Category: Challenges
Romantic Distance vs. Vexing Proximity: the difficulty of real up-close interfaith encounters
My research on interreligious dialogue and engagement has reinforced an old cliché: absence makes the heart grow fonder. When two people are distant from each other, it is easy to idealize each other... Read More
Charleston: #BlackLivesMatter This Ramadan
I logged onto Facebook Tuesday night, about to post a “Ramadan Mubarak!” wish for all my Muslim friends. And then, scrolling down my news feed, I saw it—the news that a white man had entered a b... Read More
On Irreconcilable Differences: My Interreligious Dialogue with Mormon Missionaries
Since I’m conducting field research on interfaith dialogue in Rome, I thought it would be an important part of my participant-observation to embark upon a dialogue. I met some Mormon sisters conduct... Read More
Pluralismo Vivo: The Interfaith Roads of Rome
It’s not easy to find clear examples of “interreligious violence” in Rome. The closest thing Rome suffers to religious violence are distant shrieks from ISIS across the Mediterranean Sea... Read More
Where No One Is Getting Scooped: Media Neglect of Grassroots Organizations in the Coverage of International Events
I have a challenge for you. Name all of the relief, humanitarian, or justice-oriented NGOs that you can. Could you name a few? Good! How many of you thought of OXFAM, UNICEF, Red Cross, United Way, Am... Read More
The Power of Contentment
There is a force so strong it threatens to destroy our nation, society, and the Earth itself. Many of the major religions have warned us against this force and offered advice on how to avoid this pitf... Read More
To Post or Not to Post: Interfaith Activism Online
Oh, the internet. And the lingo—and dregs—of the internet. Trolls. Flame wars. Click-baiting. Recently, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people about the value of social media. I’m... Read More
In the Strangle of Abuse: The Ethical Dilemma of Hero and Crook
Over the past several years, a moral and ethical dilemma has come up: how do we respond to the writings and works of great public heroes who have made significant contributions to their field of study... Read More