Living Interfaith is an Interfaith movement founded by Reverend Steven Greenebaum, which embraces the teachings of all spiritual paths that lead people to seek a life of compassionate action. [1]
Interfaith, as a faith, does not seek to discover which religion or spiritual path is "right." Rather, it recognizes that everyone is part of one family, and that at different times and in different places we have encountered the sacred differently. [1]
Living Interfaith celebrates differing spiritual paths. They claim that what is the same in every religion is the call to compassion, the call to think beyond ourselves, and the call to recognize that we are all connected. Interfaith "calls upon us not to ignore our differences, but to rather to respect them, and to realize that each of our paths, in their own special and different way, call us to love and to be loving." [2]
The movement views Interfaith as a faith that celebrates humanity's differing spiritual paths. It believes that a person's actions in this world are what count and that humanity is called to engage the world, both with compassion and with love. A stated tenet of the movement is to respect all faith traditions and not to ignore their importance or their differences. Christianity is acknowledged as being different from Buddhism. Islam is acknowledged as being different from Humanism, and so forth. According to the movement, the claim of Interfaith as a faith is that what is the same within all of humanity's spiritual paths is the call to compassion, to thinking beyond ourselves, and to recognizing that we are all connected. [2]
Greenebaum states that "interfaith, as a spiritual practice, can serve as a new model for how we deal with each other and a new vision for how we act on our religious beliefs to live compassionate lives and share the world in harmony." [3]
Rev. Steven Greenebaum, the founder of Living Interfaith, grew up as a Reform Jew in suburban Los Angeles. [4] [5]
He has Master's degrees in Mythology, Music, and Pastoral Studies. His experiences directing Jewish, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Interfaith choirs have helped him understand the profound wisdom of many spiritual traditions. He has dedicated his life to working for social and environmental justice through a multitude of forums. When asked about his identity, he explained: “My faith is Interfaith. My spiritual path is Judaism. My tribe is Humanity. I’m also a minister, choir director, and vegetarian.”
In 2012, he published his first book The Interfaith Alternative: Embracing Spiritual Diversity through New Society Publishers. [6] His second book, Practical Interfaith, was published by Skylight Paths in 2014. His third book, One Family: Indivisible, was published by MSI Press in 2019. His website also contains more information about these books and his vision for Interfaith.
The Living Interfaith Church is the very first Living Interfaith congregation. It was established in 2010 by Rev. Steven Greenebaum. It is located in Lynnwood, WA, USA and is now led by Rev. Marie Preftes Arenz.
Its community members include people from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, Baha'i, Pagan, Humanist, and New Age religious traditions.
It meets on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from September through June (except for December when it meets on the second and third Saturdays). Services start at 10:30am PDT.
At every service, a holiday or special occasion from a different spiritual tradition is celebrated.
The Living Interfaith Sanctuary is the second Living Interfaith congregation. It was established in 2018 by Interfaith Leader, Cathy Merchant. It is located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Its community members include people from the Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Baha'i, Jewish, Hindu, Humanist, and New Age religious traditions.
It meets on the first and third Saturdays of the month year-round. Services start at 10am PDT.
At every service, a holiday or special occasion from a different spiritual tradition is celebrated.
Its members work closely with the Multifaith Action Society, the Surrey Interfaith Council, and the Abbotsford Interfaith Movement. Its leader, Cathy Merchant, also gives presentations on Interfaith and interreligious peace-building to interested parties of other organizations, including students at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:
Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
Karen Armstrong is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's College, Oxford, while in the convent and majored in English. She left the convent in 1969. Her work focuses on commonalities of the major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.
Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia that proposes that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of spiritual ecology assert a need for contemporary nature conservation work to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in ecological issues.
Inclusivism is one of several approaches in religious studies, anthropology, or civics to understand the relationship between different religions, societies, cultures, political factions etc. It asserts that there is beauty in the variety of different schools of thoughts, and that they can live together in harmony. It stands in contrast to exclusivism, which asserts that only one way is true and all others are erroneous.
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993. This led to a new series of conferences under the official title Parliament of the World's Religions with the same goal of trying to create a global dialogue of faiths.
Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religious marriage. This depends on religious doctrine of each of the two parties' religions; some prohibit interfaith marriage, and among others there are varying degrees of permissibility.
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Baháʼí Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are appearances of the Divine Spirit or Holy Spirit in a series of personages, and as such, they perfectly reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization through the agency of that same Spirit.
The Baháʼí teachings represent a considerable number of theological, ethical, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Baháʼí Faith by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by its successive leaders: ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Baháʼu'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's grandson. The teachings were written in various Baháʼí writings. The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith, combined with the authentic teachings of several past religions, are regarded by Baháʼís as revealed by God.
Unity of humanity is one of the central teachings of the Baháʼí Faith. The Baháʼí teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race or colour. Thus, because all humans have been created equal, they all require equal opportunities and treatment. Thus the Baháʼí view promotes the unity of humanity, and that people's vision should be world-embracing and that people should love the whole world rather than just their nation. The teaching, however, does not equate unity with uniformity, but instead the Baháʼí writings advocate for the principle of unity in diversity where the variety in the human race is valued.
Unity of religion is a core teaching of the Baháʼí Faith which states that there is a fundamental unity in many of the world's religions. The principle states that the teachings of the major religions are part of a single plan directed from the same God. It is one of the core teachings of the Baháʼí Faith, alongside the unity of God, and the unity of humanity.
Homaranismo is a philosophy developed by L. L. Zamenhof, who laid the foundations of the Esperanto language. Based largely on the teachings of Hillel the Elder, Zamenhof originally called it Hillelism. He sought to reform Judaism because he hoped that without the strict dress code and purity requirements, it would no longer be the victim of antisemitic propaganda. The basis of Homaranismo is the sentence known as the Golden Rule: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
The Baháʼí Faith and related topics have appeared in multiple forms of fiction. The mention of this religion can be seen in science fiction, fantasy, short stories, novelettes, novels, and TV series. In 2005, an estimated value of 30 references could be found relating Baháʼí Faith to different forms of fiction. An estimated third of these references have a significant relationship with the religion in the way that these forms of fiction show the Baháʼí Faith as a crucial aspect of the story. The first known occurrence is perhaps in the writings of Marie von Najmajer, who wrote a poem dedicated to Tahirih in Gurret-úl-Eyn: Ein Bild aus Persiens Neuzeit which was published in 1874. After a series of works covering the events of the Bábí period, most of the focus shifted towards Baháʼí specific related connections. Soon Khalil Gibran wrote two books - The Prophet and Jesus, The Son of Man. There is some second-hand evidence for the sustained influence of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in these works. In modern times the first known occurrence is of a short story by non-Baháʼí Tom Ligon The Devil and the Deep Black Void, - he also wrote a sequel The Gardener. The next fictional publication, in 1991, which references the Baháʼí Faith may be a short story "Home Is Where..." by Baháʼí Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff,
New Monasticism is a diverse movement, not limited to a specific religious denomination or church and including varying expressions of contemplative life. These include evangelical Christian communities such as "Simple Way Community" and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's "Rutba House," European and Irish new monastic communities, such as that formed by Bernadette Flanagan, spiritual communities such as the "Community of the New Monastic Way" founded by feminist contemplative theologian Beverly Lanzetta, and "interspiritual" new monasticism, such as that developed by Rory McEntee and Adam Bucko. These communities expand upon traditional monastic wisdom, translating it into forms that can be lived out in contemporary lives "in the world."
Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus.
The Baháʼí Faith first arrived in Scotland during the first decade of the 20th century, and in 1913 'Abdu’l-Bahá made a three-day visit to Edinburgh at the invitation of Mrs Jane E. Whyte, wife of Dr Alexander Whyte, Moderator of the General Assembly Free Church of Scotland. Over the following decades the Baháʼí Faith spread across Scotland, with Baháʼi communities now established in most cities across the country and many of the Scottish islands, including Orkney, Shetland, Skye and Isle of Lewis.
Charter for Compassion is a document written in 2009 that urges the peoples and religions of the world to embrace the core value of compassion. The charter is currently available in more than 30 languages and has been endorsed by more than two million individuals.
Religion and peacebuilding refer to the study of religion's role in the development of peace.
Ahead of the COP28 summit between political leaders of the world, the Muslim Council of Elders in partnership with the COP28 Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Catholic Church, and under the patronage of the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan organized a Global Faith Leaders Summit convening 28 faith leaders to address climate change. The two-day summit taking place on Nov 6 - 7 will be hosted in Abu Dhabi gathering different faith leaders with climate experts to fight climate change. This interfaith dialogue is essential to inspire ambitious goals and concrete actions to address the climate crisis.