Interfaith Engagement Research Articles

Peace Project: Promoting Peace Awareness and Tolerance among Religious People in Jakarta, Indonesia

The study investigates Muslim youth responses to the Peace Project, an initiative by Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Indonesia aimed at fostering peace and tolerance among religious believers. Focusing on visits to Sion Church and Candra Prabha Temple, thirty Muslim participants engaged in this qualitative research through observations and surveys. The findings reveal: 1) the Peace Project effectively facilitates inter-group contact among religious youth; 2) Muslim participants expressed enthusiasm for the activities, suggesting longer durations and visits to additional places of worship; and 3) the need for academic speakers to guide discussions on respecting diverse religions. This study offers recommendations to enhance interfaith initiatives, improve activity planning, contribute to religious tolerance knowledge, and raise public awareness of interfaith engagement for a more tolerant society, based on the positive reception among Jakarta Muslim youth.

Seeking The Middle Ground in Precarious Democracy: Interfaith Engagement in Contemporary Indonesian and Turkish Societies Within The Context of Declaration of Human Fraternity

As the two most populous Muslim nations carrying the status of precarious democracy, Indonesia and Turkey are still trying to be committed to their credentials as nations that hold dear their multireligious community. While Indonesia follows the value of Pancasila to keep interfaith and intercultural solidarity, Turkey still considers the value of secularism as a core concept to equally treat diverse religious and cultural communities of Turkey. Interestingly, while interfaith engagement in the context of Indonesia is much stronger and visible, discussions about interfaith engagements in Turkey have been refrained due to several reasons. This paper will explore the dynamics of interfaith engagements in Indonesia and Turkey, especially between Muslims and Christians (particularly in the case of Catholics) after the Declaration of Human Fraternity between the Vatican and al-Azhar through the theory of interfaith engagement and the theory of democratic citizenship.

A Case Study of Women’s Interfaith Experiences in Three Higher Education Institutions in the United States

This case study examines women’s experiences with religious, secular, and spiritual (RSS) diversity and interfaith engagement in three higher education institutions. The findings underscored the potential for interfaith spaces on campus to serve as platforms for women’s activism and leadership, but women’s experiences within these spaces were far from uniform. This study contributes to the existing literature by offering a nuanced exploration of women’s experiences with RSS diversity and interfaith engagement on campus.

Lost in Untranslatability: Ishvara, Allah and Interfaith Dialogue

While translation plays a vital role in bridging intercultural gaps, it struggles to convey the exact meaning of certain ideas due to the unique characteristics and structures inherent in each language and the underlying social context. This difficulty is pronounced when translating between the language pair Hindi and Urdu, which, despite both originating from Khari Boli, have diverged significantly under the influences of Hinduism and Islam. In an Indian social context, the Arabic-origin Urdu word Allah is often equated with the Sanskrit-origin Hindi word Ishvara. However, this translation is problematic and can cause confusion because the Hindu idea of the divine, Ishvara, is fundamentally different from the Islamic concept of Allah. Building upon the theory of Sanskrit non-translatability proposed by Malhotra and Babaji, this paper argues for the existence of cultural untranslatability in the domain of Urdu-Sanskrit translation. Using a case study approach for the terms Ishvara and Allah, the paper concludes that specific religious terms should not be translated and makes the case that preserving precise linguistic categories is essential for meaningful inter-faith engagement.

Lost in Untranslatability: Ishvara, Allah and Interfaith Dialogue

While translation plays a vital role in bridging intercultural gaps, it struggles to convey the exact meaning of certain ideas due to the unique characteristics and structures inherent in each language and the underlying social context. This difficulty is pronounced when translating between the language pair Hindi and Urdu, which, despite both originating from Khari Boli, have diverged significantly under the influences of Hinduism and Islam. In an Indian social context, the Arabic-origin Urdu word Allah is often equated with the Sanskrit-origin Hindi word Ishvara. However, this translation is problematic and can cause confusion because the Hindu idea of the divine, Ishvara, is fundamentally different from the Islamic concept of Allah. Building upon the theory of Sanskrit non-translatability proposed by Malhotra and Babaji, this paper argues for the existence of cultural untranslatability in the domain of Urdu-Sanskrit translation. Using a case study approach for the terms Ishvara and Allah, the paper concludes that specific religious terms should not be translated and makes the case that preserving precise linguistic categories is essential for meaningful inter-faith engagement.

Pathways to Religious Pluralism in College: A Critical Analysis of Identity, Campus Contexts, and Engagement

This study, based on the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), examined pathways to pluralism orientation among more than 5,700 students who attended 118 U.S. colleges and universities between 2015 and 2019. Grounded in Critical Religious Pluralism Theory (CRPT), the analysis elevated the role of identities and contexts in pluralism progression, maintenance, and decline, illuminating the importance of climate, culture, support, and interfaith engagement in college students’ pluralism development. Implications are discussed to guide educators committed to advancing justice, equity, and social change in higher education and beyond.

Islamophobia in higher education environments

AbstractIslamophobia is a reality facing Muslim college students daily on and off campus. In this chapter, I highlight Islamophobia in higher education environments and explore its structural and interactional manifestations. I provide practical recommendations to address institutional and interpersonal Islamophobia and specify how campus educators can work to respond to and prevent Islamophobic incidents. I also make policy recommendations to respond to the hostility toward Muslims in the national discourse. Finally, I outline future frontiers for higher education research, such as the need to account for the complexity of the Muslim identity and its intersections and the need to distinguish Islamophobia from Muslim appreciation through empirical measurement. Future directions in higher education should take on the responsibility of responding to Islamophobia and eradicating its hold on Muslim lives.Practical Takeaways Colleges and universities should critically examine their infrastructures and policies concerning accommodating the religious needs of Muslim students. Each campus should have an academic accommodations policy that specifies how students may go about requesting an accommodation for religious reasons. This policy should be explicitly stated in syllabi, websites, and orientation materials. Institutional leadership should explicitly commit to countering religious‐based hate, including Islamophobia, through policies that condemn such forms of hate and outline specific means of responding to incidents when they occur. A proactive effort to counter hate on campus requires knowledge of the structures in place to utilize these resources when needed and to identify areas for improvement. Educators should create programs and opportunities that promote interactions across religious, spiritual, and secular (RSS) identities and must offer the time, resources, and effort to support formalized campus activities that foreground interfaith engagement. Educators should proactively create spaces for these encounters and incorporate these opportunities into campus architecture and the required programming (e.g., orientation). In the face of a national movement to eliminate, ban, or otherwise weaken diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) resources on college campuses, religious accommodations must be codified in both state and federal laws and guidelines to create consistency across states and a standard of how universities could actively work to create a welcoming environment for all.

“Who is my Neighbour? Interfaith Dialogue and Theological Formation” (Responses)

The following are three response papers that were presented at the “Who is My Neighbour? Interfaith Dialogue and Theological Formation Conference,” held on October 19, 2022, and are indirectly responding to Ingrid Mattson's discussion of interfaith engagement and the public square.
 The first response paper by Cory Andrew Labrecque, entitled "Theological Bioethics and Interfaith-Interdisciplinary Dialogue," uses Mattson's discussion of the challenges and rewards of principled interfaith engagement in the public square as a starting place for his own reflections on the challenges and rewards of interfaith-interdiscplinary dialogue in healthcare. While interdisciplinary discussions around healthcare often take place in secular terms – and indeed, we are often told that this is the way things ought to be – Labrecque offers a powerful account, not only of what is lost when we allow the theological perspective to become muted in such discussions, but also of what can be gained when we insist upon including it.
 The second response paper by Lisa J. Grushcow, entitled "Interfaith Dialogue and the Public Square: One Rabbi's Response," returns directly to the notion of the public square, using the memory and words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel to do so. While Rabbi Heschel "affirm[ed] the princple of separation of church and state," he "reject[ed] the separation of religion and the human situation," a sentiment Rabbi Grushcow shares and uses as a starting point for her own critical reflections on what interfaith dialogue and engagement wants to build, and how it can be done together.

Bringing Back the Old Religiosity: Interfaith Cosmopolitan Civil Religion (ICCR)

Abstract Highlighting the transformed landscape of political communities in the twenty-first century, I reexamine the discourse of civil religion (DCR). Widely recognized in religious studies and notably in American history, this concept reveals a subtle yet intricately functional framework of community consciousness within political entities. This article posits that the prevalent interpretation of civil religion, and its application across diverse contexts, falls short of effectively reflecting and utilizing the essence identified by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Robert Bellah—classical and modern architects of civil religion, respectively. Many discussions of DCR often disregard the role of the traditional sense of religion and religiousness. Instead, they fixate on superficial symbols and rituals associated with secular institutional bodies and communities. In this article, I contend that reintegrating the ordinary sense of religion into the discourse is crucial for envisioning and constructing a new community consciousness capable of adeptly responding to the burgeoning demands of our highly multicultural world. Following the conceptual roadmap of civil religion, which seeks transcendent, sacred, and unifying narratives, symbols, and rituals, I introduce a new model termed Interfaith, Cosmopolitan Civil Religion (ICCR). Within this model, ordinary religious agents, through interfaith engagement, assume positive roles in nurturing a broader sense of community and unity.

A Dialogue of Difference: Y. Leibowitz in Conversation with M. Dubois on Judaism and Christianity

precis: This essay explores the theories of interfaith dialogue proposed by Yeshayahu Leibowitz and Marcel Dubois. It begins by examining their individual interpretations of Judaism, Christianity, and the feasibility of engaging in dialogue. Leibowitz’s emphasis on “difference” and the perceived impossibility of dialogue echoes Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik’s influential essay, “Confrontation.” However, while Soloveitchik prohibited interfaith dialogue and abstained from public discourse, Leibowitz actively engaged in public inter-faith dialogue with his friend Marcel Dubois. Through a detailed analysis of a series of filmed debates between Dubois and Leibowitz, this essay argues that Leibowitz’s actions implicitly endorsed a “dialogue of difference.” Progress in this context involves a deeper understanding of the significant divide between Judaism and Christianity, coupled with fostering genuine appreciation and mutual respect for individuals of different faiths. This exchange between Leibowitz and Dubois highlights the gap between theory and practice, shedding light on the concept of difference in interfaith engagement.

Interfaith Engagement and Spiritual Growth of Christian Youth: A Phenomenological Research within Perkantas of East Java

Interfaith engagement has not been widely practiced in the evangelistic services of evangelical churches and institutions in Indonesia. This is unfortunate since intentional interfaith engagement among young Christians has a positive influence not only for the development of mission and evangelism, but also for the spiritual growth of the subject. This research is a qualitative study using the phenomenological paradigm. The data collection method was conducted by in-depth interviews through video-conferencing. The method of selecting informants was carried out by purposive sampling from Perkantas (Indonesian InterVarsity Ministry) of East Java, with the main criteria having been fostered in the Perkantas discipleship curriculum, and conducting interfaith engagements. The results showed that interfaith engagement is a valid expression of the praxis of evangelicalism; the dominant motive of interfaith interaction that appears is the proclamation of the gospel, and the impact of interfaith engagement is the appreciation of different faiths and the strengthening of the Christian faith.

Interfaith Engagement and the Public Square: A Self-Critical Review and Suggestions for the Way Forward (Keynote Address)

A personal and critical essay written by a Muslim religious leader and scholar about the changes they have experienced and witnessed in the ways interfaith dialogue intersects with the public square. The author draws upon twenty-five years of experience, highlighting specific examples affecting the Muslim community, mostly in the United States. The author argues that interfaith dialogue can create space for engagement on issues of public policy and common concern, but that no encounter is ever naïve, and since digital and social media have facilitated the spread of misinformation, such encounters are more complex than before. Further, research on the disproportionate attention negative displays of emotion attract puts minority groups, typically stereotyped as angry and irrational, in a difficult position to express themselves authentically as they try to defend their rights and dignity. Principled interfaith engagement can achieve effective policy results and provide vital moral support to a beleaguered faith community and may create a principled foundation for engagement on other issues. However, this is not always the case, and various parties might express disappointment, even betrayal when “the other side” does not show up for their cause. Nevertheless, continued engagement that allows politically misaligned interfaith partners to express their views according to terms they consider authentic helps avoid greater polarization that is corrosive to social cohesion. At the same time, conveners of interfaith dialogue should be attentive to the structures of power embedded in the programs they create to avoid reinforcing patterns of hierarchy and exclusion.

Challenging Conversation between the Catholic Church and Sunni Islam: An Analysis of The Dialogue with the Vatican From the Viewpoint of Al-Azhar University: Challenges, Setbacks & Promises (1998-Present)

Catholicism and Sunni Islam have been at enmity for centuries, although both have tried to communicate in recent decades. Over the last two decades, Al-Azhar University, the preeminent Sunni intellectual institution, has engaged with the Vatican to foster religious concord and mutual respect. Al Azhar University’s Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyeb, has met with various popes and promoted religious tolerance. Pope Francis has promoted interfaith dialogue with Al Azhar. It assesses Al-Azhar University’s role in the Catholic-Sunni dialogue and its triumphs, shortcomings, and prospects. This page uses various sources to explain the argument, its social and cultural setting, and the religious and political issues that shaped the discussion. It highlights the importance and challenges of interfaith cooperation. The overall research focuses on Al-Azhar University’s viewpoint to illuminate Sunni Muslims’ motivations for interfaith engagement with the Catholic Church. It describes the reconciliation between Al-Azhar University and the Vatican and offers ideas for religious tolerance and understanding. This study illuminates the intricacy and flexibility of Catholic-Sunni dialogue. It emphasises the necessity for open Conversation, mutual respect, and shared values across the world’s three largest religions to promote peace.

From Pemuda to Remaja

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the civic nationalism of the current millennial generation is perceived and expressed in contemporary Indonesia. We define civic nationalism as nationalism in which the foundations of citizenship are civic ties that ensure equality for people of different religions or ethnicities. Since the post-New Order period, religious nationalism promoted by vocal Islamist groups such as Laskar Jihad, Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defence Front, FPI), and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) has contested Indonesian civic nationalism. Despite this challenge, we argue that Indonesian civic nationalism has been vibrantly reproduced, with the current millennial generation playing an active role, despite studies that frequently portray them as apolitical remaja (consumerist youth). We use NusantaRun and SabangMerauke as examples of youth communities that actively promote civic nationalist narratives. We also contend that their ideas on civic nationalism emphasise interfaith engagement in activities centred on consumer culture, self-development, and volunteerism, all of which fit into the broader neoliberal milieu of post-New Order Indonesia. These findings, deriving from our interviews and analyses of their social media discourse, will help to advance research on changing nationalist expressions across Indonesian generations.

Re-envisioning Civil Religion in a Collaborative, Constructive Model

In this paper, I argue that the mainstream discussion of religion and politics and the dominant discourse of civil religion are both based on the narrow definition of politics, which premises power-dynamic and power-relation. However, growing worldwide interfaith engagement can contribute to reshaping our conversation particularly of civil religion. In the new political environment religion does not necessarily play the categorical role of the traditional power-dynamic. A variety of interfaith experiences have been creating and fostering a new consciousness, which is spiritual, moral, and political. It has been translated into social norms, law, policies, and invisible cultural pressure or force in various political communities. I argue that the new model, which I call interfaith civil religion, would not put religion in a position where its inherent qualities are given up as shown in the classic models and where the significant contributions that religious communities are currently making are overlooked. And this concept of interfaith civil religion would be my response to Robert Bellah’s diffident anticipation of a new level of civil religion coming out of a society larger than the state, which he expressed by saying “flickering flame of the United Nations.” There is no absolute trans-national sovereignty at present. However, my discussion will demonstrate a possible groundwork to conceptualize a trans-national symbolic system, which Bellah imagined as “the civil religion of the world.”

Being Evangelical is Complicated: How Students’ Identities and Experiences Moderate Their Perceptions of Campus Climate

BackgroundEvangelical Christian college students navigate campus buoyed by Christian privilege but may encounter silencing or othering tied to their religious beliefs, a feeling of incompatibility with their campus climate, and conflations of their religious and political beliefs that are inaccurate and discouraging. Unsupportive campus climates can discourage evangelical students from having productive exchanges across difference and deepening their own worldview commitments, which is concerning due to their general lack of interfaith participation that challenges stereotypes and unnuanced assumptions.PurposeThis study explores how evangelical Christians perceive their campus climates and whether those perceptions are different based on other social identity intersections with gender, race, sexuality, and political affiliation. In addition to individual characteristics, how the campus environment and various curricular and co-curricular experiences moderate evangelical students’ perceptions of the worldview climate is examined.MethodsA sample of 1235 evangelical college students was examined via means, standard deviations, and ranges for six campus climate measures, one-way ANOVAs to examine whether those measures differed by different identity dimensions, and then multilevel modeling to better understand the role of campus experiences in evangelicals’ perceptions of their campus climate.ResultsEvangelical students’ campus climate perceptions were generally positive; more provocative encounters were reported by women than men and evangelical Asian students indicated more divisiveness, more insensitivity, and less space for support than their peers. Political affiliation also revealed several significant differences in perceived campus climate. Interfaith engagement through pre-college activities, formal and informal activities, and friendships were connected to perceptions of campus climate, with those reporting more engagement being more likely to have productive encounters across difference and to report insensitivity or divisiveness. Religious affiliation was the most significant institutional characteristic.Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study illuminates how collegiate experiences and campus environments exacerbate or attenuate evangelical Christian students’ perceptions of the campus climate, and the results indicate that effective teaching practices where true interfaith experiences happen and that create inclusive space for evangelical students in the classroom are key to fostering development, especially in light of the social status ambiguity evangelical college students may be experiencing during their college years.

“Kingdom-Building” through Global Diplomatic and Interfaith Agency: The Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and Unificationist Millenarianism

The Universal Peace Federation or UPF is a United Nations-affiliated NGO launched in 2005 by the late Mun Sŏn-myŏng, self-proclaimed Messiah and founder of the South Korean Unification Movement. Mun considered the UPF as the pinnacle of Unificationist political and interfaith engagement. Envisioned as a complement to and, eventually, a future replacement of the United Nations, the globally operating UPF spearheads Unificationist millenarianism. This paper first traces the formation history and genesis of the UPF as a merger of decades-long international political and interfaith activities under the banner of multiple Unificationist organisations and initiatives. Subsequently, it examines the Korea-centric millenarian purpose assigned to the UPF by Mun. It is ultimately argued that embracing globalism is not only doctrinally crucial to Unificationist millenarianism, but systemically relevant.

Setting Down the Ten Foot Pole

Talking about religion and spirituality has been a taboo topic for a long time. While those in student affairs are no strangers to tackling tough conversations and engaging in identity development, this topic is still kept at a distance. Educating on Religious Diversity and Interfaith Engagement seeks to challenge those in higher education to set down the ten foot pole that has been used to keep conversations about religion and spirituality at a comfortable distance by providing the tools and resources to approach the topic. Through practical examples and a plethora of resources, this book is an engaging read for any level professional. Learn about new ways to engage students with an identity that has been removed from the sphere of public education for many years with this informative and easily read handbook.

How Do Colleges and Universities Support Multifaith Chaplaincy? The Causes and Effects of Different Institutional Approaches

This article examines institutional approaches to multifaith chaplaincy across private institutions of higher education. Based on a pilot study of eight nonreligious colleges and universities, the authors identify a continuum of models for multifaith chaplaincy. At one end of this continuum, universities facilitate access for chaplaincy affiliates they do not pay; at the other end, universities employ staff chaplains. The authors find that smaller institutions and those historically affiliated with a religious group tend to employ more staff chaplains. Chaplaincy models affect how deeply chaplains and affiliates are involved on campus and the possibilities for interfaith engagement.

Ritual among the Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, the Nacirema, and Interfaith Studies

More than six decades after its publication, Horace Miner’s 1956 article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” remains a reliable pedagogical tool, remarkably successful in helping students see their own ethnocentric biases. Catholics & Cultures has potential to do similar work. The site lacks some of what makes Miner’s text so effective, in particular its capacity to bring about a sudden shift in perception. The site also shares some of the article’s limitations, particularly in focusing on ritual to the relative exclusion of other aspects of religion. That said, the site can help students gain the religious literacy and develop the dispositions needed for interfaith engagement. In addition, especially in the context of Catholic education, the site addresses a theological need in the Church by fostering what Stan Chu Ilo has called “a hermeneutics of multiplicity and inclusion."