Podcast: What do Cats Have to do with Interfaith Work?
Moving Past Religion as an Abstraction
Growing up in a secular home in the Southern Baptist atmosphere of Central Oklahoma, religion was not only absent from my daily life, it was something I was neither drawn to nor knowledgeable about. T... Read More
Outstanding Contributing Scholars Announced!
Outstanding Contributing Scholars to Present at State of Formation Workshop On November 24th State of Formation will host a workshop for its Contributing Scholars and potential new scholars — re... Read More
Gay Marriage Pride at New Jersey’s Largest Synagogue
This article was written by Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz, Cantor Howard M. Stahl, Rabbi Karen R. Perolman, and Rabbi Joshua M. Z. Stanton, the clergy team at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hil... Read More
The Bhagavada Gita, Renunciation and Self-Realization
The Vedic scriptures (Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas etc.) greatly admire renunciation as an important means of attaining divine bliss. They commend it as a tool that eventuates Self-Realization. This ter... Read More
Laughable Beliefs
I believe that laughter is an important element of crossing any divide. But beliefs—of any creed—are often deeply serious. When is it okay to laugh about religion? Obviously, jokes designed to dis... Read More
The Hajj – Revisiting Commonalities
On the 14th of October 2013, Muslims celebrated the second most important holiday in their religious calendar, the Eid ul Adha (or the festival of the Hajj) which is the culmination of the annual pilg... Read More
For What and For Whom Do We Pray?
Prayer has been on my mind a lot over the past few weeks. Because I don’t pray, this recent preoccupation seems worth exploring. Aside from the use of prayer as a means of communication with the div... Read More
Work and Witness: The Role of Faith Communities in Working-Class America
Rob is a twenty-six year old white male who lives in Massachusetts. After graduating from vocational high school, he hoped to build a career in manufacturing technology and carpentry. But as soon as h... Read More
Blessed are the Compassionate: The value of co-suffering in Mahayana Buddhism and Liberation Theology.
No island or castle can hide us from the reality of suffering, including sickness and death. That was true for Gautama Buddha over 2,500 years ago and it is true today. When we pay attention, we reali... Read More