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Interfaith
education is predicated on the
fundamental insight that
religious identity and culture
are critical to the individual
and collective destinies of
people, communities, societies,
and nations. Religious
traditions have not only exerted
a formative influence on all of
the world’s civilizations; they
continue to affect the global
community in ways both positive
and negative. From bias crimes
in the Midwest to conflicts in
the Middle East, from
international diplomacy to the
First Amendment, inter-religious
understanding-- and
misunderstanding-- lies at the
core of a host of urgent
contemporary issues.
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The forces of
globalization, the lifting of
boundaries through immigration,
and the transmission of ideas
and cultures made possible
through technology and
transportation: these forces
have produced a new religious
pluralism and cultural
multiplicity, both in this
country and abroad. In response,
a growing number of educators,
practitioners, and religious
leaders are turning to
interfaith education as a means
of illuminating and responding
to the challenges of an
increasingly pluralistic,
interdependent world.
The TOU has developed ongoing
programs that offer interfaith
education for adults,
seminarians, college students,
and youth. With the insight,
expertise and extensive network
of collaborators cultivated
throughout forty-three years of
grassroots work in the
interfaith movement, the TOU is
well positioned to nurture and
develop the field of interfaith
education.
Broadly defined, the emergent
field of interfaith education
seeks to investigate and refine
our knowledge of the
inter-religious dimension of
human affairs. Within its scope
lie the educational methods of
the classroom, the academy, and
the seminary, alongside the
restorative practices of
dialogue, community building,
consciousness-raising and
cooperation among people of
diverse religious backgrounds.
The Temple of Understanding’s
programmatic focus is interfaith
education. We understand
interfaith education to
encompass curricula and
methodologies through which
individuals can learn about
religious traditions outside of
their own. Interfaith education
also enables us to deepen our
understanding of our own
traditions, engaging both the
commonalities that bring us
together and the particularities
that make us distinct.
Interfaith education offers the
capacity for profound personal
and societal growth, which is
essential to fostering and
sustaining cultures of peace.
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