Ep. 09: Eboo Patel and interfaith collaboration

How do religious groups work together for the greater good? On this episode of Respecting Religion, we bring you a conversation featuring Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core (starting at 13:01). In this discussion from March 2020, Patel talks about how the history behind the term “Judeo-Christian” suggests opportunities for greater religious inclusion, shares personal reflections on what it is like to be a Muslim in America today, and explains why he is optimistic about religious pluralism. Plus, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talk about how they saw religion respected in the world during the celebrations of Easter and Passover.

Show notes:

Segment 1: Where we saw religion respected (Starting at 00:40)

Amanda mentioned her church’s rendition of Handel’s Messiah, which is available on YouTube.

Holly mentioned this piece by Michele Norris in The Washington Post: The coronavirus is depriving people of the rituals needed to process pain.

Amanda mentioned this piece in Religion News Service by Simrin Singh about the Sikh community finding new ways to celebrate Vaisakhi: Sikhs turn to online Vaisakhi

For more information on the Shurden Lectures — including an interview with Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden — visit BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures.

To learn more about the Baptist House of Studies at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU, visit this link.

The Rev. Dr. George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church and Faith Commons interviews Patel during this discussion. To learn more about Faith Commons, visit this link.

Segment 2: Eboo Patel on the term “Judeo-Christian” and working across faiths (Starting at 13:01)

Eboo Patel’s latest book is Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise.

Patel mentioned the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Learn more at this link.

Patel mentioned an opinion piece by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi published in The Washington Post. It is titled “I thought the Iranian Revolution would bring freedom. I was wrong.”

Segment 3: Close (Starting at 47:42)

Videos of all three of Eboo Patel’s presentations for the 2020 Shurden Lectures will soon be available on BJC’s YouTube channel.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.