"Strong debut . . . this nuanced portrait of the state of American Judaism proffers a cogent vision of how to revitalize the faith." --Publisher's Weekly Why are religious organizations on the decline? What changes have caused many of them to lose touch with modern spiritual needs? What does it take to remain relevant in today's world? Rabbis Joshua Stanton and Benjamin Spratt take on these and other critical questions facing religion today. And they have answers that are frank and yet surprisingly upbeat. Nearly every facet of American Jewish life--and of American religious life in general--faces both disruption and great prospects for renewal. In every corner of our community, Jewish identity, wisdom, ritual, and power are being remixed and reimagined. As centralized authority declines, American Judaism moves and grows in a multitude of directions. As technology reduces the importance of geographic boundaries, new opportunities for connection and new modes of exercising power emerge. New mixtures of ancient Jewish practice and modern needs are beginning to shape the renewal of American Judaism, widening access to Jewish wisdom and ritual, transforming Jewish consumers into Jewish co-creators, and building new networks of Jewish belonging. The initial purposes that inspired much of the American Jewish infrastructure are now falling victim to their own success. An emphasis on nostalgia and authenticity encourages us to mythologize the past and narrow our awareness of the present. A focus on buildings and centralized power by much of American Judaism reflects the realities of a century ago. In understanding what keeps these organizations mired in the past, we can unearth a new purpose to unify the American Diaspora and guide it toward a new golden age. The Foreword by Rev. Kaji Dousa, Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church, asks what a Black pastor can add to the work of two white rabbis, and the answer is that "cherished thinking needs a hard look everywhere. Particularly as we rightly orient our resources to protecting the good, to eliminating poverty that need not exist, to eradicating the hatred that threatens the very existence of our people--we need to look, together. Blacks and Jews and those living in the intersections therein will only survive and thrive with the survival and thriving of each other. So, of course, it makes sense that we will awaken, together." The Afterword by Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core cites the story of Rabbi Akiva, who "did not mourn when he saw the ruins of the Temple but rather was delighted. 'We always knew these stones must come down. In order to move forward, this had to fall apart first. Now we can begin.' All of our religions have history and theology like this. I think about the emergence of everything from Catholic orders to Sufi tariqas--renewal movements that changed the map of entire religions. We are at that same point again. Rabbis Stanton and Spratt propose we meet the moment with the generosity and power that are at the heart of all our religions. Their work gives me confidence that we can."

Colleges and universities silo diversity and inclusion by creating specific courses to address them, or programs to welcome and support people with a range of identities, whereas in reality students, faculty and staff do not encounter diversity in the fractured ways that match the organizational structures of our institutions. We all simultaneously embody a variety of identities with different saliency in different circumstances and times. This book offers models for institutions to move intentionally toward intersections - of study abroad and multiculturalism, of race and gender and religion, and of other essential aspects of our educational programs and our students' identities - to open doors to new possibilities that better prepare our students for life in a diverse world, and that allow our institutions to become more efficient and effective as we strive to not simply do things better in our own separate spheres, but to do better things by working together across difference. Each chapter offers action-oriented analysis focusing on particular campus intersections, rather than attending to specific demographic groups. Chapter authors also build on their own local expertise of doing this work on campuses that often do not have deep pockets or rich histories of such efforts. The book is organized into three sections: People focuses on diversity broadly defined, considering questions about how we recruit and engage the students, faculty, and staff in the campus community, and how we work with governing boards and others to promote inclusive excellence. Environment focuses on inclusion, including residence life, the local community, the working and learning environment, and external factors and events such as national and international news events or town gown relationships. Learning focuses on perspective taking and learning about difference in the core curriculum, the disciplines, and the co-curriculum, as well as professional development for faculty and staff. This ground breaking book aims to help readers, no matter what position they occupy on campus, to develop the knowledge and capacities necessary to do this essential work and is premised on the understanding that identity, oppression, power and marginalization cannot be accomplished by looking solely at single identities.

This book arises out of a recognition that student affairs professionals have little preparation or guidance in dealing with matters of spirituality, religion, secularism and interfaith work at a time of greater diversity in students’ beliefs; and from a broad recognition that there is a need to engage with this aspect of student life. For those who don’t know how to begin and may be nervous about tackling a topic that has the potential to lead to heated disagreements, this book provides the resources and practical guidance to undertake this work. With the aim of providing student affairs practitioners and faculty with the tools they need to increase their comfort level and enable their ability to engage in discussions about belief both in and out of the classroom, the contributors provide foundational knowledge, concrete teaching ideas, sample activities, and case studies that can be used in a variety of settings. This book serves multiple audiences in student affairs by providing teaching ideas for practitioners who want to include a session or two about interfaith in their programs as well as ideas for student affairs faculty who may be teaching one session on this topic or a whole course. The book is divided into four sections. The first offers context, provides the findings of research, and asks readers to reflect on the framework they use to embark on this work, whether a social justice framework that aims to highlight issues of power and privilege or an interfaith cooperation framework that aims to create religious pluralism. Part 2 provides concrete ideas for creating courses, activities, events, and programs focused on spirituality, religion, secularity, and interfaith engagement, as well as ideas for incorporating these topics into courses typically offered in student affairs preparation programs. Part 3 presents case studies to engage students, practitioners, and faculty in thinking about campus situations related to religious diversity. Part 4 provides some basic information about a variety of religions and worldviews held by college students.

This book arises out of a recognition that student affairs professionals have little preparation or guidance in dealing with matters of spirituality, religion, secularism and interfaith work at a time of greater diversity in studentsaEURO (TM) beliefs; and from a broad recognition that there is a need to engage with this aspect of student life. For those who donaEURO (TM)t know how to begin and may be nervous about tackling a topic that has the potential to lead to heated disagreements, this book provides the resources and practical guidance to undertake this work. With the aim of providing student affairs practitioners and faculty with the tools they need to increase their comfort level and enable their ability to engage in discussions about belief both in and out of the classroom, the contributors provide foundational knowledge, concrete teaching ideas, sample activities, and case studies that can be used in a variety of settings. This book serves multiple audiences in student affairs by providing teaching ideas for practitioners who want to include a session or two about interfaith in their programs as well as ideas for student affairs faculty who may be teaching one session on this topic or a whole course. The book is divided into four sections. The first offers context, provides the findings of research, and asks readers to reflect on the framework they use to embark on this work, whether a social justice framework that aims to highlight issues of power and privilege or an interfaith cooperation framework that aims to create religious pluralism. Part 2 provides concrete ideas for creating courses, activities, events, and programs focused on spirituality, religion, secularity, and interfaith engagement, as well as ideas for incorporating these topics into courses typically offered in student affairs preparation programs. Part 3 presents case studies to engage students, practitioners, and faculty in thinking about campus situations related to religious diversity. Part 4 provides some basic information about a variety of religions and worldviews held by college students.

Colleges and universities silo diversity and inclusion by creating specific courses to address them, or programs to welcome and support people with a range of identities, whereas in reality students, faculty and staff do not encounter diversity in the fractured ways that match the organizational structures of our institutions. We all simultaneously embody a variety of identities with different saliency in different circumstances and times. This book offers models for institutions to move intentionally toward intersections - of study abroad and multiculturalism, of race and gender and religion, and of other essential aspects of our educational programs and our students' identities - to open doors to new possibilities that better prepare our students for life in a diverse world, and that allow our institutions to become more efficient and effective as we strive to not simply do things better in our own separate spheres, but to do better things by working together across difference. Each chapter offers action-oriented analysis focusing on particular campus intersections, rather than attending to specific demographic groups. Chapter authors also build on their own local expertise of doing this work on campuses that often do not have deep pockets or rich histories of such efforts. The book is organized into three sections: People focuses on diversity broadly defined, considering questions about how we recruit and engage the students, faculty, and staff in the campus community, and how we work with governing boards and others to promote inclusive excellence. Environment focuses on inclusion, including residence life, the local community, the working and learning environment, and external factors and events such as national and international news events or town gown relationships. Learning focuses on perspective taking and learning about difference in the core curriculum, the disciplines, and the co-curriculum, as well as professional development for faculty and staff. This ground breaking book aims to help readers, no matter what position they occupy on campus, to develop the knowledge and capacities necessary to do this essential work and is premised on the understanding that identity, oppression, power and marginalization cannot be accomplished by looking solely at single identities.

A timely defense of religious diversity and its centrality to American identity America is the most religiously devout country in the Western world and the most religiously diverse nation on the planet. In today's volatile climate of religious conflict, prejudice, and distrust, how do we affirm the principle that the American promise is deeply intertwined with how each of us engages with people of different faiths and beliefs? Eboo Patel, former faith adviser to Barack Obama and named one of America's best leaders by U.S. News & World Report, provides answers to this timely and consequential question. In this inspiring and thought-provoking book, Patel draws on his personal experience as a Muslim in America to examine broader questions about the importance of religious diversity in the cultural, political, and economic life of the nation. He explores how religious language has given the United States some of its most enduring symbols and inspired many of its most vital civic institutions-and demonstrates how the genius of the American experiment lies in its empowerment of people of all creeds, ethnicities, and convictions. Will America's identity as a Judeo-Christian nation shift as citizens of different backgrounds grow in numbers and influence? In what ways will minority religious communities themselves change as they take root in American soil? In addressing these and other questions, Patel shows how America's promise is the guarantee of equal rights and dignity for all, and how that promise is the foundation of America's unrivaled strength as a nation. The book also includes incisive commentaries by John Inazu, Robert Jones, and Laurie Patton on American civil religion, faith and law, and the increasing number of nonreligious Americans.

A timely defense of religious diversity and its centrality to American identity America is the most religiously diverse nation on the planet. In today's volatile climate of religious conflict and distrust, how do we affirm that the American promise is deeply intertwined with how each of us engages with people of different beliefs? Eboo Patel, former faith adviser to Barack Obama, provides answers to this timely question. In this thought-provoking book, Patel draws on his personal experience as a Muslim in America to examine the importance of religious diversity in the nation's cultural, political, and economic life. He explores how religious language has given the United States some of its most enduring symbols and inspired its most vital civic institutions-and demonstrates how the genius of the American experiment lies in its empowerment of all people.

Understanding our religious neighbors is more important than ever-but also more challenging. In a world of deep religious strife and increasing pluralism it can seem safer to remain inside the "bubble" of our faith community. Christian college campuses in particular provide a strong social bubble that reinforces one's faith identity in distinction from the wider society. Many Christians worry that engaging in interfaith dialogue will require watering down their faith and accepting other religions as equally true. Bethel University professors Marion Larson and Sara Shady not only make the case that we can love our religious neighbors without diluting our commitment, but also offer practical wisdom and ideas for turning our faith bubbles into bridges of religious inclusion and interfaith engagement. Drawing on the parables of Jesus, research on interreligious dialogue, and their own classroom experience, Larson and Shady provide readers with the tools they need to move beyond the bubble. Interfaith dialogue is difficult, and From Bubble to Bridge is the timely guide we have been waiting for.

"While 9/11 and its aftermath created a traumatic turning point for most of the writers in this book, it is telling that none of their essays begin with that moment. These young people were living, probing, and shifting their Muslim identities long before 9/11. . . . I've heard it said that the second generation never asks the first about its story, but nearly all the essays in this book include long, intimate portrayals of Muslim family life, often going back generations. These young Muslims are constantly negotiating the differences between families for whom faith and culture were matters of honor and North America's youth culture, with its emphasis on questioning, exploring, and inventing one s own destiny." from the Introduction by Eboo Patel

In Growing Up Muslim, Andrew Garrod and Robert Kilkenny present fourteen personal essays by college students of the Muslim faith who are themselves immigrants or are the children of immigrants to the United States. In their essays, the students grapple with matters of ethnicity, religious prejudice and misunderstanding, and what is termed Islamophobia. The fact of 9/11 and subsequent surveillance and suspicion of Islamic Americans (particularly those hailing from the Middle East and the Asian Subcontinent) have had a profound effect on these students, their families, and their communities of origin."

All of us should condemn terrorism--whether the perpetrators are Muslim extremists, white supremacists, Marxist revolutionaries, or our own government. But it's time for us to stop asking Muslims to condemn terrorism under the assumption they are guilty of harboring terrorist sympathies or promoting violence until they prove otherwise. Renowned expert on Islamophobia Todd Green shows us how this line of questioning is riddled with false assumptions that say much more about "us" than "them." Green offers three compelling reasons why we should stop asking Muslims to condemn terrorism:1) The question wrongly assumes Islam is the driving force behind terrorism 2) The question ignores the many ways Muslims already condemn terrorism.3) The question diverts attention from unjust Western violence. This book is an invitation for self-examination when it comes to the questions we ask of Muslims and ourselves about violence. It will open the door to asking better questions of our Muslim neighbors, questions based not on the presumption of guilt but on the promise of friendship.

"While 9/11 and its aftermath created a traumatic turning point for most of the writers in this book, it is telling that none of their essays begin with that moment. These young people were living, probing, and shifting their Muslim identities long before 9/11. . . . I've heard it said that the second generation never asks the first about its story, but nearly all the essays in this book include long, intimate portrayals of Muslim family life, often going back generations. These young Muslims are constantly negotiating the differences between families for whom faith and culture were matters of honor and North America's youth culture, with its emphasis on questioning, exploring, and inventing one s own destiny." from the Introduction by Eboo Patel

In Growing Up Muslim, Andrew Garrod and Robert Kilkenny present fourteen personal essays by college students of the Muslim faith who are themselves immigrants or are the children of immigrants to the United States. In their essays, the students grapple with matters of ethnicity, religious prejudice and misunderstanding, and what is termed Islamophobia. The fact of 9/11 and subsequent surveillance and suspicion of Islamic Americans (particularly those hailing from the Middle East and the Asian Subcontinent) have had a profound effect on these students, their families, and their communities of origin."

Violence committed by religious young people has become a regular feature of our daily news reports. What we hear less about are the growing numbers of religious young people from all faith backgrounds who are committed to interfaith understanding and cooperation. Building the Interfaith Youth Movement is the first book to describe this important phenomenon. Contributions include concrete descriptions of various interfaith youth projects across the country_from an arts-program in the South Bronx to a research program at Harvard University to a national organization called the Interfaith Youth Core based in Chicago_written by the founders and leaders of those initiatives. Additional chapters articulate the theory and methodology of this important new movement. This book is a must-read for college chaplains, religious leaders who work with youth, and students and scholars of contemporary religion.

Violence committed by religious young people has become a regular feature of our daily news reports. What we hear less about are the growing numbers of religious young people from all faith backgrounds who are committed to interfaith understanding and cooperation. Building the Interfaith Youth Movement is the first book to describe this important phenomenon. Contributions include concrete descriptions of various interfaith youth projects across the country-from an arts-program in the South Bronx to a research program at Harvard University to a national organization called the Interfaith Youth Core based in Chicago-written by the founders and leaders of those initiatives. Additional chapters articulate the theory and methodology of this important new movement. This book is a must-read for college chaplains, religious leaders who work with youth, and students and scholars of contemporary religion.

Join interfaith commentator Eboo Patel as he explores what it means to be "literate" about other faiths, how interfaith cooperation "works" and why, the skills needed for interfaith cooperation and the significant role that our institutions, including colleges and faith communities, can play in this process. This resources contains all he material needed by class participants and the group facilitator. SOLD SEPARATELY. Embracing Interfaith Cooperation DVD. This resource features five 10-15 minute presentations by Eboo Patel, each of which is followed by video of Patel interacting with a small, diverse group of adults and young adults as they respond and discuss interfaith issues. Eboo Patel believes religion is a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. Inspired by his faith as a Muslim, his Indian heritage and his American citizen ship, he speaks to his vision of interfaith harmony at places like he Clinton Global Initiative, The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, as well as college and universality campuses across the country. He is a regular contributor to the Washington Post, USA Todayand he Huffington Post."

An inspiring collection of readings that will raise deep questions about service and its roots in faith. "There is a deep yearning among the vast majority of people of all religious and philosophical traditions to make real their most enduring shared principles—to care for creation, to serve others with compassion, and to protect and enhance the gift of life…. We believe that reflecting on these principles strengthens our capacity to embody them." —from the Introduction Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service: Why do I serve? • Whom do I serve? • How do I serve? This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world. Contributors: Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Jane Addams • Sholom Aleichem • Bidpai • Cesar Chavez • Chuang-Tzu • Dorothy Day • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni • Mahatma Gandhi • Linda Gregg • Hafiz • Hamzayusuf • Thich Nhat Hanh • Mark Helprin • Abraham Joshua Heschel • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Kabir • Martin Luther King Jr. • The Dalai Lama • Anne Lamott • Lao-Tzu • Abraham Lincoln • Maimonides • Valerie Martin • Gabriela Mistral • Mikhail Naimy • Friedrich Nietzsche • Tim O'Brien • Flannery O’Connor • Mary Oliver • George Orwell • John Oskison • Eboo Patel • Peggy Payne • I. L. Peretz • Rumi • Ryokan • Tayeb Salih • Harold M. Schulweis • Leslie Marmon Silko • Anna Swir • Rabindranath Tagore • William Trevor • Shih Te • Swami Vivekananda • Walt Whitman

An inspiring collection of readings that will raise deep questions about service and its roots in faith. "There is a deep yearning among the vast majority of people of all religious and philosophical traditions to make real their most enduring shared principles—to care for creation, to serve others with compassion, and to protect and enhance the gift of life…. We believe that reflecting on these principles strengthens our capacity to embody them." —from the Introduction Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service: Why do I serve? • Whom do I serve? • How do I serve? This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world. Contributors: Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Jane Addams • Sholom Aleichem • Bidpai • Cesar Chavez • Chuang-Tzu • Dorothy Day • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni • Mahatma Gandhi • Linda Gregg • Hafiz • Hamzayusuf • Thich Nhat Hanh • Mark Helprin • Abraham Joshua Heschel • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Kabir • Martin Luther King Jr. • The Dalai Lama • Anne Lamott • Lao-Tzu • Abraham Lincoln • Maimonides • Valerie Martin • Gabriela Mistral • Mikhail Naimy • Friedrich Nietzsche • Tim O'Brien • Flannery O’Connor • Mary Oliver • George Orwell • John Oskison • Eboo Patel • Peggy Payne • I. L. Peretz • Rumi • Ryokan • Tayeb Salih • Harold M. Schulweis • Leslie Marmon Silko • Anna Swir • Rabindranath Tagore • William Trevor • Shih Te • Swami Vivekananda • Walt Whitman