by Rodney L. Taylor, Ph.D.

from Huffington Post

It’s that time of year again when we find ourselves making those infamous resolutions for the New Year. While some may be of the most banal sort — to lose weight, to drink less coffee, to take that dream vacation. Most, we might hope, suggest a focus upon the betterment of ourselves as a person.

But New Year’s…

From Huffington Post

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from “Beyond Religion” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

I am an…

By Eric Marrapodi

From CNN

Two days before Christmas, Imam Mohamed Magid, the executive director at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, preached about Jesus at Friday prayers.

“We live in a country with a majority of Christians, where Christmas is a major holiday… It’s a reminder we do believe in Jesus. Jesus’ position in Islam is one of the…

by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

from Huffington Post

In the final days of 2011 we pause to reflect on the year that has past — the good, the bad and the ugly. Here are the HuffPost Religion Top Stories of 2011.

The Muslim Spring

It started with a simple vegetable seller in Tunisia who, humiliated by the police and autocracy, set himself on fire at…

By Philip Goldberg

From Huffington Post

Last month I attended the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Comprised mainly of scholars who teach and do research at North American universities, the AAR is, according to its mission statement, “dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and…

By Alexander Goldberg

From Reuters

There are no Christmas trees in my home, not even a Chanukah bush, no sign of tinsel and no sound of children singing carols. If I was asked on Facebook to describe my relationship with Christmas, like most Jews I would opt for the ‘it’s complicated’ or even the ‘separated’ status. The personage of Jesus, whose…

Thresholds

By Camilla Schick

From Common Ground News Service

London – Camilla Howalt, Mohamed Negm, and Orly Orbach’s art piece Thresholds is an inspiring reflection on…

by Leo D. Lefebure

When I was a graduate student at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago in the 1980s, there were intense discussions of religious pluralism and theological understandings of religious diversity. My doctoral dissertation focused on the importance of the biblical wisdom tradition for contemporary Christian theology, concluding with suggestions that this trajectory could be a fruitful starting point for inter-religious reflection.

During this…

by Paul Chaffee

Ray Downs taught a captivating confirmation class at International Church in Bangkok in 1957. But I was stunned at the end of the year when the pastor asked if we were ready to confirm our faith and join the church. I went straight to Dad, a Presbyterian missionary: “I’m just beginning to understand what you believe, and I haven’t any idea what the Buddhists all around us believe – and now I have to…

From Huffington Post

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from “Beyond Religion” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

I am an…

By Naomi Zeveloff

From The Jewish Daily Forward

Deep in America’s heartland, a Reform synagogue, a nondenominational mosque and an Episcopalian church are all putting down roots on a 37-acre tract of land that once belonged to a Jewish country club. A body of water called Hell Creek runs through the development, over which the faith groups plan to build “Heaven’s Bridge.”

Fantastical as it sounds, this…

By Shahira Amin

From CNN

A group in Cairo is using a Facebook page to unite Egypt’s different religions at a local coffeehouse in the upper-class suburb of Maadi.

Over a cappuccino and a muffin, an orthodox Christian, a liberal Muslim and an ultra-conservative Islamist discuss their differing ideologies in the hopes of changing stereotypes.

They are known as…

By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie

From Huffington Post

Again and again, and especially during the election season, we read in the media about “people of faith,” “religious Americans” and “value voters” — and what is meant, in almost all cases, are Americans who are conservative in both their religion and their politics. There is nothing wrong with being a conservative, of…

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, was cited in the latest issue of “The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential Muslims” for his efforts to raise awareness and understanding about faith and social issues.

The widely viewed publication from the Royal Islamic Strategic…

From Huffington Post

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from “Beyond Religion” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

I am an…

By Parker J Palmer

From Huffington Post

“The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without…

By Gary Laderman

from Religion Dispatches

It’s that time of year again. Shoppers are looking for gifts, It’s a Wonderful Life is starting its endless loop on television, families are making plans to come together for the traditions that mark the season, and the pervasive awareness that another year has passed is creeping into our collective…

		Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:00am U.S. Central Time

With negotiations stalled, what constructive nonviolent alternatives are Palestinian and Israeli civilians pursuing at the grassroots level to resolve the…

In the spring of 2012 the Cherokee Healing and Wellness Coalition is collaborating with the United Keetoowah Band and Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma for a Journey to Forgiveness and Healing. The journey is an effort for the Cherokees to retrace the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma in 1838 back to Cherokee original homelands.  They will be stopping at significant places along the way where the Cherokees camped for healing up healing ceremonies. There will be conferences in Tahlequah,…

from CBS News Religion and Culture

This program airs throughout December and will be online after Dec 18.

FINDING COMMON GROUND: TODAY’S INTERFAITH MOVEMENT looks at how the interfaith movement has evolved over the years.

The program visits with Rev. Dirk Ficca, Executive Director of the Chicago-based Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.  The Parliament hosts the world’s largest…