Common Knowledge

How does a religious or nonreligious group respond to a major world event like the current refugee crisis? We talk with Bill Canny, the head of refugee support at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, about how Catholics serve people fleeing conflicts across the globe. We also hear a story from student Aneta Krzycka about an unlikely connection made between an American Catholic and a Libyan Muslim.

takingrefuge.org

Food—growing it, cooking it, serving it, and eating it—is definitely not off the table when it comes to thinking about engaging with different religious and nonreligious groups. In this episode, we talk with Jeff Aeder and Stephen Kreisler of Milt’s BBQ, one of the few Kosher BBQ restaurants in the country. They explain how Milt’s keeps kosher while also building community among a diverse culinary clientele. We also chat with Fred Bahnson, the director of the Food, Faith, & Religious Leadership Initiative at Wake Forest Divinity School, about how growing a vegetable garden provides an entrée into understanding religious values.

Followed by millions across the world, yet often overlooked in the United States, shamanistic practices express a diverse set of beliefs about the spirit world. We talk with Bonnie Glass-Coffin, a scholar of shamanism, about the core concepts of this practice and how those concepts connect deeply to interfaith cooperation. Olivia Phanchan, a social work specialist, talks with us a revelation she had while working with an elderly Hmong group in Wisconsin.

Climate change and environmental degradation have been listed as a priority by political leaders, national security experts, and even Pope Francis. But what can young religious and ethical leaders do to address this issue? Ben Lowe, a writer and staff member at the Evangelical Environmental Network, talks with us about how his evangelical Christianity fuels his environmental activism and what interfaith groups can do to make an impact on climate change

Issues of religion, gender, and ethnicity can often seem difficult to discuss or fully understand when not tied to our daily lives and concerns. Rohina Malik, a nationally-recognized playwright and performer, talks with us about how theatre can spotlight these issues in an approachable and empathetic way. Her one-woman show, Unveiled, looks at the lives of five Muslim women from differing backgrounds and how they challenge, confound, and exceed the stereotypes placed on them by others.

More about Rohina:http://rohinamalik.weebly.com/

More about Unveiled:http://rohinamalik.weebly.com/unveiled.html

How is data useful for the work of interfaith cooperation? On this month’s episode of Common Knowledge we talk with members of IFYC’s Assessment Team about how they utilize data to promote interfaith engagement on college campuses and what they see as major trends regarding religious attitudes for college students today.

On this episode we talk to Jen Bailey, a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the founder of Faith Matters Network, an interfaith organization in the South. We hear her reaction to the recent murders at the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina. She also discusses the history of the A.M.E. Church in the United States and how FMN utilizes storytelling to promote interfaith action

Varun Soni, the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, joins us this month on Common Knowledge as we talk about Hinduism in the United States. He chats with us about growing up Hindu as a boy in Orange County, California and discusses the challenges and opportunities of overseeing one of the most religiously diverse student bodies in the nation. We also share a story from Kristi Del Vecchio, a young interfaith activist, about how a Hindu concept radically changed how she thinks about food.

To read the blog post we talked about, click here!

In this episode, focusing on Islam and interfaith engagement, we chat with Mustafa Abdullah, an IFYC alumni and current Program Associate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri. We’ll learn how interfaith work has played a part in his development as a civic activist and how he uses those skills in his work with the ACLU today. Also Randa Kuziez, an IFYC staff member, will share a story about how a lost Qur’an and some bad luck led to a meaningful interfaith moment.