FAITHS AGAINST HATE PREMIERING PUBLIC TRAINING DAY IN NEW YORK

• In partnership with the Interfaith Institute of the Islamic Center of Long Island, CPWR Executive Director Dr. Mary Nelson and Chair Imam Malik Mujahid will join Long Island and New York City’s leaders of interfaith action against hate to deliver frontline training on hate crime and hate culture. On Saturday, June 22, 2013 – we welcome all participants to share training, inspiration, free meals, and action planning to mobilize a Faith Against Hate Task Force to overcome hate, fear, and anti-religious violence in the New York/Long Island area. Sponsors speaking at the event from The Interfaith Center of New York, The Sikh Coalition, the Holocaust Memorial Museum and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, the Muslim Consultative Network, and more will be on hand to share formal and informal time to all. The training will empower and foster interfaith relationships for concerned citizens, clergy, and civic leaders. Come concerned, leave prepared! Register Free…

FBI TRACKING CRIME AGAINST SIKH-, HINDU-, and ARAB-AMERICANS

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation that tracks hate crimes in the United States announced on Wednesday, June 5, that it will finally include Hindu-, Sikh-, and Arab-American categories in future annual uniform hate crime reporting. This win is celebrated by hundreds of organizations which were heard en masse by the Senate Judiciary Committee last summer at the overdue hearing on domestic extremism and hate crime, which was expedited after the murders of Sikhs at the Gurdwara in the Oak Creek, WI last August.  Data on hate crimes motivated by 9/11 backlash and Islamaphobia will finally quantify widespread violence targeting several communities perceived “other-,” “Middle Eastern-”, “South Asian-.” It also signifies more attention by the U.S. government on this pervasive and complex illness in American society.

For more on this, check out our webinar with the chief organizer of the petitions and government relations at the Sikh Coalition, Rajdeep Singh, on “How Interfaith Coalitions Can Strategically Combat Hate.”

ANTI-IMMIGRANT ADS DROPPED BY PANDORA INTERNET RADIO

• Pandora Internet Radio recently dropped hate ads against undocumented immigrants heard by 70 million listeners sponsored by an organization classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a known “hate group.” Sojourners Magazine made major moves to denounce the ads and responded by calling for funds to air counter-hate ads and asking Pandora to remove the ads from airplay. Read more…

\Graphic by Viacom International The Next Normal Project

The average percentage of global youth trusting religious leaders is now in the single digits. This “mass exodus” is becoming a pervasive challenge for a lion’s share of the world’s major faith traditions while leaders grapple, struggle, and investigate. Even framing the issue is problematic and poses controversy. So how can the claim religious leaders are performing best in South Africa to connecting to youth be considered credible?

Viacom International, the media corporation owning MTV networks and numerable communications platform  is spearheading an ambitious research endeavor. “The Next Normal” plans to be the largest, sharpest, and most comprehensive survey of Millennials (Gen-Y, predecessors to “Digital Natives) in the world. In April, research conducted by the project reported a comprehensive look at the generational character on religion, spirituality and faith  nation by nation.

Some of the most significant findings include South African millennials having the most trust for religious leaders of any nationality, and that Japanese and Saudi Arabian Millennials are the most inflexible in terms of individualism and choice in religious matters.

Most significant of all is that these numbers are powerful and help plot the future of interfaith around the world.

The study shows,

In exploring Millennial attitudes toward religion, faith and spirituality across the globe, we found that overall, this generation believes that everybody should have the right to choose their own religion. But their openness and tolerance are also marked by distrust in organised religion, as well as distinctions between faith and spirituality in some countries.

On average, only 9% of Millennials say they trust their religious leader and only 10% name “religious leader” among the top 5 inspirational people or bodies of people in their lives (compared to 19% for celebrities and 14% for sports stars).  In terms of trust in religious leaders (who could be anyone from a local priest, preacher, imam or rabbi to the Pope), South Africa comes out strongest with a score of 29% trust – still a relatively small minority – followed by USA on 24% and Turkey on 17%.

Trust in religious leaders is lowest in France (2%), Japan and Spain (both 3%).

Continue reading the report…

So where are the magic answers?

The New Digital Age Google forcecasts shows us that via the internet, humans will increasingly utilize their virtual passports to meet on the social web. This creates unprecedented and uncontrollable influences on millennial attitudes, and may reveal why, some unexpectedly, the youth of certain nationalities are shifting longstanding views on religion.

Considering the parallel, but alternate universe existing on and off the world wide web, Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt recently shared a shocking measure of our day and age. In North Korea, he met women conducting traffic that have become YouTube sensations for their strange, revealing clothing and mythical relationship with the supreme leader. Yet, these women don’t have the slightest notional understanding of YouTube, let alone the internet. Nowadays, the web enables geophysical outsiders unprecedented access into clues about what makes any nation’s people tick.

Cultivating Online What We Do Face to Face

The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the one global event where these relationships can be built organically through personal encounter, with the intentional and expressed purpose of cultivating international bonds of harmony through interfaith understanding.  Historically, youth have made remarkable contributions to the Parliament, and leave changed for life. The difference for the next Parliament is that these meeting will have already happened through introductions on the web.

Can we gauge the meaning of all this, and should we? Does the Parliament answer to the youth exodus? The results of this survey is consistent with the reports flurrying in from all corners of the world in our Global Listening Campaign. These sessions conducted by Parliament Ambassadors have uniquely national flair, but express one sentiment that is resoundingly the same: have we lost our youth? How can we get them back? 

The Parliament’s answer is simple: engage online, and act proactively to talk with youth. If confidence is greatest in favor of South African faith leaders, it must mean that faith leaders deliver on their promises and in an age of expecting results, they must act on their word.

Do you find this to be true? How do religious institutions answer to the attitudes of youth to engage millennials in religious and spiritual communities inclusive to all living generations? What can the Parliament do?

• To share a response in writing to become part of a Parliament online publication, please e-mail molly@parliamentofreligions.org
• To pursue Ambassador opportunities to hold a Listening Session in your community, please e-mail Stephen@parliamentofreligions.org

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions in partnership with the DePaul University Office of Religious Diversity is convening a special one hour solidarity circle for interfaith leaders to meet Catholic priest, Padre Alejandro Solalinde, and his Caravan Opening Doors To Hope. 
Solalinde is traveling the U.S. with a large group of victimized migrants turned activists who have experienced human rights abuses in Mexico. The story of 70,000 Central American brothers and sisters disappearing over the last few years, while Solalinde has been imprisoned and arrested for his work operating a network of shelters is shocking. We are helping share this story and honor his bravery.

NOTE: This event is being produced to connect university-level Interfaith leaders with Padre Solalinde’s entourage, but we are inviting you as guests of CPWR.

In this hour we will…
-Hear words from Mexico’s 2012 Human Rights Award recipient
Watch a short film documenting the reality of the migrant train in Mexico
-Welcome Amnesty International to recognize the work of Padre Solalinde
-Share our blessings and offerings to the migrant activists
-Extend our wishes for peace and security to the caravan
-Personally connect Chicago’s young interfaith leaders with a hero to a humanitarian crisis

TO ATTEND: All are welcome, but for seat reservations contact molly@parliamentofreligions.org

Cost: NONE

Our life experiences are shaped and colored by violence.  Whether we are dealing with a child caught in the cross fire of gang activity or violence against our religious community or that of our neighbors, transformative leadership  demands that we bring compassionate and proactive responses to the tragedies of our  day and age.  Transformative leadership also demands listening to the stories of those impacted by violence, looking critically at our own faith traditions, and strategizing on how we as religious communities can partner for the sake of peace.

The Council for the Parliament for the World’s Religions Faiths Against Hate Campaign and SCUPE (Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education) present “Touched By Violence, Partnering for Peace” on May 22, 2013 at the American Islamic College in Chicago, IL. We are sponsoring this one day workshop for leaders, clergy, and people who are called to make a difference by transforming hate and violence into partnerships for peace.

In this workshop we will…

•    Share stories of how we have been touched by violence.
•    Explore how our faith traditions may legitimize violence in our communities.
•    Build partnerships with others leaders touched by violence.
•    Learn strategies for dealing with the aftermath of violence.
•    Commit to bold actions for peace in and across our communities.

Day: Wednesday May 22nd, 2013
Time: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Cost: *Standard Registration $100, Student Registration $60 (with student ID)
Place: American Islamic College | 640 W. Irving Park Rd. | Chicago IL 60613

*Workshop fee includes registration, materials, breakfast and lunch.

Download the flyer here.

by Rev. Anne Benvenuti, PhD

Board Trustee, The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions

© April 2013

The “Nones” are the largest and fastest growing segment of the population on the religious landscape in America, according to the most recent Pew survey. In just the last five years, this group of willfully unaffiliated people has grown from 15% to 20% of the population. They are people who have no religious affiliation, and who don’t want one. Yet only 5% of those surveyed call themselves atheists. In other words, the Nones include many people who, while they don’t want a religious label also don’t want the traditional secular-rationalist-humanist label. 28% of them have practiced yoga, and I wonder how many of them have meditated. That question wasn’t asked. But 60% of these people feel close to the natural world. The majority of the Nones are white people who were raised in religiously affiliated homes. Beyond this, they cut across many of the more common culture divides; they are people with college degrees and people without a college education; they have incomes over 75K, as well as incomes under 30K. In this they defy traditional interpretations, that people who go to college outgrow a childish intellectual dependency on religion, and that poor people lean on religion to support them in living with poverty and its attendant adversity. And it’s especially noteworthy that the Nones are disproportionately young: they’re people who grew up on a socially networked planet, not a religiously networked town.

I’d like to suggest that many of the Nones have “gotten off the bus,” an expression that refers to travelers who want to escape pre-packaged tourism so that they can discover a place as it “really” is. I know a lot of Nones and many of them are Alls. They celebrate the Winter Solstice, and Easter sunrise, they may do yoga or meditate, and they give thoughtfully to charities, all in no particular order, but depending on where they are, how they feel, what seems to be called for. They resist labels produced by media-saturated culture to represent certain predetermined sets of characteristics. They distrust such prepackaged beliefs, and also distrust religious institutions that are so often corrupt and hypocritical. Yet they value human spiritual heritage, often in great variety, and many of these people are more comfortable in a variety of religious settings than they would be in only one.

As a Trustee of the Parliament, I feel it is very important to acknowledge the Nones, and particularly the Alls among them, to notice that they have gotten off the bus and don’t want to get back on. They are not looking for certainties. The old definitions are not relevant for them. Atheist? No. Agnostic? No. Believer? No. They live in verbs more than in nouns; they are more about experience itself and less invested in beliefs about experience.

My best guess is that the Nones, and especially the Alls among them, express a vital spiritual pulse in the contemporary human world; one that samples spiritual practices, just as people sample the music and cuisine of many cultures. I’ve seen many religious eyes roll at the notion that people are sampling religion like hors d’oeuvres. I’ve heard religious people say that this cannot possibly be a path of spiritual depth, selecting from the menu the most delectable items while eschewing the solidly nutritious, wanting the pleasures of spiritual comfort without the disciplines of communal practice. But, I ask, why make such negative attributions to our fellow humans, especially when we know well the struggles of relating old institutions to an ever-changing world? Once the familiar critique from those who practice solely within specific religious institutions has been stated—and I think it worth a listen– where are we?

I think that we are on a new page, in a new chapter; maybe we are in a new book. For the first time in the history of human psyches, human life is global as a matter of course. At the same time, this global planet is suffering from the collective impact of the human species. It might well be this context that makes the traditional religious issues seem trivial, tribal, and irrelevant. A very legitimate question might be, “Who cares what you believe, much less about religious in-fighting, when we are on the brink of ecological disaster?” Perhaps those who carry forward the religious institutions should seek in the depths of our heritage the wisdom that is relevant to the global and ecologically threatened context in which humans, indeed, all species now live. We should expect to bring forward something of value for this utterly new context, and we might need to accept that many people will engage our traditions on their own terms, not on ours.

As an Episcopal priest I think it is time to welcome conversation with the Nones, and to welcome spiritual practice with the Alls. It is time to listen and to see the way that the Nones can so easily incorporate the All of humanity’s spiritual heritage. We may offer to the Nones and Alls from our own religious heritage, but we need to respect them for what they are too. They invite us to get off the bus, to experience the contemporary world as it really is, a place in which increasing numbers of people are not only comfortable in mixed cultural settings, but who are themselves multicultural individuals living in a multicultural world. We can at least consider that some of the Alls are genuinely interfaith individuals, bringing religions into a new and global era in human history.

Digging through misinformation circulating online during last week’s coverage of the Boston marathon bombing was a harrowing process, and it was exhausting. Media pieces that denounced Islamic terrorism in the body of the article were often given sensationalized headlines implicating Islam in the Boston bombs.

In the piece, “10 Essential Points About the Boston Marathon Bombers,” blogger Omid Safi of  What Would Mohammed Do? aptly deconstructs the points of mass confusion surrounding American Islamaphobia, Chechnya, the Tsarnaev brothers, and the Boston marathon bombing.  Safi begins,

“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the second suspect in the horrific Boston Marathon explosions has been apprehended. Presumably, we can take a break from round-the-clock coverage of the chase that has consumed the nation. Less than 24 hours ago, no one had heard of the Tsarnaev brothers. That’s almost literally true: even their uncle had not heard from them in years. Now they are macabre celebrities whose every online trace is being analyzed for any clue as to what might have led them to commit such atrocities. The breathless analysis of the 24-hour news media continues to offer theories and half-baked motivations even when the basic facts have not been yet gathered.

The ten essential points (visit What Would Mohammed Do?) cover what those surrounding the suspect personally thought about them, the elder brother’s alienation from Americans, the lack of knowledge of those reporting on Islam or Chechnya in the 24/7 news cycle, the dangers of social media, the privilege issue of white Americans vs. any others, hate crimes against Muslim Americans, the political motivations of Islamaphobic America, the Islamic word on terrorism, and the evidence proving a disconnect between Muslim life and the lifestyle of the Tsarnaev brothers.

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions released these statements in the newsletter and on CPWR social media channels in response to the April 15, 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon.

During the FBI search for the second suspect, widespread misinformation circulated like a virus on the Internet implicating Islamic extremism in the crime. The older brother, suspect number one, died after sustaining fatal injuries in a gunfight with the police the night before. He was identified as an immigrant from Chechnya,  This led to violent and hateful backlash against peaceful Muslim-Americans. The Parliament responded on Friday, April 19:

What do Martin Richard’s words, “No more hurting people, peace,” really mean?

We are mourning the injuries and loss of life sustained in the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent events. But we condemn the way in which media and the public have so quickly targeted Muslims. What we know:

Several Boston Muslims were beaten this week, including a Muslim physician, before images of the suspects surfaced.

Yet, Muslims have been helpers and healers. Muslims have been running the Boston marathon for years. Working in the center of catastrophe, Muslims were first responders, surgeons operating on victims, and doctors supervising chaotic emergency rooms,

Interfaith action must be immediate to challenge generalizing Muslims.

• We challenge shameful media: A Fox commentator tweeted that all Muslims be killed.
• We challenge criminalizing faiths: If a bomber is Muslim, why is it a Muslim crime, but a white, Christian carries out a massacre in the case of Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary, and his faith is not a question?
• Islamophobia is as harmful as ANY OTHER FORM of hate, equal to Anti-Semitism and racism towards African-Americans and Latinos.

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions would like to help share resources for Interfaith action. Please notify molly@parliamentofreligions.org, Faiths Against Hate Coordinator, with any useful tips.

Thank you for standing in solidarity. Peace.

 On Tuesday, April 16, 2012 in response to the bombing at the Boston marathon the prior day:

The Council that convenes the Parliament of the World’s Religions reels in the pain felt worldwide because of yesterday’s tragic bombing. We share our deepest sympathy for those who’ve lost life and limb, their families, and the City of Boston. For many still fighting to stay alive, we stand with you.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions commits to channeling the energy of love and prayers into unyielding action against violence.

We honor the runners whose beautiful journeys, many in tribute to the slain of Sandy Hook Elementary, were robbed of their triumphant finish. Their strength and determination exemplified heroism yesterday when running through that harrowing scene to aid the wounded. We must not let the hope they give us all become tarnished by violence.

We hope that the culprits are found and apprehended soon. Whether terrorists are domestic- or foreign-born, we must not abide five years passing before identifying perpetrators, such as transpired after the 1996 Olympic Games bombing in Atlanta, GA.  Naming the guilty parties is critical to restoring a sense of security, but we also emphasize that perpetrators of violence should be included in your prayers. This act is strong and healing.

The Interfaith movement must move to show that there is another way. Interfaith prayer vigils and worship services can unite us, but we must also be organized to mediate the ongoing hate fear and anger into positive human relationships.

It is our duty to intervene in the blame game. Communities and individuals of all religious, faith, and spiritual backgrounds must act in harmony to promote peace. It is imperative to break this cycle of violence that is fueled by fear. Every tragedy divides us when we see an enemy in our faith neighbor. This Boston bombing, like the Madrid train bomb, and September 11 have cultivated a pervasive fear. It hurts us all.

In this spirit we continue a year-long campaign to combat hate. Our nationwide Faiths Against Hate initiative moves to mediate hate, fear, and anger through common goals of peace into positive human relationships. Through webinars, social networking, and day-long trainings, Faiths Against Hate is equipping faith leaders and all who are called to make a difference in this uphill movement. Constructively empowering communities to act courageously with new tools can stop these brutal acts against humanity.

The council that convenes the Parliament of the World’s Religions recently announced an urgent financial challenge putting the largest and oldest global Interfaith organization into jeopardy of closing imminently after April 15.

Plans for moving forward have jumpstarted with relief efforts from Baha’i, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Native, Unitarian, Jewish, Humanist, Christian, Pagan, Muslim, Buddhist and Spiritual communities.  In this rush to rescue the Parliament, friends have raised more than $120,000 of the needed $150,000 in two weeks time.

Funds are flooding in from around the world on the Parliament’s CauseVox funding site with simple messages of hope, faith, and love for the Parliament’s mission. The transformative impact of the Parliament on individual lives, community relationships, and across global networks of spirit and faith can continue.  To meet the newest world challenges in critical need of collaborative intervention, just $30,000 remains to move the Parliament into the future.

Board of Trustees Chairperson Imam Malik Mujahid with Board Emereti Andras Arben-Corthen in Guadalajara, Mexico. In February 2013, the Board met to explore future Interfaith efforts in Mexico.

Many have expressed a desire to give more than their budget permits. If you have stepped up in the last week and would like to stretch your gift, you can contribute more to the Parliament by creating a personal fundraising page  on the Causevox website!

Share why you’ve donated, and invite others to join your effort.  Use your social media profiles to announce your efforts. Forward e-mails, make calls, send texts. Tell your congregations at worship about the Parliament!

 If this gift is your first to the Parliament, know that you can make a difference. With this off our backs, we are freed up! We can continue our important work toward peace and harmony. Please give generously. Tax-deductible donations are being accepted on*:

parliamentofreligions.causevox.com - or - www.parliamentofreligions.org

Together we can finish off this $30,000 debt and enter the new era of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Your gift of at least $100, or whatever you can give, helps move us toward the future. 

BE A HOPE BUILDER TODAY.

*Hope Builder donors will receive discounts to the next Parliament event and other local interfaith gatherings.

We are profoundly grateful.

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid                          Dr. Mary Nelson

Chair of the Board                                      Interim Executive Director

CPWR is a 501c.3 non-for-profit organization

Rabbi Michael Balinsky, Treasurer of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions Board of Trustees, was just named one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis” by The Jewish Daily Forward.  Of the honor, Balinsky said a former student had nominated him after inspiring him to become a rabbi. “It was all very touching,” Balinsky shares.

Rabbi Adam J. Rosenbaum describes Balinsky’s influence on his journey toward Rabbinical work:

“As my Hillel rabbi at Northwestern University, Rabbi Balinsky showed me that it was possible to guide young people toward Jewish observance with a sense of tolerance, openness and patience. He was sensitive to the fact that college students endure many ups and downs, and he approached each student with a proper mix of honesty and compassion. Most of all, no matter what I asked him, his answer and tone were both genuine and respectful. He is the reason why I became a rabbi, and if I can one day become half the rabbi that Michael Balinsky is, my community will benefit greatly.”

The Council that convenes the Parliament of the World’s Religions is faced with an enormous one-time financial challenge we must immediately overcome to continue to exist. By April 13, 2013, we can raise the $150,000 needed to go on. 

In just two days, generous gifts granted through our fundraising site on CauseVox and direct commitments have totaled more than $35,000.

CPWR Executive Director Dr. Mary Nelson says each Board Trustee is meeting equal fundraising goals through personal outreach. By helping us meet this challenge, the Board of Trustees can free the Parliament to carry on the mission of creating peace in the world through interfaith harmony by:

• Convening the next Parliament event
• Widening our connections and keep encouraging local interfaith event
• Celebrating our deep 120 year history
• Honoring our leaders and MOVE FORWARD TO A FUTURE WITH HOPE

Reasons to donate are many and personal, but the hundreds stepping in already have  shared that the Parliament:

• “…teaches tolerance”
• “…is a vehicle for peace in the world,”
• “…was the highlight of my life.”