Interfaith Initiative News

HPI Leads First-Ever Field Trip

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HPI Leads First-Ever Field Trip

Students of the Heravi Peace Institute and USU Japanese Program ventured to Delta, Utah where they learned about the history of the Topaz Internment Camp.

HPI Interim Director Gives Honors Last Lecture

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HPI Interim Director Gives Honors Last Lecture

If you only had one lecture left to give, what would your message be? For HPI Interim Director, Colin Flint, the final call to action would be to "Dare to build global peace." Read more of his thoughts and learn how you can be a global peacebuilder.

Creating Peace Beyond the Classroom

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Creating Peace Beyond the Classroom

What starts in the classroom doesn't stay there. Students and alumni of the Heravi Peace Institute take the skills and knowledge they gain into their careers and communities. From nonprofit organizations to global training and consulting firms, HPI alumni...

National News

Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
The Public Religion Research Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy. Its mission is to help journalists, scholars, pundits, thought leaders, clergy, and the general public better understand debates on public policy issues, and the important cultural and religious dynamics shaping American society and politics.
PRRI

Interfaith America (IA)
Interfaith America was founded by Dr. Eboo Patel in 2002 with the goal of making "interfaith cooperation a social norm within a generation." IA's mission is to "inspire, equip, and connect leaders and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity." Part of their work consists of training student leaders and supporting the development of curricular and extra-curricular programs with this objective. USU's Interfaith Initiative was founded in direct response to IA's challenge. To date, we have received two grants from this organization to develop programs (both in and out of the classroom) and we count ourselves as both a key ally and a champion of this wonderful organization.
Interfaith America

The Pluralism Project
Professor Diana Eck (Harvard University) founded the Pluralism Project as a research project that engages students in studying the new religious diversity in the United States. Since its inception more than two decades ago, the project has grown exponentially. On its website today, visitors can find many resources to help them understand the changing contours of the American religious landscape as well as to explore the implications of "America's new plurality" through case studies of particular cities and towns. A feature on their home page called "Religious Diversity News" helps keep people up to date on issues of particular interest to the Project's mission.
Pluralism

Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. PEW conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. The Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It values independence, objectivity, accuracy, rigor, humility, transparency and innovation. Its Religion and Public Life initiatives have advanced our understanding of the role of religion in American public life today.
Pew Research Center

Huffington Post Religion Section and Other News Outlets
Huffington Post was founded by Arianna Huffington in 2005. It is an American online news aggregator and blog with both local and international editions. In 2012 the Huffington Post became the first commercially run digital media enterprise in the U.S. to win a Pulitzer Prize. In addition to aggregating news from multiple news outlets, the HuffPost invites individual contributors, columnists and bloggers to post articles that feature both individual perspectives on national and international news and more personal stories about how the news of the day impacts specific individuals and their communities. Here at USU, Prof. Glass-Coffin is a semi-frequent contributor to the HuffPost sections on religion and on higher education.

Other good sources of news about religion are Religion News Service and World Religion News. These online news sources provide good coverage of news from multiple perspectives and with a focus on multiple religious traditions.
Huffington Post Religion

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was created as an "organization that challenges stereotypes of Islam and Muslims" in 1994. According to their website, CAIR is "frequently seen as the "go-to" organization when bias is directed against Muslim individuals or institutions." As an organization committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans regardless of faith, CAIR supports domestic policies that promote diversity and freedom of religion. It is a great source of news and information regarding current issues of concern to Muslim-Americans.
CAIR

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
The mission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair-treatment for all. When Chicago attorney Sigmund Livingston founded ADL in 1913, he envisioned an America where those who seemed different were not targets of discrimination and threats, but were equals, worthy of shared opportunity and a place in the American dream. This vision remains relevant today, its call to action as urgent.
ADL

Sojourners
Sojourners are Christians who follow Jesus, but who also sojourn with others in different faith traditions and all those who are on a spiritual journey. Sojourners are evangelicals, Catholics, Pentecostals and Protestants; progressives and conservatives; blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians; women and men; young and old. Sojourners reaches into traditional churches but also out to those who can't fit into them to discover the intersection of faith, politics, and culture.
Sojourners

Local News

The USU Interfaith Initiative provides resources and programs that support religious/spiritual diversity and inclusion on campus. Articles about the important role played by the USU Interfaith Initiative appear in recent editions of Utah State Today and the news feed below.