Current discourse on religion and ethics is primarily defined by established leaders – ministers, rabbis, academics and journalists. There is an entire population of important stakeholders without a platform: the up-and-comers. To remedy this, the Journal of Interreligious Studies founded State of Formation.

State of Formation (SoF) is an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders. Founded as an offshoot of the Journal of Interreligious Studies, both publications are produced by the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College and Boston University School of Theology. The forum is for up-and-coming religious and ethical thinkers to draw upon the learning that is occurring in their academic and community work.

State of Formation is a community conversation between leaders in formation. Together, a cohort of seminarians, rabbinical students, graduate students, activists and the like – the future religious and moral leaders of tomorrow – are working to redefine the ethical discourse today.

We hope that you will find this a robust and constructive exchange among contributors that reflects the intelligence and innovation of today’s emerging leaders. Writers for State of Formation will demonstrate candor and respect, and State of Formation’s content will reflect the diversity of budding religious and ethical leadership and the particular learnings that only occur in religious and philosophical education. Above all, our contributors will address the pressing ethical issues of our pluralistic world. Our eclectic group of emerging leaders are asking the difficult questions and proposing the innovative solutions our world is desperately in need of.