Keynote speaker: Eboo Patel, November 10

Eboo Patel is the founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based institution building the global interfaith youth movement. He was recently appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives, where he is working to realize the President’s priority of interfaith cooperation. He is the author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.

Other Upcoming Events

• November 11: Youth program with Eboo Patel
• November 12: Interfaith Council Table of Faiths Luncheon
• November 22: 25th Annual CRES Thanksgiving Dinner
  

Public Interfaith Dialogue Resources:

Interfaith dialogue has become essential in order to help more people discover, celebrate and promote the reality of pluralism in our community. It is important that people respect and have appreciation for other’s faith traditions. In dialogue we hope to build relationships, identify commonly-held beliefs and enhance the participants’ own faith experience.

“The experience of people who have come into deep dialogue with those of other faiths is that it more deeply enriches one’s sense of oneself.”
Diana Eck

For tips on creating your own meaningful interfaith dialogue events click: Resource Kit

Faith and Politics:
From George Washington to Barack Obama

Newsweek editor and American Gospel author Jon Meacham captivated a 500-person audience at the second annual Festival of Faiths’ Signature Event on January 26 at Johnson County Community College. Meacham’s in-depth knowledge of history, coupled with the easy wit of a storyteller, provided a rich perspective on his topic: “Faith and Politics: From George Washington to Barack Obama.”

Video from Q&A session

Pictures from event

Meacham discussed the Founding Fathers’ careful thinking on the relationship of religion and politics in the new land. He noted that they acknowledged the inherently human nature of religion in the lives of individuals and the religious history of the new country’s immigrant citizens. They intentionally avoided any implication that the country would have one common religion, persecute followers of any particular faith, or prescribe adherence to any specific view of God. Based on these facts, Meacham emphasized, the U.S. is not a “Christian Nation,” as many have argued.

In relating how American presidents including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Abraham Lincoln thought about the Divine, Meacham noted the historical tension that has existed between our presidents’ private faiths or religions and the ways they have publicly connected that religion to a political agenda.

Now, what’s in store with the Obama administration? Meacham offered no crystal ball but a generally hopeful tone. Clearly the subject of religion and our religious diversity as a nation is a topic of wide public interest and an item on the political agenda as well.

Meacham said, “I think the greatest presidents have used public religion to make a difference. If religion is a fundamental part of who we are, then surely we can take hold of that force and channel it for the greater good.”

Following Meacham’s presentation, he fielded questions from the audience. The end to a stimulating and engaging evening came with this exchange:

Question: “What does it mean when a politician says, ‘God bless America’?”
Meacham: "I want your vote.”

Jon Meacham is the author of:

• American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation
• Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship
• American Lion