Festival of Faiths in Louisville, Kentucky

A: An interfaith boundary is the boundaries between the world's major faiths. One example of a conflict associated with an interfaith boundary is in several countries in Africa that straddle the Christian‐Muslim interfaith boundary.

Patel’s life has been a spiritual journey that has helped him to fulfill his yearning for a religious identity, and his personal experiences have shaped his opinion in regards to interfaith acceptance. Patel had many inspirations, however, his first religious inspiration was Dorothy Day. In his novel, Patel reflects upon when he read an excerpt from The Call of Service by Robert Cole, and how he was instantly drawn to Dorothy Day, a catholic that spearheaded the Catholic Worker movement. Patel gained knowledge on Dorothy Day and recognized why Cole “spoke of her in absolute awe” (Patel, 2007, p. 48). The admiration Patel had for Day truly uprooted his yearning for interfaith acceptance, and was significant enough to lead him towards the founding of the Interfaith Youth Core organization. Early in Patel’s life he had attended the URI Global Summit at Stanford, and this had created “a rare space… an open conversation about faith, diversity, and service” (Patel, p. 72-73). The URI Global Summit is major in regards to Patel’s life because the summit also led him to create the Interfaith Youth Core, and this organization has a similar structure to that he had experienced at Stanford that day. Religious pluralism was first experienced by Patel at the URI Global Summit and this exemplifies that pluralism was something he wanted to pursue and spread in a religious aspect. America would be accepting of differences in faith if its citizens were more knowledgeable and open minded to change, like Patel has been throughout the majority of his

Molloy, M. (2012). Experiencing the World’s Religions. Tradition, Challenge, and Change (6th ed.)Chapter 5. Retrieved from https://newclassroom3.phoenix.edu/Classroom

In addition, the AJC takes this fight one step further as they challenge the status quo by forging inter-religious relationships. This past year I participated in a Shabbat Dinner between members from ACCESS and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. At this past AJC Global Forum, I attended breakout sessions that featured voices such as Mohammed Al-Samawi and Daniel Pincus discussing Muslim-Jewish relationships. Finally, I am an active participant in gatherings connecting professionals in the Jewish and Moroccan communities. These experiences show me the importance of understanding the other side and to make steps to build trust. I learned that even though Muslim and Jews come from different backgrounds, we could find common ground through our shared

On February 24, 2017, Dr. Shaun Casey was the Global Religious Studies keynote speaker at Bridgewater State University. Dr. Casey’s focus was to bring greater understanding of world religions

Why does a person need to show acknowledgement to those of other sects? How come he looks different from his denomination? What reason does he have to always oppose my father’s method of raising me? These questions bug three characters as they figure out the link that mysteriously connects their lives together. In The Chosen, Chaim Potok precisely portrays the various ways of welcoming differences.

My knowledge of religious pluralism has expanded and has helped me to look at religion in a different way. Religious pluralism is something that I believe my generation will further continue to enforce. On page 5 of the introduction, Eboo gives a great example of what pluralism stands for: “Religious pluralism is neither mere coexistence nor forced consensus. It is a form of proactive cooperation that affirms the identity of the constituent communities while emphasizing that the well being of each and all depends on the health of the whole. It is the belief that the common good is best served when each community has a chance to make its unique contribution.” I think that quote perfectly describes the multiple themes that both Patel and Brown hold in their

This paper will discuss the culture of Appalachia reflected in the Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountains Boys videotape performance. By watching the video, one witnesses the unique yet orthodox Appalachian tradition that puts God and family first. Many Appalachians share this value system, while also staying true to their ancestral heritage (Appalachian, n.d.). By analyzing the festival atmosphere, musician, and music one can attain a better understanding of the Appalachian way of life.

Growing up Christian I was taught the fundamentals of my religious background simply as they were. Never did I, or any of my classmates have the will or the need to question the at first glance absurdity that comes with a decent portion of Catholic ideas. For example, never did I question the traditionally unnatural concept of the trinity; I just accepted it as dogma because it was what my teachers and my family had believed, not because I was okay with this distortion of the natural way. Engaging in interreligious dialogue forces oneself to take what one has been taught to them of their religion and take a deep look at what makes that information true for oneself, beyond the fact that it is what they have been told was the way their religion operated. A deeper understanding of ones faith can be achieved through defending the validity of ones

Possibilities and challenges of interreligious and secular dialogue in today’s world. According to Zago, globalization was imminent and interreligious contact unavoidable, leading to religious pluralism. The tendency was increasing and creating challenge to mission, which would create not only meetings but also clashes among various religions. He anticipates the need of attitudes and initiatives for interreligious dialogue, but this “Dialogue, however, must not eliminate proclamation that remains at the heart of mission and is the criterion by which to judge the validity of mission and to promote discernment in elaborating a theology of mission and dialogue.”

Culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Throughout time, many different cultures have come into existence worldwide. They are often forgotten, preserved, or spread depending on those who carry it with them. It is vital that people conserve the different cultures because they are essential in remembering our past as the human race. One very important aspect of culture is that of religion. Religion has shaped the course of history from as early as 50,000 years ago. When given the opportunity to experience one of these unique religions first hand, I immediately chose Catholicism due to the fact that I have always been curious of their traditions and rituals. During my visit to Christ King Mission Church, I learned that the Catholic sanctuary actually looks similar to that of many Baptist churches, has a very formal liturgy, and shows more respect to other biblical characters than most other churches.

Interreligious Dialogue comes from different perspectives on gender, religions, and race. When people are present, people demonstrate how their perspectives could be understood from different gender, religions, and race. One thing that religion lacks is the perspective of women in dialogue. In “Women and Interreligious Dialogue” by Cornille and Maxey, series of case studies and essays were presented about women from different religions bring something distinctive to the dialogue. Women from different religions do bring some distinctive to the dialogue because the case studies and essay have proven an improvement of a diverse dialogue within women. Even though women do bring a distinctive to the dialogue, there are still some flaws.

The great religions of the world have a general message in common. Most or all stress compassion, good acts, and living honestly within the bounds of the religion. The specifics of each vary, but the most basic precepts are alike. It is unsurprising, then, that the most prized, popular, or perfect of their practitioners have traits in common. The yogis of India, the Dalai Lama, and Mr. Rogers, like the religions that they follow, are more different than they are similar, but they have deep, basic commonalities.

Although widely accepted in the United States, Jews and Christians are also involved in issues of extreme prejudice, oppression, and conflict. Much of this conflict stems from the inaccurate belief that only one religion can be “right,” and is constantly perpetuated even by those who have been its victims. According to Falcon, “Every individual path is an avenue to a shared universal.” This view lies in direct opposition to those of many major world religions. The three believe that members of all religions would benefit from sharing their inconsistencies and taboos on a personal level without seeking to convert the other party. According to Rahman, “Interfaith is not about conversion; it is about

I chose to listen to the interviews with Abhishek Gosh and Henry Koral. Both contributed equally interesting information regarding their beliefs and points of view on certain aspects. At the end of listening to these interviews I noticed that in some aspects they shared very similar knowledge and devotion to each of their practices.