Podcasts about Interfaith Youth Core

Religious diversity is a characteristic that defines American society, and today, more people are embracing interfaith connections. Seventy-two percent of Americans say they have built a relationship with someone from a different religion than their own, according to a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and Interfaith America (formerly Interfaith Youth Core, IFYC). In this episode of “Restoring Community,” we speak with Eboo Patel and Jeff Pinzino from Interfaith America, as well as Bahá'í leader Syda Segovia Taylor, to learn how religious pluralism can build and strengthen community bonds.

This episode of A365 will discuss religious acceptance in the workplace and how we can all recognize various faiths in a respectful and inclusive way.     Isabel Wong (Hong Kong) will lead the conversation with Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith America to address understanding and embracing different religious identities in the workplace, and how people and organizations can be more inclusive and supportive of diverse religions around the globe.     Authentic 365 – Faith at Work Isabel Wong [00:00:00] Hi, I'm Isabel Wong with Edelman, currently based in Hong Kong. Now for this episode we are going to have a deep dive into the topics of religious acceptance, best practices in the workplace for interfaith dialog, and how religious identities are very much part of the broader diversity and inclusion conversation. And joining me for this conversation is Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America. Eboo is also a former faith advisor to President Barack Obama. So, Eboo, thank you so much for joining us from Chicago. It's great to have you with us on the show.     Eboo Patel [00:00:40] Isabel, it's great to be with you. Thank you for having me.     Isabel Wong [00:00:43] Thanks for joining us. Now, before we kick start the deep dive conversation, in order to set the scene right, I would like to have you help us understand and give us a brief introduction to our international audience about the work that you do at Interfaith America.     Eboo Patel [00:01:01] Sure. So about 25 years ago, I founded an organization called Interfaith Youth Core. Actually founded it when I was a graduate student at Oxford University. And we ran programs all over the world. And the big idea was that, we should, it was going to strengthen the global fabric to bring young people from different religious identities together, to discuss the shared values between their faiths and to act on those positive values like compassion and hospitality and service. As the organization developed, we rooted it in the country in which I'm a citizen of the United States, even though I was born in India and educated in part at Oxford. I'm an American citizen. I've grown up here. I feel most comfortable in this culture and the organization as we would have here in the big idea of the organization whose name is now Interfaith America, but which started as Interfaith Youth Core, is that religious diversity can be a great strength of a nation in a world if faith is a bridge of cooperation and not a barrier of division or a bludgeon of domination. That's the case at city level, at the national level, and certainly also at the company level. And I'm excited to talk to you, Isabelle, about how positively and proactively engaging religious diversity can strengthen the fabric at both Edelman and for Edelman's clients.     Isabel Wong [00:02:27] Mm hmm. Yeah, I do very much look forward to our discussion as well. And I know that for this conversation, we are going to touch on the concept of religious diversity and also religious acceptance. So I just want to get your help to help our audience understand the concept of religious acceptance as well. And why is this so important?     Eboo Patel [00:02:48] Sure. So so religious diversity is just a fact of our world and a fact of most nations in the world. Meaning that there are people from different religious identities who are living in close quarters together, whether that's in the United States or in India or Brazil or Australia or the United Kingdom or Morocco or South Africa. Anywhere in the world you have people from different religions living together, working together, studying together, playing on sports leagues together, etc.. We don't talk about religious acceptance at Interfaith America because we don't ask people from one religion to accept the doctrine of another religion. It's not about acceptance. It's about cooperation. The idea is not that that Muslims who believe that Jesus is a prophet of God, but not the son of God, should accept the Christian doctrine about Jesus. The idea is that Muslims and Christians should cooperate positively. So we speak of religious diversity, should give rise to interfaith cooperation where faith is a bridge and not a barrier.     Isabel Wong [00:03:58] Yeah, I do very much agree with that as well. And the very foundation of it is also fostering a sense of, you know, ability to appreciate spiritual values, beliefs and faith based practices. You know, there are different from opposed by removing prejudices and stereotypes, which is very much the kind of work that you do also. And it requires mutual respect. Now, I would like to take a deeper dive into embracing religious diversity at work, because obviously when it comes to this topic, a lot of people would just be thinking, how can we really do that? And for authentic 365 this podcast, the kind of conversations that we create, are all about how can one really bring oneself authentically to work. And in our view, one must also feel comfortable to show all sides of himself or herself that includes one's religious identity, because religion is very much an essential part of personal and community identity. So. Eboo, from your perspective, should we speak about our religion, our faith at work? And if so, what is an authentic way to approach it?     Eboo Patel [00:05:10] Sure. So, Isabel, I'm in a slightly adapt the question, and I'm going to say that I think it's important for any company, for for employees to feel like they can bring their best professional self to work and that that company is able to serve its clients and its customers and the community in which it is and in the best possible way. So the question for me is not can you bring your authentic self to work? I appreciate that. That's the question of this podcast. That's not my principle question. The principle question is, can you do your best work at work? And if you are Jewish and keep kosher and there is always a mixing of meat and cheese and there's never any kosher food available, you might not be able to do your best work if you are Hindu and are vegetarian, and there is meat in every dish at the cafeteria at work. You might not be able to do your best work if you are Muslim and you don't drink alcohol on account of your faith. In every social event at work involves copious quantities of alcohol, you might not be able to do your best work. And this is why it's important for a company to positively and proactively engage religious identity when it comes to their employees. To ask the question, can employees from different faiths do their best work here? Are there are we do we have an environment that is respectful of people's diverse religious identities? The framework we use that at my organization, Interfaith America is respect, relate, cooperate. Do you have an environment that respects the identities of diverse people, that encourages positive relationships between them, and that facilitates cooperation on common projects? The beautiful thing about companies is that the common projects are obvious, right? The client work that you're doing, the creative work that you're doing, the initiatives and campaigns that you're working on at Edelman, those are obvious. And so you have a shared project to encourage cooperation. And I think this is one of the reasons that companies can really be leaders in interfaith cooperation efforts, because you naturally have employees from diverse religions present. You naturally facilitate positive relationships through a close environment, and you have shared projects in which to encourage cooperation. There are many parts of who we are which are totally legitimate but but are probably not the best fit for the workplace. And what comes to religious diversity? A good example of this is conversion. It's perfectly legitimate for Christians or Muslims or somebody from a different religious identity or in fact a philosophical worldview like atheist who seeks to bring other people to their faith or worldview. It's a perfectly legitimate activity, but that's not what you want happening at a workplace. The question is how do you engage religious diversity in a way that encourages people to bring their best professional self to work again? People should be able to wear clothes that are appropriate for their religious identities. People should be able to eat the food that is required by their religious identity. People should have a place to pray. If they need to pray, they should have the appropriate days off if they need to take days off for religious holidays, etc. That's a positive and proactive engagement of religious diversity at work that encourages people to bring their best professional self without inviting dimensions of their identity, which are perfectly legitimate in other spaces and churches or mosques or temples, but not appropriate at work. So I would I would offer a framework that is different from authentic self or wholesale. I would offer best professional self.     Isabel Wong [00:08:51] Mm hmm. Yeah. I really like how you mentioned that. And essentially, religious beliefs inform a person's identity, way of life and everyday activities and behaviors. And religious diversity can essentially make a workplace really inclusive in the sense of allowing opportunities for everyone to, you know, work through biases. And then essentially it will come into this positive impact that would result in diversity of thoughts, freedom of choice of beliefs and expressions. Now, obviously, when it comes to introducing and creating a safe space for religious diversity, it it has its challenges. So through the years that you work in this space, what are some of the common challenges that you've seen when there are multiple and diverse faiths represented in the workplace?     Eboo Patel [00:09:41] I think the first thing to say is that in virtually every workplace, when we're talking about the corporate environment, particularly in multinationals like Edelman and the kind of companies that that our clients development, you're going to have religious diversity naturally. You're going to have Muslims and Jews and Christians and Hindus and six and behind and Buddhists and atheists. You are naturally going to have religious diversity. And those people from different religions have important disagreements. They have disagreements a doctrine like the nature of Jesus and the disagreements and ritual practice, like what is permissible to eat. Many Hindus don't eat meat at all. At all. And of course, many especially don't eat beef because of that, the role that cows play in the Hindu faith. Muslims, on the other hand, not only eat meat quite regularly, but actually do it as an important part of several of our rituals, including Eve. That is a simple that is a simple fact that that's a disagreement, pure and simple. The important thing about religious diversity and other dimensions of diversity is to not pretend that differences and disagreements don't exist. Of course they exist. It's to say that those disagreements and differences are not going to prevent us from working on other important projects. I think a company has this opportunity, the ability for people to disagree on some fundamental things like doctrine and ritual practice, and yet work together on other fundamental things like campaigns, initiatives and projects that are essential to the mission and success of the company.     Isabel Wong [00:11:20] Mm hmm. Yeah. And I like how you just mentioned there that disagreements could be expected in different forms, and they don't have to be viewed negatively. Now, obviously, in light of the recent events that put anti-Semitism in the spotlight, the Wilders remind you that religious intolerance and ignorance can cause great harm. So I want to get your perspectives on, you know, how should businesses act around these conversations, right? Should they be taking a stand? And if so, how can they do this more strategically?     Eboo Patel [00:11:56] So you want your you want your employees to feel safe and welcome. Right. And when there is a very public and ugly rise in anti-black racism, as in the case of the murder of George Floyd or anti-Semitism, as has recently happened in the United States with comments by Kanye West and others, it very naturally makes some people, people of that particular identity feel hurt and marginalized and upset. And so that is not good for a company. I also think that companies. Should, generally speaking, not be taking stances on everything. You just can't do that because the world is a place of 8 billion people and there are always going to be conflicts and there's always going to be injustices. And you can't be in a position of of fielding a thousand different petitions a day and deciding which ones you're going to send a tweet out about or send a statement out about. I think that a company ought to decide which items impact its employees, its customers and its mission. So if an anti-Semite is one of your clients, unless you are a law firm defending their First Amendment right, you should think very hard about what you want to do about that. If that person is proactively spreading an ugliness and a bigotry that hurts lots of people, including your employees and your other customers. Again, if you're if you are in the free expression business, I think that the I think that that question might be fielded a bit differently. But broadly speaking, bigotry is a bad thing for business. It's a bad thing for society. It's a bad thing for your employees. It's a bad thing for your customers. Companies should steer clear of that and do it in a way that doesn't that doesn't sign you up for making a statement about every issue on the planet.     Isabel Wong [00:14:20] Hmm. Now I want to get your perspectives and insights into some of the best practices, because you previously served as a former faith advisor for US President Obama. Can you talk about some inclusive faith practices that you shared with Mr. President or other global leaders that you've worked with? You must navigate leading complex social structures and human landscapes that could include religious beliefs.     Eboo Patel [00:14:48] Sure. So I'd like to talk with President Obama and everybody from people who lead local churches to two people who lead global multinationals. I like to tell them that that we should think about diversity, work through the metaphor of a potluck supper. A potluck supper is is an event in which the food is not provided by the host. The host instead provides a space where people bring their own dish. And the thing that I love about a potluck is that a potluck only exists if people make a contribution, if people bring their dish. Right. And so you want this at work. You want your employees to come to work as if it's a potluck. You want them to make a contribution, their gifts and their talents and their efforts of their energy and their labor. That's what makes a workplace work, is when people bring their talents, bring their dish. You don't want everybody to bring the same dish. You don't want to you don't want a potluck of only biryani or only months off or only tacos or only casseroles. You want a diversity of dishes? That's what makes a potluck delicious and interesting and flavorful. And actually, it's not just the array of dishes that help a potluck be wonderful. It's the combinations between them. It's when somebody is crusty. Bread recipe from Eastern Europe goes just perfectly with somebody else's spicy dip from the Middle East. And so a company works well when it is inviting the contributions of diverse people and creating a space where creative combinations can exist. A company ought to be aware of the barriers to some people's contributions. Sexism, racism. Homophobia, Islamophobia. Anti-Semitism. These are bad because they are not only violations of individual dignity, but they are also barriers to people's contributions. There's anti-Semitism in your workplace. Jews are unlikely to be able to bring their best dish if there's Islamophobia in your workplace. Muslims are unlikely to be able to bring their best dish. So reducing barriers to people's contributions is a good thing. And the other thing is you want people to take responsibility for the whole space. The host can't do all the work and a potluck can't do the setup and the clean up and be responsible for getting the conversation going. The community has to do some of that work. Some people have to show up early to do the setup. Some people have to stay late to do the cleanup. Everybody's got to take responsibility for making sure that that the safest space, the space is safe and that the conversation is healthy. So I like to use the metaphor of a potluck supper when talking about diversity work, including religious diversity.     Isabel Wong [00:17:35] Right. And a follow up question for that is, you know, when it comes to this interfaith. I look right. People with different religious backgrounds, like you mentioned just now. I expected to bring their dishes to the table. Do you think atheists and agnostics should join these conversations? Should they be bringing the dishes to the table as well?     Eboo Patel [00:17:54] Oh, of course. Of course. I mean, that's not even that that's not even, you know, a controversy or a moment of pause. People of all faiths and philosophical worldviews are welcome. You absolutely want people who are atheist or agnostic or spiritual seekers or in between religions or whatever it might be to feel like they can do their best work for you at work. You want to be able to have clients from Zoroastrians to atheists, so to speak. And so, you know, we, we tend to call issues about religious diversity. We tend to use the language diverse orientations around religion, which means everything from the different kinds of Muslims in the world, Sunnis and Shias and Sufis, for example, to to people who who don't have religious belief at all and orient around religion as nonbelievers. So that's our kind of formulation that that we believe is more inclusive of atheists as diverse orientations around religion.     Isabel Wong [00:18:57] Yeah. Indeed. The conversation is all about, you know, trying to understand each other, not really to challenge or dispute. So that's a very important mind set that we should all remember. Now, I would like to take a slightly reflective lens on, you know, the work that you've done over the years and ask about your experience, you know, working in spaces inclusive of all faiths, you know, how has that that work really impacted your faith and your connection with others and vice versa? For example, how did those connections inform the work that you do over the years? Has it evolved?     Eboo Patel [00:19:33] Yeah, that's a great question, Isabel. So I've been doing interfaith work for 25 years, 20 of them professionally. In fact, my organization had just celebrated its 20th anniversary. And and I do interfaith work in part out of my own commitment as a smiling Muslim. The Koran says that God made us diverse nations and tribes, that we may come to know one another. There are many examples in the life of the Prophet Muhammad made the peace and blessings of God be upon Him, where he had positive partnerships with people of diverse faiths. In fact, he invited Christians to pray in his mosque, for example. And so there is a muslim inspiration for me to do interfaith work. And absolutely, the people that I engage with from different religions, I learn from their faith. I'm inspired by by their by their faith and their commitment to their faith, even when I don't fully agree with their doctrine. And so the word interfaith actually encapsulates much of the meaning of our effort here. Inter means the interaction between people from different traditions. Faith means one's own relationship with one's religious tradition. And so interfaith is about how our faith guides us to have better interactions with people from other religions and how those interactions with people from other religions actually strengthen our faith, our our relationship with our own religion.     Isabel Wong [00:21:01] And I know that you run your own podcast and on your show you like to answer the question, how does our religious understanding of the world inform how we live and work together? Would you please answer that question for us today?     Eboo Patel [00:21:15] Sure. So I think that the center of Islam is about mercy and monotheism. It's about believing in one God and that that God creates all of us. And our common ancestor is is Adam prophet. Adam, who who is the the the father of us all. And so there is kind of a human family feeling in that. And so that's a really important part of my of of my faith is the idea that that I am inspired by my faith to positively engage with diversity and do interfaith work.     Isabel Wong [00:21:50] And I know that you are an author of multiple books, and this year you also launched a new book. Congratulations, by the way. And it's titled It's We Need to Build Phenix for Diverse Democracy. Can you speak to what the book is about and what readers can take away from it, obviously, without giving away too much?     Eboo Patel [00:22:08] Sure. Well, I do hope that I appreciate you asking about my book, We Need to Build, and I hope that your audience here is interested in it. So a lot of my book is about a positive and constructive engagement with diversity. It's about how our societies can feel like potluck suppers that welcome the distinctive contributions of diverse people and in in facilitate creative combinations and enriching conversations. I don't like the melting pot. Hot metaphor for diversity. And I don't like the battlefield metaphor for diversity. I much prefer a potluck supper. I write about that a lot in my book, and I write about constructive approaches to social change. Social change is not about a more ferocious revolution. Social change is about building a more beautiful social order. And we need to defeat the things we do not love by building the things that we do. And one of the things that I admire about the private sector is, is the manner in which you you do and have the opportunity to build strong institutions which elevate people, both your employees and your customers, and hopefully the communities and societies that you live within. And so there there are lots of examples in my book about how nonprofit institutions do this because I'm part of the nonprofit world. And I also believe that companies have the opportunity to do this as well.     Isabel Wong [00:23:34] And finally, to wrap up this conversation, we normally ask every single guest of ours on authentic 365 this one question, Eboo, how do you define authenticity?     Eboo Patel [00:23:48] Well, for me, it's it is being honest with myself about what inspires me and trying to live that inspiration out in the world. And I'm inspired by diversity work and I'm inspired by constructive approaches to social change. I'm inspired by religion, and I'm inspired by my own faith. And I'm inspired by improving people's lives. And so and so that for me is is my authenticity. And I'm proud to I feel very blessed that I'm able to live out much of that in my life and inspired by my kids and my wife and my family and and having a balanced life between work and family and faith and community and recreation, that's that's also part of an authentic life for me.     Isabel Wong [00:24:31] Yeah, definitely. If we want to be inclusive, diverse and comprehend how we relate to each other, we need to continue to expand our understanding of different cultures values, and that includes various religions, beliefs and practices. That was a fascinating conversation. Thank you so much for sharing your time and insights with us. Eboo, It was a pleasure.     Eboo Patel [00:24:53] Thank you so much, Isabel.    

Eboo Patel, president and founder of Interfaith America, reflects on the new American religious landscape with diverse civic leaders.

Minnesota Public Radio Indivisible Radio examined America in transition, during President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. This week's Big Books and Bold Ideas features a conversation with historian Kelly Lytle Hernandez about her new book, “Bad Mexicans.” It tells the dramatic and often overlooked story of the magonistas, the migrant rebels who sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution from the United States, and how their escapades threatened to undo the rise of Anglo-American power, on both sides of the border, and created the world of fraught immigration we live in today. To prepare for that discussion, here's a selection from the archives — a 2017 “Indivisible” conversation Miller had with Eboo Patel and Tamar Jacoby that examines how America's history as a land of immigrants can be maintained under then President Trump's divisive immigration policies. Guests: Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith America (formerly Interfaith Youth Core) and the author of several books, including “We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy.” Tamar Jacoby is currently the president of Opportunity America. At the time of this recording, she was president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA. She is also the author of several books, including “Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be American.” Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. 

Finding Your Way Back to Your True Self Today's show is another in a series of bonus episodes each featuring one of the incredible talks given by my participants in The Big Talk Academy as a part of our Virtual Showcase. This showcase is the culmination of their hard work as they cross the finish line to become certified speakers.    These episodes give you a peek behind the scenes to witness the amazing Big Talks presented and also give you exclusive access to my live feedback and the direction I give to each speaker immediately following their performances.   This week's episode features Sharyl West Loeung and her talk, “Finding Our Way Home.”   Sharyl is a speaker, writer, preacher, and educator who spends her days working with college students and faith leaders to help them consider what it means to belong in a diverse world. She was recently awarded a Faith in Vaccines grant from the Interfaith Youth Core to assemble and equip a student team focused on increasing vaccine receptivity in faith-based communities.    She is also the co-founder of Kardia House Consulting, which offers consulting, training, and curriculum on reframing conversations to heal our divisive, polarized society so we can see positive social change.   In her talk, she explores: The complexity of finding a place to belong amid a global pandemic (and even before it) The problem with traditional gatherings that become obligations How to stop being a passive participant in your own life Finding your way back to your true self More from Sharyl Her first appearance on The Big Talk podcast in Episode 422 Website: https://kardiahouse.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kardia.house  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kardia.house/  More from Tricia  Attend my masterclass, The Art of the Big Talk Explore my content and follow me on YouTube Follow me on Instagram  Connect with me on Facebook  Connect with me on LinkedIn  Visit my website at TriciaBrouk.com 

In this episode of the Climate Changed podcast you will experience: A centering practice led by poet, Maya Williams.  You will hear Maya read Emily Dickinson's Hope followed by one of Maya's original poems, Religious Imposters.  Nicole Diroff has a deep and incredibly honest conversation with Corina Newsome Ben and Nicole's deep and moving discussion about those remarks Next Steps for Engaged Hope About Corina Newsome Corina Newsome is the Associate Conservation Scientist at the National Wildlife Federation and a recent graduate from Georgia Southern University with a Master of Science in Biology. Corina, who began in the field of wildlife science as an animal care professional, specializes in avian conservation and passionately connects people with the natural world through birds. Having experienced the hurdles faced by marginalized communities in wildlife conservation, Corina's mission is to center the perspectives and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in wildlife conservation, environmental education, and exploration of the natural world. Corina is also one of the co-organizers of the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek    About Maya Williams and Their poem, Religious Imposters From Mayawilliamspoet.com: Maya Williams (she/hers, they/them, and ey/em) is a religious nonbinary Black multiracial suicide survivor constantly writing poems. Maya is the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine.  Maya's content covers suicide awareness, mental health, the prison industrial complex, faith, entertainment media, grief, and healing. About the poem, Religious Imposters, Maya writes: It is inspired by Baháʼí poet Anis Mojgani's poem "Shake the Dust." His poem is a call for so many different types of human beings to "shake the dust" and come into their own because of how there's so much to admire about them. I created this poem as an expression of love towards religious and non-religious people to let go of imposter syndrome (shake that dust, if you will). There's so much to admire about folks coming into their own worldview. As a Christian writer, I cannot separate my writing process from my faith (especially when I write my prayers in my private journal). There is a sense of sacredness and desire for a community when I engage in writing a poem similar to this one.  Religious Imposters was published in Frost Meadow Review and then shared on the Interfaith Youth Core.  The Conversation “Faith journeys are not soundbites” -Nicole Diroff Corina reveals how taking on racial injustice directly through activism has challenged the straight-forward faith she developed as a child at her church in Philadelphia. The outrage she has felt along with her commitment to engage in the struggle causes her to ask questions about her faith. She is wondering about Jesus as the great community organizer, as Dr. Heber Brown, has preached. To address the overwhelming anger along Corina chooses to engage in the process of deconstructing and reconstructing her faith. Through the process, she feels like a new person—back in touch with God and experiencing a new type of freedom.  She and Nicole talk about this messy and essential process.  “I decided to I would make a career out of my desire to look closely. -Corina Newsome from A Thing with Feathers Nicole first learned about Corina through the essay, The Thing with Feathers. Corina shared the essay in Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis, an anthology edited by  Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade and Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. In the essay Corina stresses the vial importance of looking closely.  Nicole and Corina talk about the process of paying attention. Coming from a low-wealth background, Corina Newsome, discovered the power of connecting to our life source. Resource deprivation opened her up to the rich resources in nature, even in the city of Philadelphia. She says, “You can feel the difference it makes in your body as far as the stress levels and the constant tension that exists from not knowing and having to ration constantly. That is just such a taxing way to live. The moment you stop for 30 seconds and watch a living thing, something lifts inside of you…life just feels lighter somehow…Looking closely is very much a necessary opportunity that everyone needs to do, but you don't know if it is there unless you've been taught.” You can hear Corina read the essay in the podcast The Art House, a project of Citizens Climate Radio and Artists and Climate Change. Corina also talks about how Black faith communities are now addressing resource inequity and depletion in relation to food sovereignty including  the Black Church Food Security Network. These efforts not only address some of the injustice issues faced in food deserts, they also help people connect to nature right in their neighborhoods through the foods they grow.  They also talk about hope, and the near obsession that many church communities have around the source of hope. Many are asking, Where do we find hope? It was in studying birds, Corina finds hope in these birds. Corina says, “There's nowhere just about where you can go where there aren't birds.” Even in the most polluted spaces, you still find birds, ways for life to exist and even thrive. In places where the environment is clearer and birds have a richer habitat, that is where you see them benefit from diversity.  Birds, with hollow bones and delicate bodies, like many marginalized people oppressed by injustices, may appear fragile, but they prove to be much stronger than many people can imagine. “They think we are fragile…” Nicole and Corina spoke with each other for nearly an hour.  Click here to hear longer version of the conversation. Next Steps for Engaged Hope If you want to make your home more bird friendly, Corina links to an article from American Bird Conservancy. Glass collisions kill up to 1 billion birds in the U.S. each year, and almost half happen at home windows. And there is something we can do today to address this! Learn How to Keep Birds from Hitting Your Windows.  You can make a difference by making a donation to Freedom Birders. Freedom Birders is a racial justice education project built on inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and #BlackBirdersWeek.  If you're looking for an organization to help out with, I'd actually suggest the one that Corinna mentioned, which is the Black Church Food Security Network. Their national organizer, Rev. Heber Brown co-led a presentation for us on imagination back in 2021. Another great place is The Boston Food Forest Coalition, which starts and tends urban food forests throughout Boston.  On-line Trailside Practices facilitated by Aram Mitchell. Wherever you are—looking out the window, strolling through the woods, sitting on a bench in the park—here are some brief invitations to spiritual practice that you can integrate into your day.  

The bishops speak with Eboo Patel, founder and president of the Interfaith Youth Core, about implicit bias and the damage done when we project our cultural values onto others. We must do the hard but holy work of examining our own assumptions and perceptions and engaging in practices to build healthy, intercultural relationships that honor each creation as worthy, equal and sacred. ● About Eboo Patel. ● We Need to Build by Eboo Patel will be available May 2022. ● Read about how the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church is focusing on creating Beloved Community. ● Become aware of your own implicit biases by taking the Implicit Association Test. What does The United Methodist Church say about racism?

In this episode, we feature Parth Bhansali, an Interfaith Youth Core alum, Regional Head of Sales at Groupon, and Real Estate Broker, for best tips and practices about managing people in a way that is inclusive of religious, spiritual, and secular identities.Connect with Parth on LinkedIn or by joining the Interfaith Business Network Slack community and LinkedIn group.

Rainn and Reza sit down with founder of Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel, to ponder, "Can't We All Just Get Along?"    https://www.instagram.com/rainnwilson/ https://www.instagram.com/rezaaslan/?hl=en   Special Thanks To Our Sponsors:  Goodniks Visit http://www.Goodniks.org to learn more about the Goodniks.  BetterHelp Get 10% off their first month at http://www.BetterHelp.com/MILKSHAKE  Buck Mason Go to http://www.BuckMason.com/MILKSHAKE and get a free t-shirt with your first order. Public Goods Go to http://www.PublicGoods.com/MILKSHAKE or use code MILKSHAKE at checkout to receive $15 (15 DOLLARS) off your first order. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founder and Executive Director at Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel, joined Rick Kogan to discuss his new book, ‘We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy.’ The book addresses the idea of getting to know and gathering people from various backgrounds to come together and act upon a common goal. He discussed the lives […]

"Mary's soul magnified the Lord and we understand God differently through the promise of Magnificat itself - with its radical promise of transformation, of elevation, of humbling, of a new heaven here on earth. It is the sermon on the Mount, but thirty years earlier. Magnificent."When was the last time you reflected on the revolutionary words of the Magnificat?//Luke 1:46-55And Mary said,“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Paul Raushenbush, the Senior Advisor for Public Affairs and Innovation at the Interfaith Youth Core. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relinquish by Podington Bear and What Child Is This? by Renderings.• Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all eight seasons of Be Still and Go. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital ministry resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo/#sign-up to receive new episodes by email. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/app to download the Riverside app.• Visit https://ifyc.org/ to learn more about the Interfaith Youth Core.

In this episode of the Faith Angle podcast, Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core sits down with Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali to discuss the possibilities and challenges of interfaith partnerships in today's polarized America, each drawing from the wisdom of their personal Muslim faith. Wajahat points to the obstacles that increasing political division, anti-immigrant discrimination, and bias against those of other faiths pose to robust religious pluralism. While accepting the strain of these realities, Eboo highlights with hope the many forms in which interfaith partnership is flourishing in America today. He offers listeners an invitation to learn from and replicate promising interfaith civic engagement in their own communities.    Guests Eboo Patel Wajahat Ali    Additional Resources Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise by Eboo Patel  Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali   

  This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Katy Dulany, and listen to her story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.  

This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Diana Gillespie, and listen to her story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.

  This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Andrew McElroy, and listen to his story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.  

Chaplain Hannah joins the conversation about the vaccinating against COVID-19 as the campus community prepares for the fall semester back on campus. She chats with Rachel Crabtree, a third-year student at Butler University whose summer internship with Interfaith Youth Core focused on vaccine hesitancy. Chaplain Hannah ends the episode by encouraging research, careful discernment, and compassion for others as we move forward. -----Additional resources: Get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines - Mayo ClinicCOVID-19 vaccines (who.int)Mayo Clinic - YouTubeDr. Dunkle COVID Message - YouTubeISDH - Novel Coronavirus: Vaccine Information and PlanningTell us your plans at Vaccination Status Form (forms-db.com)

This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Courtney Haubert, and listen to her story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.

This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Alexander Garcia, and listen to his story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.

  This episode of the Good Neighbear is a part of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Mari Sanchez, and listen to her story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.  

This episode of the Good Neighbear is the beginning of a special series for the podcast that focuses on IFYC's Faith in the Vaccine Ambassador (FIVA) Project, which is a grant-funded project awarded to Sharyl West Loeung of Baylor's Department of Multicultural Affairs. In this first episode, we join in with current Baylor student, Anu Agbi, and listen to her story about COVID-19 and the vaccine. In response to the high need of the current moment, the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, a long-time partner of Baylor and our Better Together BU interfaith group on campus, is launching the Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors project. Baylor is participating in this project, and throughout this special series of our podcast, we will meet different Baylor students who are serving as Ambassadors in this project, and we will have the opportunity to hear their stories.

Jim Grant, retired Director of Social Justice Ministry for the Diocese of Fresno will discuss Eboo Patel and his Interfaith Youth Core. The podcast will be based on a reading of  Patel's column in USA Today, June 9, 2021, "Bridges of Unity Don't Just Fall From the Sky".

When it comes to Christianity and the Covid 19 vaccine, things are complicated. We all long for the end of the pandemic and the health of our neighbors, but some of us are exposed to confusing and misleading information on the vaccines and the infection itself. How can we have respectful dialogue when we are surrounded by so much vitriol and misinformation? Don't you wish you could talk to someone you trust? In this episode, I talk with Madelyn Schwieters, Christine David, and Kendall Luman about their experience with the Interfaith Youth Corps faith and the vaccine ambassadors program. They talk about their roles in speaking with their community about the vaccine in an effort to encourage more people to get the shot. Link to the interfaith youth core program https://ifyc.org/interfaith-america/faith-and-vaccine

Author, Skye Jethani, is a guest on Dawn and Steve Mornings to remind us that prayer is so much more than a two-way transaction with a heavenly vending machine. Skye will share about his book What if Jesus Was Serious...About Prayer?: A Visual Guide to the Spiritual Practice Most of Us Get Wrong. Skye is an author, speaker, consultant and ordained pastor. He also serves as the co-host of the popular Phil Vischer Podcast, a weekly show that blends astute cultural and theological insights with comical conversation. He has been a sought after consultant for groups facing challenges at the intersection of faith and culture like The Lausanne Movement, The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the Interfaith Youth Core. Skye has authored three books, The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, and Futureville. Skye and his wife Amanda have three children: Zoe, Isaac, and Lucy and reside in Wheaton, IL. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode Alan Solow a former advisor on Middle East policy to President Obama and the Obama Administration joins me for a dynamic conversation on the current state of affairs in Israel. Mr. Solow is a public affairs consultant, political advisor and notable leader in the U.S. Jewish community. He is the former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations having met with the leaders of multiple countries around the world. In addition, he served as Chairman of JCC Association of North America, the Chairman of Chicago's Jewish Community Relations Council, President of the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago, President of Young Men's Jewish Council and as a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, including on its Executive Committee. He also served as a Trustee of the Jewish Federations of North America and was a Director of Sinai Health Systems. In addition,  Mr. Solow is the former Chairman of Interfaith Youth Core, a national organization promoting interfaith dialogue and service projects on college campuses. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Truman National Security Project and is the Vice-Chair of the Israel Policy Forum. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and served as a partner at the international law firm of DLA Piper. Mr. Solow was a senior advisor and national co-chair of the 2012 Obama re-elect campaign and accompanied the former President on his first trip to Israel in 2006. 

Below the Radar explores equity and public engagement in knowledge-making and learning with community-engaged scholars from the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University-Newark (HLLC). HLLC is a transformational college access program that aims to provide equitable opportunities to those that have been systematically disenfranchised. In this interview, our host Am Johal is joined by HLLC’s inaugural Dean, Timothy Eatman, and HLLC scholar Mohamed Farge. Together, they discuss how the pandemic has affected community engagement and teaching relationships in a post-secondary context. Mohamed speaks to bringing a social justice and equity lens into the world of finance. Timothy and Mohamed also talk about the importance of appreciating and respecting the knowledge that lives outside the academy, and taking an imaginative and artistic approach to community-engaged work and scholarship. Resources: — The HLLC (Honors Living-Learning Community) at Rutgers University-Newark website: https://hllc.newark.rutgers.edu/ — Dr. Timothy K. Eatman’s website: http://timothykeatman.com/ — Dr. Timothy K. Eatman’s story: https://admissions.rutgers.edu/stories/dr-timothy-eatmans-story-newark — Imagining American consortium (IA): https://imaginingamerica.org/ — Interfaith Youth Core: https://ifyc.org/

In this special episode, Sikh Activist, Simran Jeet Singh, joins Omid Safi for conversation exploring anti-racism as a spiritual practice.Recognized among TIME Magazine’s 16 people fighting for a more equal America, Simran Jeet Singh is Senior Adviser for Equity and Inclusion at YSC Consulting and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. He is a 2020 Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, a Racial Equity Media Fellow with Interfaith Youth Core, and a Senior Fellow for the Sikh Coalition. Simran holds a PhD, MPhil, and MA from Columbia University, an MTS from Harvard University, and a BA from Trinity University. He is the author of a best-selling children's book, Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon, and is in the process of writing a non-fiction book for adults, titled, More of This Please: Sikh Wisdom for the Soul. For more information, please visit SimranJeetSingh.orgOriginally recorded for Religion News Service

David Cronenberg’s The Fly tells the story of one man’s quest to develop teleportation — and everything that goes wrong along the way. The 1986 sci-fi horror movie stars Jeff Goldblum as Seth, the genius scientist, and Geena Davis as Ronnie, a journalist who falls in love with him. After an experiment goes awry, Seth begins a grisly transformation into a human-fly hybrid. Tony Banout, who works in interfaith dialogue, says he saw the movie as a cautionary tale about the dangers of an unchecked ego — and took lessons from it about grappling with death, decay, and grief. Tony Banout — is the senior vice president of Interfaith Youth Core. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, where he studied at the Divinity School and was a Martin Marty Center and Provost fellow.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

So many of us have been getting through this year by watching movies at home by ourselves, or with friends on Zoom, inventing new ways to grieve and to hope, to keep ourselves laughing, all through the simple act of watching stories unfold on our screens. Movies have the power to unearth the many layers of our identities; to help us answer the question: Who am I? And that is what we trace, by way of a few beloved movies including The Color Purple, The Fly, and Blockers, in this episode.Danez Smith — is a Black, queer, HIV-positive writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are the author of Homie and Don’t Call Us Dead, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.Tony Banout — is the Senior Vice President of Interfaith Youth Core. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, where he studied at the Divinity School and was a Martin Marty Center and Provost fellow.Shea Serrano —  is an author, journalist, and former teacher whose work has been featured in The Ringer and Grantland. He’s the author of The Rap Year Book, Basketball (and Other Things), and Movies (and Other Things).Emily VanDerWerff — is a writer and the Critic at Large for Vox.Virgie Tovar — is an author, activist, and one of the nation's leading experts and lecturers on weight-based discrimination and body image. She is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat and The Self-Love Revolution, and hosts the podcast Rebel Eaters Club.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

Simran Jeet Singh is the Senior Diversity and Inclusion Adviser for YSC Consulting and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. He is a Soros Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, a Racial Equity Media Fellow with Interfaith Youth Core, and a Senior Fellow for the Sikh Coalition. This past year, Simran added author to his resume with the release of his best-selling children's book from Penguin Random House (Kokila), Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon. He is currently completing an adult non-fiction book for Penguin Random House (Riverhead) entitled More of This Please: Sikh Wisdom for the Soul. 

My guest for this podcast is Eboo Patel. Eboo is the founder of IFYC, Interfaith Youth Core, and is now a national figure in developing interfaith conversations and relationships. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and is the author of several books, including "Acts of Faith: The Story of An American Muslim, in the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation" and "Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise." We talked about the state of interfaith relations in today’s society, the importance of connecting with young people, and where he finds hope. You can learn more about IFYC at ifyc.org and you can follow Eboo on Twitter @EbooPatel.

For an episode transcript and more info about this show, visit blessedarethebinarybreakers.com/podcast. This is the second of two episodes featuring excerpts from authors who speak on religious pluralism and interfaith relationships. In this episode, Avery reiterates how opening oneself to beliefs beyond one's own can enrich one's connection to divinity and to humanity - rather than posing a threat to one's own faith life. The passages Avery shares in this episode come from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' Making Space for Difference, Philip Vinod Peacock's "Some Insights on Imago Dei," Rev. Jonathan Thunderword's From Christendom to Freedom, and Eboo Patel's Acts of Faith. Talking Points: - (0:00 - 3:30) Announcement - this podcast is now part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network! - (3:31 - 9:01) Peering out from our own boxes to avoid stagnation - seeking knowledge is an act of faith, not fear - (9:02 - 11:31) Rabbi Sacks and Philip Vinod Peacock on no one person or group fully representing the Image of God - (11:32 - 16:02) Introducing Rev. Jonathan Thunderword - a Black, trans, omni-faith, multi-spiritual practitioner and author of From Christendom to Freedom: Journeymaking with a Black Transgender Elder - (16:03 - 21:03) Engaging in multiple religions in his search for faith that nourishes rather than harms; looking to his ancestors and being shaped by every tradition he's explored - (21:04 - 22:50) Introducing Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation - (22:51 - 28:25) Choosing between religious totalitarianism and religious pluralism - active commitment - (28:26 - 36:52) It's okay to personally prefer and maintain your own tradition as your "home" - but leave the windows open "so that the winds of other traditions can blow through and bring their unique oxygen." Blessed Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find more shows - such as Bible Bash - at www.rockcandyrecordings.com. The theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. The other music featured in this episode come from "Dreamer," "Mod 5," and "Mod 4" by Jeremy SH Griffith - find more at www.jeremyshgriffith.com/home.

On today's show, we continue our conversation with Oliver Goodrich (he/him/his), Associate Dean of Spirituality and Meaning-Making and Director of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW). We go in-depth on how religion, spirituality, and faith can be a part of the problem- and solution- in addressing current social issues such as racism, fundamentalism, and Covid-19. Resources on this topic and are shared on this episode include: - The Pluralism Project at Harvard University: https://pluralism.org/ - On Being Podcast with Krista Tippett, "The Spiritual Work of Black Lives Matter:" https://onbeing.org/programs/patrisse-cullors-and-robert-ross-the-spiritual-work-of-black-lives-matter-may2017/ - The Building Movement Project, "Mapping Our Roles in a Social Change Ecosystem:" https://buildingmovement.org/our-work/movement-building/social-change-ecosystem-map/ - Eboo Patel, Founder of Interfaith Youth Core: ifyc.org/eboo - Valarie Kaur, Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer, author of "See No Stranger:" https://valariekaur.com/see-no-stranger/ - Cornell University's Student & Campus Life COVID Spiritual Resources: scl.cornell.edu/identity-resource…iritual-resources - Cornell University's Student & Campus Life Racial Justice Resources: scl.cornell.edu/identity-resource…justice-resources

On this show, we talk about the differences and similarities between religion, faith, and spirituality, and how we make meaning of all three terms with Oliver Goodrich, Associate Dean of Spirituality and Meaning-Making and Director of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW). Resources on this topic and are shared on this episode include: - Cornell University's Student & Campus Life COVID Spiritual Resources: https://scl.cornell.edu/identity-resources/office-spirituality-and-meaning-making/resources/covid-spiritual-resources - Cornell University's Student & Campus Life Racial Justice Resources: https://scl.cornell.edu/identity-resources/office-spirituality-and-meaning-making/resources/racial-justice-resources - "Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious" by Chris Stedman: https://www.amazon.com/Faitheist-Atheist-Common-Ground-Religious/dp/0807014451/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1606408006&sr=1-1 - Eboo Patel, Founder of Interfaith Youth Core: https://ifyc.org/eboo

By the time you listen to this episode, we may already know who the 46th president of the United States will be. But whoever wins, there is one thing we can say with certainty now: We remain a divided country. So this week, we wanted to talk to someone who has been working across divisions for over a decade: Dr. Eboo Patel. In 2002, Eboo founded the Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that works with colleges, governments and social service agencies to increase interfaith cooperation. He also served on President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships. Eboo believes that it is impossible to understand what is happening in our world—and in the 2020 election—without paying attention to and engaging with people’s diverse religious commitments. We ask Eboo what lessons he has learned from his interfaith work that might help us to heal the fractures of our body politic. With the election results very much still up in the air at recording time, we decided it didn’t make a lot of sense to try to read the signs of the times this week. But stick around after the interview for our (non-election related) Consolations and Desolations. A reminder that we are discussing Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” in reading groups (over drinks) with all members of our Patreon community throughout the month of November. Even if you missed the first meeting, there’s still time to sign up to support the show and guarantee a spot in the reading group. 

Dr. Patel reminds us that religious freedom also requires granting different religious groups full dignity in the public sphere.

Dr. Janett I. Cordovés and I speak about being a first-generation Cubana, STEM student who pursued a career in higher education, now working on supporting interfaith movement work at IFYC. We chat about how she is harnessing her spiritual gifts of humility, faith and joy to thrive during the pandemic. Janett speaks about the badass women that inspire her and the the importance of Marie Kondo-ing your community (surrounding yourself with people that espouse joy). She also speaks about three important questions she asks her self at various critical moments in her life:- "What brings me joy?"- "Does the world need me to do it?"- "Am I any good at it?” Janett I. Cordovés is an interfaith scholar, higher education consultant and digital pedagogy specialist. She is the Director of Higher Education Partnerships for Interfaith Youth Core, working to equip and empower campus professional staff and faculty to be interfaith leaders. Before joining the IFYC team, Janett worked in higher education for over a decade, elevating the importance of engaging worldview identity and creating religious and spiritual accommodations and policies to support students' holistic development and retention and success efforts. Janett has a bachelor's in applied mathematics, a master's in higher education, and a doctorate in ethical leadership. Her research interests include first-generation, #digitalfaith, leadership development, and spirituality. In her spare time, Janett travels to spend time with family and friends, volunteers with Beyond Hunger, the Chicago Food Pantry, and at her place of worship - City Church Chicago.https://www.janetticordoves.com@joyful_makingadifference@JanettIsabel

Inspired by visionary Bryan Stevenson who calls us to "get proximate" to better understand different lived experiences, Zina & Jessica share some ways they are learning how to practice curiosity, generous listening, and standing in another's shoes to build more inclusive communities. Zina tells the story of how three magic words—"help me understand"—helped her unpack her own "suitcase of stereotypes" in cross-racial relationships. Jess shares a great list of resources for anyone looking to make curiosity a life practice, including dialogues offered by Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT), Interfaith Youth Core, Telos Group, Braver Angels, and Urban Consulate. As Winston Churchill said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” To join Zina & Jessica in their own series of courageous conversations, visit CourageousCommunity.us.

The 2020 election may be one of the most important in our lifetimes. How are people of faith approaching this election, working to get out the vote, safeguard a fair election, and renew confidence in the democratic process? In this episode, #InterfaithMattersPodcast co-producer Michelle Polton-Simon talks with Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs and Innovation at Interfaith Youth Core, on the unprecedented involvement people of faith (including many young adults voting for the first time) are bringing to this election, and what listeners can do to help bring about the changes they wish to see in this country. IMPORTANT VOTING RESOURCES Find your polling place for election day or EARLY VOTING (beginning October 24): https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/ How to register to vote or request an absentee ballot: https://www.elections.ny.gov/ How to volunteer as a poll worker: https://www.powerthepolls.org/   ——————————————————- Podcast Questions? Comments? Have a question for our guests or comment on our podcast series? Would you like to suggest a guest or topic for a future podcast episode? Please feel free to contact us at podcast@interfaithcenter.org. “Interfaith Matters” is hosted by co-producer AJ DeBonis. This episode is guest-hosted by co-producer Michelle Polton-Simon, and edited and executive produced by Kevin Childress. Learn more about the podcast team on our website.

In this episode of Raising Fearless Girls:  Dr. Christopher Lewis is the father of 2 daughters that are now in their tweens and teens. He started Dad of Divas, a blog to share his own personal experiences in being a father in 2007 and in 2018 started the Dads With Daughters Facebook Group to allow dads to connect, learn and grow together. He’s also the host of the Dads with Daughters Podcast. He works in Digital Media on a daily basis, but also has over 20 years of experience in higher education administration. Brian Anderson is the father of 2 spirited daughters that keep him inspired and exhausted. He started Fathering Together as a way to better connect and learn from his fellow dads. During the work day, you can find him working at Interfaith Youth Core as a Student Leadership Manager where he trains undergraduate students to build bridges across lines of religious difference. In this episode with Chris Lewis and Brian Anderson, we discuss: How Dads with Daughters became a Facebook Group with over 125 thousand members Dads with Daughters Podcast The Importance of Fathers having support and a community FatheringTogether.org nonprofit Fathering Together membership site Recently published Fathering Together book, Fathering Stories, Vol. 1 What fatherhood means to Brian and Chris Links from this episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dadsdaughters/ https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/dads-with-daughters/id1493711065 https://www.facebook.com/groups/dadswithsons/ https://www.fatheringtogether.org/ https://www.facebook.com/fatheringtogether/ https://www.amazon.com/Fathering-Stories-Rev-Matthew-Kelley-ebook/dp/B089CJRPHY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fathering+stories&qid=1592492740&sr=8-1 Follow our Guests Twitter @dadwdaughter Twitter @FatherTogether  Follow our Podcast IG @RaisingFearlessGirls Facebook.com/RaisingFearlessGirls http://raisingfearlessgirls.com/ Follow our Host IG @saravanessamcg Twitter @saravanessamcg Join the Conversation Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our free private Facebook group of #girlmoms. This week’s question is: What’s your favorite memory of your daughter with her dad? If you are a new listener to Raising Fearless Girls, we would love to hear from you.  Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

This week we are joined by Rev. Sarah as we reflect on the topic of interfaith bridge building. We listen to an interview of Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core, and observe the commonalities that exist between different faiths, and how these shared values can be used to create a better world for all.

Tahil Sharma is an interfaith activist based in Los Angeles who was born to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother who works as the North American Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative, the world's largest, grassroots interfaith network. Following the Oak Creek, WI shooting of a Sikh temple in 2012, Tahil became involved in efforts for interfaith literacy and social justice and has been doing this work professionally for the past seven years. Tahil serves as one of three Interfaith Ministers in Residence for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and as the Los Angeles Coordinator for Sadhana: A Coalition of Progressive Hindus. Tahil also serves various organizations in different capacities to educate, engage, and serve various communities that promote interfaith cooperation and ethical pluralism and social and productive norms in society including the Interfaith Youth Core, the Parliament of the World's Religions, The Guibord Center, and The Interreligious Council of Southern California. He is also a contributing author to books including Co-Human Harmony: Using Our Shared Humanity To Bridge Divides, Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care: Chaplaincy in Theory and Practice, and Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage, Activism, and Hope Across Religions. Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/DnYgiwNF0zg Support this podcast

Tahil Sharma is an interfaith activist based in Los Angeles who was born to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother who works as the North American Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative, the world's largest, grassroots interfaith network. Following the Oak Creek, WI shooting of a Sikh temple in 2012, Tahil became involved in efforts for interfaith literacy and social justice and has been doing this work professionally for the past seven years. Tahil serves as one of three Interfaith Ministers in Residence for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and as the Los Angeles Coordinator for Sadhana: A Coalition of Progressive Hindus. Tahil also serves various organizations in different capacities to educate, engage, and serve various communities that promote interfaith cooperation and ethical pluralism and social and productive norms in society including the Interfaith Youth Core, the Parliament of the World's Religions, The Guibord Center, and The Interreligious Council of Southern California. He is also a contributing author to books including Co-Human Harmony: Using Our Shared Humanity To Bridge Divides, Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care: Chaplaincy in Theory and Practice, and Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage, Activism, and Hope Across Religions. Watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/DnYgiwNF0zg Support this podcast

As COVID-19 continues to radically transform much of American public life, a debate has emerged about what it could mean for religious pluralism in the United States. On the podcast this week, we'll talk with Interfaith Youth Core president Eboo Patel and discuss whether this crisis will unite the country or amplify old tensions, as Patel and host Robert P. Jones have different analyses on this fundamental question. We'll also reflect on the findings of a recent PRRI survey on the coronavirus and attitudes on whether religious gatherings should be exempt from social distancing restrictions. 

How do religious groups work together for the greater good? On this episode of Respecting Religion, we bring you a conversation featuring Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core (starting at 13:01). In this discussion from March 2020, Patel talks about how the history behind the term “Judeo-Christian” suggests opportunities for greater religious inclusion, shares personal reflections on what it is like to be a Muslim in America today, and explains why he is optimistic about religious pluralism. Plus, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talk about how they saw religion respected in the world during the celebrations of Easter and Passover. Show notes: Segment 1: Where we saw religion respected (Starting at 00:40) Amanda mentioned her church's rendition of Handel's Messiah, which is available on YouTube. Holly mentioned this piece by Michele Norris in The Washington Post: The coronavirus is depriving people of the rituals needed to process pain. Amanda mentioned this piece in Religion News Service by Simrin Singh about the Sikh community finding new ways to celebrate Vaisakhi: Sikhs turn to online Vaisakhi For more information on the Shurden Lectures — including an interview with Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden — visit BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures. To learn more about the Baptist House of Studies at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU, visit this link. The Rev. Dr. George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church and Faith Commons interviews Patel during this discussion. To learn more about Faith Commons, visit this link.     Segment 2: Eboo Patel on the term “Judeo-Christian” and working across faiths (Starting at 13:01) Eboo Patel's latest book is Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise. Patel mentioned the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Learn more at this link. Patel mentioned an opinion piece by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi published in The Washington Post. It is titled “I thought the Iranian Revolution would bring freedom. I was wrong.”   Segment 3: Close (Starting at 47:42) Videos of all three of Eboo Patel's presentations for the 2020 Shurden Lectures will soon be available on BJC's YouTube channel.

How do religious groups work together for the greater good? On this episode of Respecting Religion, we bring you a conversation featuring Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core (starting at 13:01). In this discussion from March 2020, Patel talks about how the history behind the term “Judeo-Christian” suggests opportunities for greater religious inclusion, shares personal reflections on what it is like to be a Muslim in America today, and explains why he is optimistic about religious pluralism. Plus, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talk about how they saw religion respected in the world during the celebrations of Easter and Passover. The post Ep. 09: Eboo Patel and interfaith collaboration appeared first on BJC.

A Baptist minister describes social distancing as both a moral obligation and a spiritual practice.

The founder of Chicago-based nonprofit Interfaith Youth Core was recently recognized by Time magazine for “bridging divides across America.”

The models tell us social distancing is a necessary evil. Isolation limits the spread of the novel coronavirus and slows the most serious cases of COVID-19. But humans are social creatures. How do we cope with the loss of significant gatherings, like weekly faith services, extended family dinners — not to mention the bigger touchstones of burying a loved one, or celebrating new life? Thursday on MPR News with Kerri Miller, we spoke with two spiritual leaders and thinkers about what it means — and how we can still sustain each other — when we can’t come together. Guests: Stephanie Williams O’Brien, pastor of Mill City Church in Minneapolis and author of “Stay Curious” Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core

Ruth Broyde Sharone: Filmmaker. Author. Journalist. And now — creator of INTERFAITH: The Musical.Honored internationally for her passionate interfaith activism and leadership, Ruth Broyde Sharone is the songwriter and lyricist of INTERFAITH: The Musical. All the songs on the album were written by Ruth, and arranged by the talented Kc Daugirdas.In recognition of her contributions to bridge-building, Ruth was inducted into the Martin Luther King Advisory Board of Morehouse College in 2013. In 2015 Ruth received a special commendation as an Interfaith Leader from Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti. Her interfaith memoir, MINEFIELDS & MIRACLES is a fascinating odyssey of her global interfaith adventures and misadventures. The book received three literary awards and more than 30 endorsements from prominent religious leaders, including H.H. the Dalai Lama, best-selling author Marianne Williamson, and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel.From 1993-2000, Ruth led multiple interfaith pilgrimages from Cairo to Sinai to Jerusalem, which were highlighted on CNN World News. In 2007 Ruth co-founded the Southern California Parliament of the World’s Religions (sccpwr.org) and has served as its Co-Chair for the last ten years. She is also a well-known correspondent for The Interfaith Observer.A popular public speaker, Ruth travels frequently to college campuses and community centers to present her interfaith programs and award-winning film, GOD AND ALLAH NEED TO TALK. Recently Ruth was invited to launch a new course called “Interfaith Activism and Beyond” for the Academy of Jewish Religion California (ajrca.org), a trans-denominational rabbinical and cantorial seminary.You can find her musical here: http://interfaiththemusical.com

What’s the antidote to Christian nationalism? To conclude our podcast series, we take a look at what it means to embrace civic pluralism with Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core. He talks with BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler about the difference in religious and civic pluralism, the origins of the term “Judeo-Christian,” connections between anti-Muslim bigotry and anti-Catholic bigotry, and how we can create a “potluck nation,” where everyone brings their unique contributions to the table. The post Ep. 10: Embracing civic pluralism appeared first on BJC.

Kevin interviews two Taylor University students who attended the nation's largest collegiate interfaith conference in August 2019 (Interfaith Youth Core's Leadership Institute). Interfaith has gotten a bad rap in evangelical circles, but their experiences might surprise you.

Author and activist Dr. Eboo Patel is nationally and even internationally known for his interfaith work on college campuses as the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, but as a young man, religion was barely on his radar. Listen as we follow his path back to faith and to interfaith work, and why he feels it’s important enough to devote his life to it, and we have a panel discussion on the ideas he presents.

Eboo Patel (Founder, Interfaith Youth Core) and Shadi Hamid (Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution) talk about the kind of pluralism our country needs right now and whether the revival of an American creed or grand narrative is necessary for healthy pluralism to take root in our country.

Mike Brady of Greyston Bakery on open hiring. Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core on respecting religion. Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania on food preferences. Hany Farid of Dartmouth College on fake internet videos. Jeremy Snyder of Simon Fraser University on the ethics of medical crowdfunding. Paul Venturelli of Ball State University on aquaponics.

This spiritual life podcast features Sara's conversation with author, speaker, educator, and interfaith leader, Dr. Eboo Patel. Eboo founded Interfaith Youth Core on the idea that religion should be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He is inspired to build this bridge by his identity as an American Muslim navigating a religiously diverse social landscape. On the podcast, Sara asks about Eboo's spiritual practices, the role of his mother's faith in his life, and his hopes for the young people to whom he devotes his life. Eboo founded Interfaith Youth Core on the idea that religion should be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He is inspired to build this bridge by his identity as an American Muslim navigating a religiously diverse social landscape.

Presentation at Coray Gymnasium and dialogue with President Philip Ryken. Wheaton College (IL) welcomed Eboo Patel to campus to speak about the importance of bringing people of different faiths together to solve some of our country's biggest challenges, and to overcome today's polarizing social and political climate. Eboo is an Ismaili Muslim who is founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core.

Interview with Kevin Singer. Wheaton College (IL) welcomed Eboo Patel to campus to speak about the importance of bringing people of different faiths together to solve some of our country's biggest challenges, and to overcome today's polarizing social and political climate. Eboo is an Ismaili Muslim who is founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core.

Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) was founded by Eboo Patel, and its mission is to create a system of people and campuses where interfaith cooperation is the norm. The organization continues the tradition of modern interfaith work which started in 1893 with the Parliament of World’s Religions. However, IFYC is less focused on theoretical dialogue and more focused on action. They provide free educator resources on their website, organize training conferences, and provide grant funding for scholars to create or revise undergraduate courses that integrate interfaith themes. Noah Silverman is their senior director of learning and partnerships and Katie Baxter is their Vice President of Program Strategy. * The Chronicle of Higher Education's profile of Eboo Patel, IFYC's founder and president * Faith Is the Diversity Issue Ignored by Colleges. Here's Why That  Needs to Change by Eboo Patel, Chronicle of Higher Education * The first chapter of Eboo’s most recent book, Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise, which lays out IFYC's organizational vision, is  online * The first chapter of his book, Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, on IFYC's organizational methodology,is also online * Eboo writes a blog for Inside Higher Ed that addresses identity and diversity issues in higher education * A piece on excellence in interfaith engagement: Leadership Practices for Interfaith Excellence in Higher Education by Eboo Patel, Katie Baxter, and Noah Silverman, Liberal Education * A piece on tribalism and marginalization in contemporary culture: A Nation Under Two Flags: Liberal Education, Interfaith Literacy, and the New American Holy War by Eboo Patel, Liberal Education * IFYC's annual Interfaith Leadership Institute was featured on PBS News Hour Transcript Here is a transcript of this episode. Rating the Show If you enjoyed this show, please rate it on iTunes: * Go to the show's iTunes page and click “View in iTunes” * Click “Ratings and Reviews” which is to the right of "Details" * Next to "Click to Rate" select the stars. See the full list of episodes of Half Hour of Heterodoxy >>

Quinn Mecham of BYU on Venezuela, Sudan, Israel and Syria. Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core on teaching kids to build bridges between faiths. Susan Schweik of UC Berkeley on the ugly history of of ugly laws. Pete Malinowski of Billion Oyster Project on oysters with a mission. Diana Duan of BYU on the Chinese New Year. Paolo Sassone-Corsi of the University of California, Irvine on the benefits of fasting.

Benjamin P. Marcus is the religious literacy specialist with the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute, where he examines the intersection of education, religious literacy, and identity formation in the United States. He has developed religious literacy programs for public schools, universities, U.S. government organizations, and private foundations, and he has delivered presentations on religion at universities and nonprofits in the U.S. and abroad. He has worked closely with the U.S. State Department, Interfaith Youth Core, the Foundation for Religious Literacy, and the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme in the United Kingdom. In February 2018, Marcus was accepted as a Fulbright Specialist for a period of three years. As a Specialist, he will share his expertise on religion and education with select host institutions abroad. Marcus chaired the writing group for the Religious Studies Companion Document to the C3 Framework, a nationally recognized set of guidelines used by state and school district curriculum experts for social studies standards and curriculum development. He is a contributing author in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Religion and American Education, where he writes about the importance of religious literacy education. In 2015 he served as executive editor of the White Paper of the Sub-Working Group on Religion and Conflict Mitigation of the State Department's Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group. Marcus earned an MTS with a concentration in Religion, Ethics, and Politics as a Presidential Scholar at Harvard Divinity School. He studied religion at the University of Cambridge and Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude.

What happens when two students from one of America's most conservative Bible colleges attend the nation's largest collegiate interfaith conference? Find out in this episode as we interview Amar Peterman and Timothy Heyward, who attended the Interfaith Youth Core's Interfaith Leadership Institute in August 2018.

Khateebah Zan Christ delivers the 41st khutbah for The Women's Mosque of America on May 25th, 2018. She speaks about the empowerment that Islam has granted women and how we as women can, and should, utilize these rights to better ourselves and society. Zan Christ is the Coordinator for Religious and Spiritual Life Program at Hamline University's Wesley Center for Spirituality, Service and Social Justice. She organizes the logistics, promotion, and communication of the Religious and Spiritual Life programs with the intention of nurturing the religious and spiritual lives of students, faculty and staff. She supervises student workers of the RSL groups, including Multifaith Alliance, Jewish Student Life, Mindfulness Meditation, Interfaith Youth Core's Better Together and Muslim Student Association. Also, she serves as an educational resource on religious diversity, interfaith literacy and cooperation on campus and in the community. She is an experienced interfaith leader, accomplishing an Undergraduate Degree in World Religions from Hamline University and a Graduate Degree in College Student Affairs (Counseling and Student Personnel) from Minnesota State University, Mankato. While at MSU, Zan gained a broad perspective while interning in the Career Development Center, Academic Advising, and Enrollment Management. Over the last five years, Zan has been an interfaith resource for Midwestern collegiate panels and programs regarding topics such as Social Justice Within Islam, American Converts' Journey to Islam, Interrupting Islamophobia, Counseling American Muslims, and Women's Faith Experiences in Diverse Communities. Most recently she worked for three years as the Advancement Operations Coordinator at the Science Museum of Minnesota, where she was also active in developing diversity and interfaith trainings for the staff of the museum. There she built a designated Quiet Space, where anyone from any religion or no religion could use it to pray, meditate or just take a silent break. For many years, Zan provided leadership and strategy at Building Blocks of Islam on several projects including Qur'an and Islamic studies teacher, Convert and New Muslims Mentorship Coordinator, and Camp Counselor at Young Sister's Al Isra Retreat, in which she won the highest award of the camp – The Best Camp Counselor Award.

Chicago Theological Seminary is located just south of the Midway Plaisance in Hyde Park. Many of you probably know that this stretch of green space, stretching more than a mile from Jackson Park and Lake Michigan on the east to Washington Park on the west, was created as part of the World’s Fair, the Colombian Exposition, held in 1893 and attracting some 27 million visitors. One of the most amazing events that was convened as part of the Exposition was the first World’s Parliament of Religions. This was the first formal gathering of Eastern and Western spiritual and religious leaders and we recognize it as the beginning of interfaith dialogue. Hindus, Buddhists, Bahais, Jains, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Unitarians, and adherents of the Shinto and Zoroastrian traditions gathered for the first time ever in one place. This history continues to amaze me. I can’t imagine the logistics ... in 1893 ... of creating, organizing, and implementing an event so large and so far-reaching. I admit to a lack of imagination here but seriously ... invitations had to cross oceans by boat! No one was arriving on frequent flyer miles and plans couldn’t be confirmed via email accessible on smart phones. I confess, this simply astounds me. Often on my lunch hour, I will walk over to the Midway and contemplate that history and its legacy. I think of the audacity, the courage, and the vision of those who convened the Parliament in particular. The whole idea of it is incredulous and must have been met with skepticism in some circles and ridicule in others. Think about it. This had never happened before. Imagine the concerns about bringing together this mixed bag of religious leaders. Imagine the hand wringing and the naysayers. The “we’ve never done this before” attitudes. The worries that the difference is too much, the world views too disparate. And yet ... Here we are some 125 years later and the Parliament of the World’s Religions has its global offices here in Chicago, we continue to have a rich multiplicity of religious and faith communities, we have more theological schools than any other place in the world except Vatican City, we are the headquarters of the Interfaith Youth Core, and honestly, every time we step on the CTA, it’s an interfaith experience. I suspect that we owe this incredible religious diversity to that audacity, courage, and vision. I’ve been asked to share with you some of my thoughts on doing congregational ministry in the religious diversity of our city and our time. And I think, in order to do that, we have to hold that legacy and history in our minds. I also think I need to share with you a little bit of my own story and how I’ve come to this work. I’m truly an unlikely candidate for leading an interfaith project. I grew up in a household that was entirely non-religious. I can’t say we were atheist. We just weren’t anything. I suppose I could say we were trend-setters. I’m old enough that my public elementary school sent students to “Wednesday school” every week after lunch. At the beginning of the school year, families had to select which church they wanted their child to attend for that weekly program. My Jewish friend, Shoshana, and I were the “Nones” of our day, hanging back to help teachers organize classrooms or work on special art projects while all our other classmates headed off for a mid-week dose of religious instruction. So with today’s headlines proclaiming and sometimes fretting over the rise of the “nones,” I’m here as a reminder that we’ve always had nones in our midst. In any case, my adolescence, college and young adult years are an interfaith journey of their own as my then “Spiritual but not religious” self sought out a community in which to make meaning and wrestle with those “meaning of life” age-old questions that kept me awake at night from my youngest memories. I fell into a UCC church when my children were young and attending a co-op preschool housed in the church. The signs on the wall intrigued me. And the community welcomed and nurtured me, giving me space to question, think, and be authentic. Eventually the pastor invited me to lead the youth program. When I reminded him I didn’t own a Bible and certainly couldn’t believe Jesus was the only way to God, he told me the youth didn’t need pat answers, they needed someone to make space for their questions and accompany them on their journeys. And he gave me my first Bible. I found that though I didn’t have answers, I could make space for questions and journeys. And I did. And as I did, my own questions grew and my own journey deepened and eventually, in a wonderfully surprising way, I was led to the classrooms of CTS for my MDiv and then a second master’s of sacred theology degree. And to ordination in this denomination that has always made space for my questions, accompanied me on my journey, and never offered me pat answers. Throughout my work in youth ministry and my seminary studies, I was drawn and committed to interfaith engagement. Sharing Seders with a Jewish community every Passover, building Habitat for Humanity homes with youth and leaders from the local Muslim community center, spending time at the Lakeshore Interfaith Center where we encountered Eastern traditions, native traditions, healing traditions. I interned with an interfaith community organizing group, building interfaith coalitions to address issues including early childhood education, access to housing, and food security in local communities. I worked with Jewish and Muslim youth groups on a play called Children of Abraham, where we shared our tellings of the stories of Isaac and Ishmael as a way to see our shared roots. After graduation, I first worked at CTS as the Director of Admission, taking special care to recruit and welcome non-Christian students. I helped to facilitate a cohort program of religiously diverse students and gave workshops on college campuses, at IFYC events, at the Parliament of the World’s Religions. I blogged, and posted on social media, and marched with my arms joined with a myriad of friends from all kinds of traditions. Not just the usual suspects but also Jains, Pagans, ecowarriors, queer Muslims, indigenous leaders, and of course, the Nones. I share this litany not so much to highlight what I did but to demonstrate my commitment to this work. How I believed in the power of interfaith work, of dialoguing, of building bridges across lines of difference, of creating coalitions to address injustice. In December of 2016 I was speaking on a panel at CTS. One of my Muslim friends who works at IFYC was also on the panel. We each gave our usual spiel about the importance of interfaith work. And after the panel, when we were munching on hummus (because the mark of interfaith work is always hummus), we found ourselves having an honest conversation. A heartbreaking, challenging, honest conversation. You see, the rhetoric of the 2016 election, the rise of hate crimes against Muslims, the overt religious bigotry evident in proposed legislation and policies, a rabid nationalism couched in a version of Christianity so far from the gospel it makes me wretch ... it was affecting me. And it was affecting my friend. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Honestly, Lisa, what’s the point? We’ve been doing this work, sharing on these panels, we’ve eaten so much hummus together ...” Unable to finish her sentence, I completed it for her, “...and it feels like we’re moving backward. It feels like we haven’t made a difference.” We didn’t say much after that. We hugged goodbye shortly afterward, a wistful look in her eye as she walked out the door. Don’t get me wrong here. It’s not that the things my IFYC friend and I were doing for those many years were wrong. Not at all. I think we need to keep doing all that and do more of it. It’s just that, alone, those efforts are not enough, they haven’t been effective in creating the kind of solidarity that insists on religious pluralism and refuses bigotry, hate speech, and violence. The tiki torches in Charlottesville show me that we haven’t been effective. The targeted surveillance of mosques tells me we haven’t been effective. My Iranian-born, green-card holding friend Sarvin coming home from a visit to Australia, detained for four days in the first Muslim travel ban tells me we haven’t been effective. The question becomes, how do we create and discover new and deepened ways of truly being in community in solidarity? How do we as Christians create partnerships and alliances that help to change public opinion and policy, moving us to a lived ethic of religious pluralism? Where there is truly space for a multiplicity of religious and non- religious identities? As I consider these questions, I think what’s required is something with the kind of audacity, courage, and vision that the creators of that first Parliament had. I think we need to be bold, to push beyond existing models and frameworks, to not only stay in tried and true models and methods. In fact, if I can be so bold, I think, for us as Christians, we need to bring more of the Gospel to our interfaith work. And by this I don’t mean we need to proselytize or seek to convert anyone. Truly, I don’t think that’s the intention of the Gospel. I believe the power of the Gospel lies in the ability to go beyond what seems possible, to imagine and live in ways that truly counter reality. And I think perhaps that’s where the audacious vision might arise. I’d like to tell you I have this all figured out but, once again, pat answers aren’t at hand, instead I’m inviting you to question, explore, and to journey with me. And I do have some thoughts about at least part of what we might envision. First, I think we need to intentionally move from coalitions to community. Pulling from a gospel framework, I don’t think Jesus gathered people simply to address issues or inequities of his time. I think he gathered people, people who were radically different, who shouldn’t have been at the table together, who didn’t belong ... he gathered for the sake of being community, of being whole, of being healed. He demonstrated that if even one is left out, one sheep, one coin, we are not complete. I think a gospel-ized interfaith movement cannot be content with coalition building. Second, I think we have work to do to move us from tolerance to beloved. Too often our interfaith efforts end with religious communities moving from animosity to tolerance. From saying, “I don’t want a mosque in my backyard” to saying, “Fine; I’m okay with a mosque being here,” and again... this is good ... but not enough and certainly not what I think our faith calls us to. What would it take for us to insist that our Muslim, our humanist, our Jewish neighbors belong, not as tolerated groups, but as beloved, affirmed, welcomed, members of our society? Not that we’re simply okay with their presence but that we are incomplete without each other. Where a Muslim citizen could of course run for and be elected to president of this nation. What does that even look like? I’m not sure I know yet. Third, we have to see our religious identities as part of our overall complicated, messy, intersectional identities. Race matters in this work. Gender matters. Sexuality matters. Class matters. First language matters. National identity matters. Age matters. Ability matters. We can’t imagine that when we engage in interfaith work, we leave those other identities on the doorstep. And we shouldn’t imagine that our religious identities are as clear and delineated as we might like to think. I doubt there is one definition of Christian that would fit everyone in this room. And yet, too often in our interfaith work, we as Christians assume Muslims, or Jews, or even the Nones are definable groups, all on the same page. I think we need an audacious vision that says we can make space for all our authentic, messy, complicated identities. I think we need courage because bringing all that into the room means there will be conflict but perhaps authenticity is more important than a false sense of peace that requires us to silence or stifle parts of ourselves. And last, I think for us in this moment, we need to have courage. Faced with trends that show declines in church attendance, the rise of the nones, and aging congregations, it’s easy to turn inward and to pour our energy into maintaining what feels comfortable and familiar. But nothing about the Gospel is comfortable or familiar. And we risk isolating ourselves into oblivion. With audacious courage, let’s engage with the nones, with the spiritual but not religious, with those of a multitude of faiths, building community, being beloved, opening ourselves authentically to receive one another ... not in hopes that they will join our traditions or fill our pews and not to simply build bridges across our differences but truly to become beloved community to one another. We are here in Chicago, the birthplace of interfaith work, standing on a legacy of audacity, courage, and vision, living in a community steeped in diversity, where we don’t have to go far to encounter the other. And we are here in Chicago as people of faith, a faith that reminds us God is already doing a new thing, and that urges us to have the kind of audacity in being assured of things we have not yet seen. Theologian Marjorie Suchocki writes, “In our newly small earth, where we are forced to know one another or die, could we be experiencing a new direction from God toward human community through the affirmation of many who remain many and yet are as one? If that were the case, and if we responded, we might know something of the kingdom of God on earth.” This my friends, is where I believe our ministry is called. I believe God is already doing a new thing, and I have conviction that though we have not yet seen it, living as beloved, as members of God’s kin-dom on earth, is indeed possible. May our audacity, courage, and vision take us there. Amen.

This episode will feature a conversation between former presidential advisor David Gergen, Rabbi Melissa Weintraub of Resetting the Table, and Eboo Patel of the Interfaith Youth Core, taken from Humility and Conviction in Public Life's event Faith & Politics which was held on April 25, 2018 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford, Connecticut with the CT Forum. The conversation was moderated by John Dankosky of Connecticut public radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

This episode will feature a conversation between former presidential advisor David Gergen, Rabbi Melissa Weintraub of Resetting the Table, and Eboo Patel of the Interfaith Youth Core, taken from Humility and Conviction in Public Life’s event Faith & Politics which was held on April 25, 2018 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford, Connecticut with the CT Forum. The conversation was moderated by John Dankosky of Connecticut public radio.

This episode will feature a conversation between former presidential advisor David Gergen, Rabbi Melissa Weintraub of Resetting the Table, and Eboo Patel of the Interfaith Youth Core, taken from Humility and Conviction in Public Life's event Faith & Politics which was held on April 25, 2018 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum in Hartford, Connecticut with the CT Forum. The conversation was moderated by John Dankosky of Connecticut public radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

This is the live audio feed from the Pietas Honors Program Colloquium on Monday, April 9.  The topic is "Courage in Interfaith Work" and it features Eboo Patel the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core.

This week on Called, we hear from Rev. Joe Morrow. He serves as a Specialized Minister with Interfaith Youth Core as the Campus Engagement Manager and recently has been elected to serve as the moderator for the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board.   Introduction voice: Jodi Craiglow Sound recording and editing: Katie Rains

Amber Hacker helped to build the Interfaith Youth Core, America's largest interfaith movement. She is also an evangelical Christian. Find out why and hear her story on our most recent episode. Interfaith Youth Core focuses their work on college campuses. Are evangelical college students actually engaging in interfaith? Are they playing by the rules? Find out in this exciting new episode from Neighborly Faith.

Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, a national nonprofit working to making interfaith cooperation a social norm. Eboo visited the University of Chicago this winter as an Institute of Politics Pritzker Fellow, where we spoke with him about interfaith dialogue in a university context and how to be a leader in such dialogue.Credits:Anita Joshi (MPP '19) and Aamir Hussain (MD '19/MAPP '18) for interviewingNick McFadden (MPP '19) for engineering David Raban (JD/MPP '20) for editingSpecial thanks to IOP for having Eboo Patel as a Pritzker Fellow!

Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, a national nonprofit working to making interfaith cooperation a social norm. Eboo visited the University of Chicago this winter as an Institute of Politics Pritzker Fellow, where we spoke with him about interfaith dialogue in a university context and how to be a leader in such dialogue.Credits:Anita Joshi (MPP '19) and Aamir Hussain (MD '19/MAPP '18) for interviewingNick McFadden (MPP '19) for engineering David Raban (JD/MPP '20) for editingSpecial thanks to IOP for having Eboo Patel as a Pritzker Fellow!

Ep. 155: Maya Williams is a multigenerational, multiracial woman.  Her father is Black, White, and Chickahominy; her mother is of Black, White, and Cherokee descent. Her father has a mixed mother and had a black father (d. 2007); her mother has a White father and a Black and Cherokee mother. Given this rich, multiracial background, Maya has been writing and editing the Race Section of The Tempest, pursuing interfaith work under the Interfaith Youth Core as a Better Together Coach, and completing a double major in social work and English. She talks with Alex about what it means to hail from a family that has multiracial roots several generations back. For more on host, Alex Barnett, please check out his website: www.alexbarnettcomic.com or visit him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/alexbarnettcomic) or on Twitter at @barnettcomic To subscribe to the Multiracial Family Man, please click here: MULTIRACIAL FAMILY MAN PODCAST Intro and Outro Music is Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons - By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Eboo Patel is a former faith advisor to President Barack Obama and the co-founder of Interfaith Youth Core, which aims to make cooperation among religions a social norm. In this episode Eboo discusses his challenges promoting religious tolerance and raising Muslim children in this current hostile era.Learn more about the show at kscopepod.com and don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fewer and fewer Americans are identifying with a particular faith background. Why is this? This week on Flyover, we talk religion. Our guests were Brian McLarin, theologian and author, and Jenan Mohajir, Leadership Curriculum Consultant at Interfaith Youth Core and a founding board member at Heart Women and Girls.

This month on Impolite Conversation, we talk with Leah Rediger-Schulte, Doane's new Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, about why religious literacy is important for ourselves, our schools, and our society. And in One Last Thing, Leah studies a nontraditional sacred text, Dan reads about the comic book purges of the 1950s, and Tim goes to see a romantic comedy that's about more than just romance and comedy. Some of the things we talked about this month: Stephen Prothero's book Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't was the inspiration for this episode. Prothero's quiz is in the back of the book, or you can find it online here. Dan mentioned Diana Eck's book Encountering God. Leah mentioned From Bubble to Bridge, by Marion Larson and Sarah Shady. Watch the social capital video produced by the Interfaith Youth Core. Or go to their website for lots of other resources. In One Last Thing, Leah talked about Vanessa Zoltan's podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Dan's OLT was on The Ten-Cent Plague, by David Hajdu. Finally, Tim's OLT was about The Big Sick. 0:00-1:34 Opening 1:34-36:48 Rediger-Schulte interview 36:53-38:41 Rediger-Schulte OLT 38:42-43:36 Clanton OLT 43:37-47:59 Hill OLT 48:00-49:50 Closing 42-54-50:01 Outtakes

TNS 4-7: Eboo Patel! Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core (ifyc.org) Author of: Interfaith Leadership: A Primer Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America Acts of Hope: The Story of an American Muslim, in the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation

Can we hang onto the ideal of America as a "land of immigrants," even as President Trump puts tighter limits on immigration? For centuries, people from all over the world have looked to the U.S. as a safe haven. They left behind their family, friends and belongings to start anew in search of the “American Dream.” But now, President Trump’s executive order creates new immigration standards that could close that door.    In this episode of Indivisible, we delve deeper into how this new policy has our divided American identity. Minnesota Public Radio News host Kerri Miller is joined by Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core, and Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA. In your opinion, is the United States still a land of immigrants? #IndivisibleRadio — MPR News (@MPRnews) February 3, 2017 A snapshot of tweets about this episode: Indivisible Week 2: Are We Still a 'Land of Immigrants'?

This week's podcast is a bit different: It's a conversation that Christian Coon had during our worship with Jenan Mohajir from Interfaith Youth Core. Jenan is a committed Muslim and has significant interfaith dialogue experience. We think you'll find it helpful, particularly in light of last week's election results. We're in the season of receiving financial commitments to Urban Village for 2017. Your support helps us continue our ministry, which has been helpful to many both in Chicago and outside of the city. You can pledge your support here: www.urbanvillagechurch.org/give.

Natasha Trethewey was the 19th U.S. Poet Laureate. Her books include “Domestic Work,” “Native Guard,” and “Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.” Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core. His books include “Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America” and “Interfaith Leadership: A Primer.” This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Natasha Trethewey and Eboo Patel — How to Live Beyond This Election.” Find more at onbeing.org.

Trina Janiec Jones (Wofford College) had her dissertation colloquium in Swift Hall on September 12th, 2001. The events of the previous day not only impacted her colloquium, but eventually, also took her teaching career and scholarly interests in directions she never imagined while sitting in Regenstein working her way through Sanskrit declensions. Trained in Buddhist philosophy at the Divinity School, she soon found that every job for which she interviewed required that she create a course on Islam. Since her graduation from the Divinity School, she has taught at two liberal arts colleges, teaching courses that have required her to become more of a generalist than she anticipated. This seminar focused on an undergraduate course on interfaith engagement and religious pluralism that she recently co-taught, and used its syllabus as an entry point into broader questions related to the role of the teacher in the undergraduate religious studies classroom. How, for example, does one negotiate students’ desires to explore “religion” or “spirituality” with one’s own pedagogical desire to foster an atmosphere of academic rigor and critical thinking? What, ultimately, should the goals of an undergraduate religious studies course be? The quarterly Dean's Craft of Teaching Seminar is the flagship seminar of the Craft of Teaching program, centered on issues of course design and institutional context. Katherine (Trina) Janiec Jones (AM, 1993; PhD, Philosophy of Religions, 2002) is an Associate Professor of Religion at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where she also serves as the Associate Provost for Curriculum and Co-Curriculum. She has won several teaching awards, served on a leadership team at the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion (for a workshop for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty and Colleges and Universities), and has consulted at several schools seeking to examine their introductory religious studies curricula (also through the Wabash Center). She was a recipient of an American Academy of Religion/Luce Foundation Fellowship in Theologies of Religious Pluralism and Comparative Theology and participated in a Seminar in Teaching Interfaith Understanding, sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Interfaith Youth Core. She is also a co-author of a rubric focused on pluralism and worldview engagement (https://www.ifyc.org/resources/plural...), the research for which was funded by the Teagle Foundation. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Trina Janiec Jones (Wofford College) had her dissertation colloquium in Swift Hall on September 12th, 2001. The events of the previous day not only impacted her colloquium, but eventually, also took her teaching career and scholarly interests in directions she never imagined while sitting in Regenstein working her way through Sanskrit declensions. Trained in Buddhist philosophy at the Divinity School, she soon found that every job for which she interviewed required that she create a course on Islam. Since her graduation from the Divinity School, she has taught at two liberal arts colleges, teaching courses that have required her to become more of a generalist than she anticipated. This seminar focused on an undergraduate course on interfaith engagement and religious pluralism that she recently co-taught, and used its syllabus as an entry point into broader questions related to the role of the teacher in the undergraduate religious studies classroom. How, for example, does one negotiate students’ desires to explore “religion” or “spirituality” with one’s own pedagogical desire to foster an atmosphere of academic rigor and critical thinking? What, ultimately, should the goals of an undergraduate religious studies course be? The quarterly Dean's Craft of Teaching Seminar is the flagship seminar of the Craft of Teaching program, centered on issues of course design and institutional context. Katherine (Trina) Janiec Jones (AM, 1993; PhD, Philosophy of Religions, 2002) is an Associate Professor of Religion at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where she also serves as the Associate Provost for Curriculum and Co-Curriculum. She has won several teaching awards, served on a leadership team at the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion (for a workshop for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty and Colleges and Universities), and has consulted at several schools seeking to examine their introductory religious studies curricula (also through the Wabash Center). She was a recipient of an American Academy of Religion/Luce Foundation Fellowship in Theologies of Religious Pluralism and Comparative Theology and participated in a Seminar in Teaching Interfaith Understanding, sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Interfaith Youth Core. She is also a co-author of a rubric focused on pluralism and worldview engagement (https://www.ifyc.org/resources/pluralism-and-worldview-engagement-rubric), the research for which was funded by the Teagle Foundation. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

The founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit building the interfaith youth movement, Patel has a doctorate in sociology of religion from Oxford University and is a regular panelist for the Washington Post/Newsweek magazine On Faith blog. His core belief is that religion is a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He's inspired to build this bridge by his faith as a Muslim, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship. He has spoken about this vision at places like the TED conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, as well as college and university campuses across the country. He has written two books about interfaith cooperation, Acts of Faith and Sacred Ground.

Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, joins Multifaithful to discuss the future of the multifaith movement and its biggest successes thus far.

Eboo Patel founded the Interfaith Youth Core to counter the growing problem of religious intolerance and violence at home and abroad. IFYC trains students to bridge the faith-divide through interfaith cooperation. Patel says that “interfaith interactions can be a bomb of destruction, a barrier of division, a bubble of isolation, or a bridge of cooperation.” He says that he's inspired to build a bridge of cooperation by his faith as a Muslim, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship.

Interfaith Youth Core is an organization that promotes service and religious pluralism among youth on college campuses. Eboo is a member of President Obama’s advisory council for the White House Office for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He is the author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul […]

A conversation between Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst and Eboo Patel, author of Acts of Faith, and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core.

A conversation between Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst and Eboo Patel, author of Acts of Faith, and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core.

A conversation between Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst and Eboo Patel, author of Acts of Faith, and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core.

Better Together – Eboo Patel, Ep. 5413 Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, shares stories of young people working across the lines of faith to create university campuses and communities where everyone has a place and everyone … Continue reading →

(January 27, 2009) Director and Founder of Interfaith Youth Core, Dr. Eboo Patel, discusses the idea of pluralistic faith as a foundation for a healthy respectful diverse domestic and international community.

(January 27, 2009) Director and Founder of Interfaith Youth Core, Dr. Eboo Patel, discusses the idea of pluralistic faith as a foundation for a healthy respectful diverse domestic and international community.

This time, what is religious tolerance and how can it be promoted? Many of the world’s religions believe they are the one true faith, and they encourage members to convert others to their faith. How, then, do people from different faiths find common ground and make peace? Our guests will discuss the definitions and limits of religious tolerance. Should we tolerate all religions, even those whose members are intolerant of other faiths? What steps can we take to make peace with people of other spiritual beliefs and non-beliefs? Is there anything we can learn from someone who believes differently from us? Suzanne Kryder hosts the discussion which includes Dr. Eboo Patel, executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, headquartered in Chicago.

This time, what is religious tolerance and how can it be promoted? Many of the world's religions believe they are the one true faith, and they encourage members to convert others to their faith. How, then, do people from different faiths find common ground and make peace? Our guests will discuss the definitions and limits of religious tolerance. Should we tolerate all religions, even those whose members are intolerant of other faiths? What steps can we take to make peace with people of other spiritual beliefs and non-beliefs? Is there anything we can learn from someone who believes differently from us? Suzanne Kryder hosts the discussion which includes Dr. Eboo Patel, executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, headquartered in Chicago.

We revisit Krista’s 2005 conversation with Eboo Patel, who calls al-Qaeda the most effective youth organization in the world. But contrary to the wisdom of secular society, he’s working to deepen rather than tame the religious energies of the young across many traditions. And he believes this may be our only chance for survival. See more at onbeing.org/program/religious-passion-pluralism-and-young/159

A 30-year-old, Indian-American Muslim and former Rhodes Scholar is setting out to change the way young people relate to their own religious traditions and those of others. Al-Qaeda is the most effective youth program in the world, he says, and we neglect this work at our peril.