As a father of one–year–old twin boys, and witness to both the love and the antagonism shared between them, I have been granted many an occasion to reflect on how it can be that those with whom we share the most are often those with whom we fight the most. Somewhat unexpectedly, I find my experiences raising twins to overlap in profound ways with recent interfaith experiences.

Nearing the end of my first year facilitating an interfaith class in my United Methodist church, I have found…

When the question is put to me—“How do you handle the stress of finals from within your religious tradition?”—I’d like to say something about quiet meditation, or focused scripture reading, or even just the occasional prayer. But I would be lying.

In truth, I don’t handle the stress of finals (or any stress, for that matter) very well. I eat and drink unhealthy things. I don’t sleep very much. I’m short, or just plain nonexistent, with friends and family. And I do very little praying.…

“Turns out over the last few days some people have unfriended me on Facebook,” I told my wife, partly out of disbelief and anger, but mostly out of hurt and disappointment. I’d never been unfriended before, and certainly not by multiple people within a short span of time.

I’ve been more “political” on Facebook in recent weeks, for obvious reasons, though certainly not what most would think of as aggressive or confrontational. I’ve shared a news article here and there, maybe a few…

If I am purposefully, actively engaged in interfaith work or some similarly open–minded religious pursuit, am I more mature, or “better” by some other measure, than those who for some religious reason or another refuse to engage in, and even in some cases directly oppose, such work?

If I answer “yes” to this question, am I denigrating the religious beliefs and commitments of another, a practice I otherwise detest as an ostensibly accepting, open–minded individual?

If I answer…