaith was.

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Seizing an Alternative
Seizing an Alternative

by Philip Clayton

This is the story of the interfaith movement and climate change. It is also the story of a scholar of science and religion who gradually realizes that global climate change is the most urgent threat that humanity faces.Rampant poverty, social inequalities, the unjust treatment of the global South, each of these is magnified ten or a hundred fold by climate disruption.

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Spiritual Exploring with Kids
Spiritual Exploring with Kids

by Vicki Garlock

Kids love to explore. And a quick look at any summer camp guide will support that claim. Last summer, kids in our area could attend Camp Explorer, Camp Eco-Explorer, Camp Adventure, Camp Discovery, Camp Run Wild, Camp Invention, or Nature Adventures, to name just a few!

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Dogma is a Danger to Us All
Dogma is a Danger to Us All

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

“Religion is dead.” I winced as if I had experienced a body blow when I heard these words, delivered by one of the keynote speakers at an interspiritual conference on the East Coast three years ago.The keynote speaker happened to be a friend of mine, a cable show producer who for decades has extoled and promoted the “spiritual-but-not-religious” movement, a growing phenomena that has challenged the value and significance of traditional religions in our times.

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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.

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Header Photo: Adrianna Calvo, Pexels 

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A Sampler of Where We Have Come
A Sampler of Where We Have Come

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Growing up 100 years ago meant knowing almost nothing about the world’s spiritual traditions except your own. That world is mostly gone from us, never to return.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

America's Evolving Christianity – Trials and Tribulations – Human Rights – The Joy of It All

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Wanted: KidSpirit Editorial Board Coordinators – Temple of Understanding Youth Summer Internship at the UN – Micah Institute Seeking Seminary Intern for Spring 2018 – Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies – Leading Spiritual Development withing Higher Education

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January 2018 - Millennial Voices

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

January 15, 2018

Featured
Why Religious Diversity is the Pathway to Peace
Why Religious Diversity is the Pathway to Peace

by Victor Kazanjian

On Christmas Eve, people across the United States and around the world gathered to watch “May Peace Prevail on Earth: An Interfaith Christmas Special,” broadcast on CBS stations nationally and streamed online internationally by the United Religions Initiative who produced the program. At first glance, “an Interfaith Christmas” seems a strange contradiction.

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Spirituality and Practice – Part 2
Spirituality and Practice – Part 2

by Paul Chaffee

TIO’s initial profile of Spirituality & Practice, in November 2012, suggested that the website was the premier gathering of spiritual resources and practices on the planet. Its 24,000 web pages constituted a vast library of reviews, profiles, blogs, and on-demand e-courses. Six years later, while sporting a beautiful new web platform, S&P has kept its vision and goals intact.

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God With(in) the World
God With(in) the World

by Diana Butler Bass
Here in the labyrinth, I struggle to find words to describe what I feel. Up on the mountaintop, I knew the language to describe God: majestic, transcendent, all-powerful, heavenly Father, Lord, and King. In this vocabulary, God remains stubbornly located in a few select places, mostly in external realms above or beyond: heaven, the church, doctrine, or the sacraments.

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Millennial Voices

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Reimagining the Interfaith Movement
Reimagining the Interfaith Movement

by Tahil Sharma and Megan Anderson

2017 has shaped the interfaith movement and clearly shown us the growing need for religious and secular pluralism and understanding. From clergy at the front lines of demonstrations against white supremacy and the drastic changes being made to the healthcare system, to community members standing against hatred

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Relinquishing Taboos
Relinquishing Taboos

by Miranda Hovemeyer

There’s a photo that I keep seeing posted on social media. I can’t find the original source, but it’s a photo of what appears to be a page from a book. On the page is written, “Being taught to avoid talking about politics and religion has led to a lack of understanding of politics and religion.

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Courage from the Other Side
Courage from the Other Side

by Johnny Martin

I woke up on an early June morning last summer with plans to attend the ‘Anti-Sharia Protest’ event in Paradise Valley, about 30 miles from my home in Mesa, Arizona. There had been a lot of media attention in the days leading up to the demonstration, which was being called an “Islamophobic hate rally”

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Fardosa Hassan: Creating Space for Questions
Fardosa Hassan: Creating Space for Questions

by Ibrahim Hirsi

Coming of age in Minneapolis, Fardosa Hassan dived with enthusiasm into any community-service opportunity that helped improve the city and society as a whole. The mere mention of Washburn High School in Minneapolis reminds Hassan of a host of community service activities she got involved with before she graduated in 2008.

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Interspiritual Fraternity in Mexico City
Interspiritual Fraternity in Mexico City

by Elías González

Silence. Young people sitting in a circle. Prayers. “This is how it all began, with a prayer, by the hand of God. Like a dream.” Mexico City, one of the most populated cities on the planet, has historically been a land of encounter among cultures, civilizations, and religions.

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Transforming Our Differences
Transforming Our Differences

by Tahil Sharma

This past year felt like a constant uphill battle. I never realized the degree to which my friends, colleagues, and I would be fighting to keep justice and equity afloat in a world that seems to be increasingly sinking into darkness.

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Interreligious Wherewithal
Interreligious Wherewithal

by Hans Gustafson

The term “wherewithal” is a curious word, especially given the fluidity with which we use (and abuse) the English language today. The term has been in usage since the 16th century and can now function as a pronoun, noun, conjunction, and perhaps more. 

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Model Programs for Tweens/Teens/Young Adults
Model Programs for Tweens/Teens/Young Adults

by Vicki Garlock

The changes that occur during adolescence and young adulthood are considerable, and most developmental psychologists acknowledge this important phase in a person’s life. For example, Erik Erikson (Childhood and Society, reissue, 1993), a well-known developmental psychologist in the 20th century, proposed that this developmental period is characterized by Identity vs. Role Confusion

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An Interfaith Vision for the Future of Faith
An Interfaith Vision for the Future of Faith

by Jennifer Bailey

Several times a month, I have a standing lunch date with three of my favorite people. We gather online over laptops and our meals in Boston, New York, and Nashville to form what we have come to call our “community of praxis.”

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A Letter to Myself Seven Generations Into Our Future
A Letter to Myself Seven Generations Into Our Future

by Ta'Kaiya Blaney

Thank you, I channel this thanks from the deepest trench of gratitude I can muster:
For we have done it. The Earth Revolutions, the movements against war, for education, to prioritize the might of the pen

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Header Photo: Zellox

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Seeds of Hope
Seeds of Hope

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

A few years back Millennials were suffering considerable verbal abuse for being the ones who’ve walked out of church, who have given up the religion their forebears fought so hard to claim and defend.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018
Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Government Behaving Badly – Troubled Traditions – Pinpoints of Light

Read More →

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Interfaith Conference – 2018 Religion Communicators Council Conference

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - February 2018

America's Evolving Christianity – Trials and Tribulations – Human Rights – The Joy of It All

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December 2017 - The Road to Trust

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

December 15, 2017

Featured
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.

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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...

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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. 

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the road to trust

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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?

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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.

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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.

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Header Photo: Zellox

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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.

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Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017
Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017

New Interfaith Activism – Back at School – Living at Risk – Interfaith Department of Scarboro Missions is Closing

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Interfaith Conference – 2018 Religion Communicators Council Conference

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Interfaith News Roundup - January 2018

Government Behaving Badly – Troubled Traditions – Pinpoints of Light

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November 2017 - Interfaith in Africa

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Exploring Interreligious Relations and Interfaith Culture

November 15, 2017

Featured
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!” 

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interfaith in Africa

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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'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.

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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…

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When All Roads Lead to Morocco
When All Roads Lead to Morocco

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

In a quest to uncover and promote interfaith engagement around the globe, many roads have led me – unexpectedly – to Morocco, a monarchy ruled by a young king. One of the most liberal Muslim countries in the Middle East, Morocco reflects a unique culture of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, and European influences and simultaneously supports a refreshing integration of ancient traditions with a modern outlook.

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A Pagan's Adventures in Egypt
A Pagan's Adventures in Egypt

by Don Frew

In 2005, I attended the annual meeting of the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative. That year, it was held at a retreat center near Seoul, South Korea. One day, we took a long bus ride to the Buddhist monastery of Haensa, during which I sat with Monica Willard, URI’s representative at the United Nations.

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Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

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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.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - November 2017
Interfaith News Roundup - November 2017

Stunning News from Saudi Arabia – Nations Pursuing Interfaith Solutions – Religion for Good for Ill – Around the Interfaith Movement

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Reimagining Religion Conference – New Pages in URI's Story – Intern with ICNY's Interfaith Matters Podcast – The Multifaith Storytelling Institute Kicks off another year of Storytelling this March

Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017

Interfaith News Roundup - December 2017

New Interfaith Activism – Back at School – Living at Risk – Interfaith Department of Scarboro Missions is Closing

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October 2017 - Spiritual Explorations

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Spiritual Explorations

October, 15 2017

Featured
Embracing the "Full Catastrophe"
Embracing the "Full Catastrophe"

by Patricia Adams Farmer

Being present, the most basic attitude for the spiritual pilgrim, is not an easy practice. For being present means not only letting the bright gladness of summer daisies seep into our souls; it also means a face-to-face encounter with the fears that haunt our days.

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Four Paradoxes on the Path of Yoga
Four Paradoxes on the Path of Yoga

by Philip Goldberg

Adapting the perennial wisdom of the Yoga tradition to contemporary life and a diversity of religious and spiritual perspectives is, and always will be, a work in progress. It is also a highly individual project, with few one-size-fits-all answers to the conundrums and challenges that arise. That’s why the Upanishads call the spiritual path a razor’s edge: You have to tread carefully, with keen vision, intellectual discernment, acute intuition, and a really good sense of balance.

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The Wholeness of Nature
The Wholeness of Nature

by Katie Reis

I’m not a religious person. I was baptized a Catholic but slowly realized that many of Catholicism’s beliefs and principles did not fit my own. Over the years, I have explored many different religions. After I visited Japan as part of a student exchange program about a year ago, I became fascinated with Shintoism. Shinto beliefs are encapsulated by a perspective of seeing nature and the world in all its beauty.

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The Growing Edge of Interspirituality
The Growing Edge of Interspirituality

by Kurt Johnson

Br. Wayne Teasdale is famous for his “interspiritual” worldview embracing all the spiritual narratives of the world as one collective heritage, arising historically from the conscious experience of our species, and seeks to draw from these resources the tools for altruistic behaviors that can actually build a world so envisioned.

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Dogma is a Danger to Us All
Dogma is a Danger to Us All

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

“Religion is dead.” I winced as if I had experienced a body blow when I heard these words, delivered by one of the keynote speakers at an interspiritual conference on the East Coast three years ago.The keynote speaker happened to be a friend of mine, a cable show producer who for decades has extoled and promoted the “spiritual-but-not-religious” movement, a growing phenomena that has challenged the value and significance of traditional religions in our times.

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Bede Griffiths – Interfaith's Interspiritual Pioneer
Bede Griffiths – Interfaith's Interspiritual Pioneer

by Marcus Braybrooke

Brother Bede Griffith’s (1906-1993) life of physical and spiritual exploration has been important in the spiritual journeys of many, many people, including myself. He was one of the first spiritually resonant models for those of us engaged in interfaith activities more than 50 years ago. His life suggested that one could be spiritually grounded and thriving in more than one tradition at the same time.

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Encountering Mary Magdalene
Encountering Mary Magdalene

by Kathe Schaaf and Kay Lindahl

We are living in a time of profound spiritual crisis – and opportunity. As old systems break down, it is clear patriarchy is no longer a viable option. Everywhere around us we see the harm and imbalance that has resulted from the lost wisdom of the feminine on this planet. How can we animate a powerful wave of feminine spiritual leadership that will ground and nurture a new way of being on this planet now?

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Learning to Live in a Living Universe
Learning to Live in a Living Universe

by Duane Elgin

For at least 12,000 years, since the end of the ice ages, humanity has been on a journey of separation – pulling back from nature and becoming ever more differentiated, individuated, and empowered. In recent decades, we have become so dominant as a species that we are producing Earth-changing trends – global warming, species extinction, unsustainable population, massive famines, waves of migration, and more – that threaten humanity’s future.

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Spiritual Exploring with Kids
Spiritual Exploring with Kids

by Vicki Garlock

Kids love to explore. And a quick look at any summer camp guide will support that claim. Last summer, kids in our area could attend Camp Explorer, Camp Eco-Explorer, Camp Adventure, Camp Discovery, Camp Run Wild, Camp Invention, or Nature Adventures, to name just a few!

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Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

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Spiritual Exploration in Tough Times
Spiritual Exploration in Tough Times

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

Squeezing in a prayer on a comfortable day in a self-satisfied life is more difficult than turning to the Spirit (however that happens on your path) in times that seem bleak, broken, and hopeless.

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - October 2017
Interfaith News Roundup - October 2017

Nations Behaving Badly – Religious Communities Behaving Better – United Religions Initiative (URI) Leaders Meet in Sarajevo

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

Interfaith News Roundup - November 2017

Interfaith News Roundup - November 2017

Stunning News from Saudi Arabia – Nations Pursuing Interfaith Solutions – Religion for Good for Ill – Around the Interfaith Movement

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September 2017 - Interfaith and the Global Climate Crisis

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Interfaith and the Global Climate Crisis

September, 15 2017

Featured
Ecology of Our Minds
Ecology of Our Minds

by Nimai Agarwal

When I was eight years old, my parents used to take me to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We would go every week of the summer, spread out a blanket on the grass, and enact a tradition central to our monotheistic branch of Hinduism: singing devotional songs to passersby, often accompanied by a harmonium and brass hand symbols.

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Caring for Creation (for Kids)
Caring for Creation (for Kids)

by Vicki Garlock

Once creation, in all its splendor, has been spoken, dreamed, resurrected, danced, and cracked open into existence, we can turn out attention toward creation care. Since all the major faith traditions emergbed when people lived in harmony with the land, stories highlighting our connection with nature are readily found in the sacred texts and narratives of the world’s religions. 

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A Plea for the Sake of Us All
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.”

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Where's the Moral Outrage?
Where's the Moral Outrage?

by Katherine Marshall

“Where is the moral outrage?” A questioner at a recent Washington event demanded some explanation for the seeming indifference in the United States to hunger that affects tens of millions of people in Africa and the Middle East. Is it lack of knowledge? Citizens numbed by an unending deluge of horrifying news? A hardening of spirit accompanying Americans’ turning inwards?

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Acts of Mercy and Saving the Environment
Acts of Mercy and Saving the Environment

by James Kurzynski

On September 1, 2016, Pope Francis introduced two new works of mercy pertaining to the environment...Why did Pope Francis add these works of mercy? What does this mean for the Church?  In answering these, it is important to reflect on why popes make these kinds of changes in the first place.

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Eco-Dharma: Awakening to the Environmental Crisis
Eco-Dharma: Awakening to the Environmental Crisis

by David Loy

Interest in eco-dharma — the ecological implications of Buddhist teachings — is growing after years of apparent indifference and little conversation about it in Buddhist sanghas (communities). The environmental crisis has been in and out of headline news since at least 1992, when the first President Bush attended the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro

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Teilhard de Chardin – Envisioning a Unitive Evolution
Teilhard de Chardin – Envisioning a Unitive Evolution

by Marcus Braybrooke

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-55), a distinguished paleontologist, theologian, and visionary, held a unitive vision that covered a wide canvas. He tried through his writings to bring the worlds of science and religion together, believing their combined insights held the key to creating a greater sense of global community. 

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John B. Cobb Jr. – Environmental “Evangelist”
John B. Cobb Jr. – Environmental “Evangelist”

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

No ivory tower has ever been able to contain Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. Even at 92, the premier “eco-theologian” of our times is a man on a mission. He urgently wants to convert us. But not in the conventional sense. He wants us all – regardless of our religious orientation, our racial, national, and cultural origins – to “evangelize” for an “ecological civilization”

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Seizing an Alternative
Seizing an Alternative

by Philip Clayton

This is the story of the interfaith movement and climate change. It is also the story of a scholar of science and religion who gradually realizes that global climate change is the most urgent threat that humanity faces.Rampant poverty, social inequalities, the unjust treatment of the global South, each of these is magnified ten or a hundred fold by climate disruption.

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Interfaith Collaboration in the Wake of Global Climate Change
Interfaith Collaboration in the Wake of Global Climate Change

by Justin Catanoso

On May 24, 2017 a grim-faced Pope Francis handed a signed copy of Laudato Si to President Trump during his visit to Rome. The U.S. president, who has called climate change “a hoax,” promised to read the papal encyclical, a spiritual and secular plea to save the Earth from environmental destruction. A week later, Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement

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Daring to Dream: Religion and the Future of the Earth
Daring to Dream: Religion and the Future of the Earth

by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

There is a dawning realization from many quarters that the changes humans are making on the planet are comparable to the changes of a major geological era. The scientific evidence says we are damaging life systems on Earth and causing species extinction at such a rate as to bring about the end of our current period, the Cenozoic era, and ushering in the Anthropocene.

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Header Photo: Brook Ward, C.c. 2.0 nc

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While We Still Can
While We Still Can

by Paul Chaffee, Editor

The decision to devote the September TIO to eco-justice came months before Harvey, Irma, and Jose ravaged the Caribbean, Texas, Florida, and eastern Mexico with torrential wind and water, before all-time heat records in the West sparked hundreds of fires...

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Featured
Interfaith News Roundup - September 2017
Interfaith News Roundup - September 2017

A Troubled World – Signs of Hope – NAIN Goes to San Diego

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OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Know Your Neighbor Summer Campaign Launched – How Do You Meditate? Let Us Count the Ways… – Interfaith Relationship Survey to Help Improve Counseling Therapies

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2017

Interfaith News Roundup - October 2017

Nations Behaving Badly – Religious Communities Behaving Better – United Religions Initiative (URI) Leaders Meet in Sarajevo