Interfaith Conversations

Have you ever wondered how to overcome the incessant beat of negativity online and in our communities today? Looking for ways to bridge divides? Then you should check out Interfaith America!Interfaith America is a non-profit organization that brings together people from all different perspectives—from Atheists all the way to Zoroastrians. They offer programs to improve interreligous dialogue, youth engagement, and help heal our diverse communities. Come learn more about them on this episode!I sat down with Scott Rasmussen to tell me all about Interfaith America and share his own experience as a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer involved in peace building efforts between Israelis and Palestinians. Interfaith Americahttps://www.interfaithamerica.org/ Links to their Team UP Projecthttps://www.interfaithamerica.org/programs/team-up/ https://teamupproject.org/ Touro Synagogue info https://youtu.be/q1mqU3RDwkQ?si=Hjx0QRQ9ip-m1dSuPresident George Washington’s letter to Touro Synagogue can be found here:https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135Avery Field story https://www.interfaithamerica.org/article/service-shared-value-braid-student-american-university/#interfaith #interfaithamerica #dialogue

Have you ever wondered what your life could be like if you found greater purpose? On today’s episode, I sit down with one of the world’s greatest experts on how to find and live life with purpose. Dr. Robert E. Quinn, who goes by Bob by those who know him, spent decades researching how help people the world over learn how to find purpose in order to live happier, more impact lives. Please join us and make sure to watch the upcoming part 2 of this episode!

Dr. Robert E. Quinn’s Websites

https://robertequinn.com/https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-quinn

Prof. Barbara Fredrickson

http://unclineberger.org/directory/barbara-fredrickson/

Most recent book (from 2025)

https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Emotions-Scientific-Contributions-Cornerstones/dp/0197754791

Have you ever wondered what your life could be like if you found greater purpose? On today’s episode, I sit down with one of the world’s greatest experts on how to find and live life with purpose. Dr. Robert E. Quinn, who goes by Bob by those who know him, spent decades researching how help people the world over learn how to find purpose in order to live happier, more impact lives. Please join us and make sure to watch the upcoming part 2 of this episode!

Dr. Robert E. Quinn’s Websites

https://robertequinn.com/https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-quinn

Prof. Barbara Fredrickson

http://unclineberger.org/directory/barbara-fredrickson/

Most recent book (from 2025)

https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Emotions-Scientific-Contributions-Cornerstones/dp/0197754791

What does the word interfaith even mean? And why does interfaith work matter across the world in the digital age?

In this episode, I share key points to understanding the interfaith space:

1. Examples of what happens when religious intolerance occurs
2. What is interfaith
3. The Who of interfaith 
4. The Outcomes of interfaith
5. The How to interfaith

You can use this as a tool to help you in your own community get involved in interfaith engagement!

Links to interfaith resources:

Local

Utah Valley Interfaith Association

https://uvinterfaith.org/

Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable

https://www.interfaithroundtable.org/

Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington ( or IFC)
https://ifcmw.org/ 

Montgomery Alabama
https://interfaithmontgomery-al.org/home/ 

National 

Interfaith America

https://www.interfaithalliance.org/ 

Interfaith Alliance

https://www.interfaithalliance.org/history-of-impact 

Pluralism project

https://pluralism.org/about

Association for Interreligious / Interfaith Studies (AIIS)

https://www.aiistudies.org/

Global

General 

Parliament of World Religions
https://parliamentofreligions.org/ 

United Religions Initiative

https://www.uri.org/   

Peace oriented 

The Gülen Movement 

https://www.gulenmovement.com/ 

Religions for Peace

https://www.rfp.org/   

Dialogue based

KAICIID: 

https://www.kaiciid.org/who-we-are 

Network of Centers for Christian-Muslim Relations (NCCMR)

https://nccmr.org/about-nccmr/  

Arno Michaelis 

https://rememberoakcreek.org/story-of-oak-creek/

https://www.lifeafterhate.org/ 

Al Ahmed Story

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-25/bondi-hero-ahmed-al-ahmed-awarded-key-to-city-terror-attack/106495970

Can Baptists and Latter-day Saints (#Mormons) have positive conversations and serve together? Absolutely! In this episode, I sit down with Pastor Earnest Thomas from the community leading Saint Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. We talk about what unites us and how Baptist and Latter-day Saint--or really anyone from any background--can learn to build positive relationships with each other. Please join us!Saint Mark Baptist Church websitehttps://smark.org/Black Church History https://www.pbs.org/show/black-church/https://savingplaces.org/stories/the-black-church-is-a-cultural-laboratory-a-conversation-with-dr-henry-louis-gates-jr“The Black Church” Book on Amazonhttps://a.co/d/ae9qet8Copy of W. W. Phelps Essay in 1833 which led to destruction of Church of Jesus Christ property in Independence Missourihttps://bhroberts.org/records/dAzxtc-nRI2yc/phelps_says_we_have_no_special_rule_in_the_church_as_to_people_of_colorAll In Podcast Episode w/ Mauli Bonner and Paul Reevehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiQhzwYb9Zo&t=131sPresident Nelson’s story of inviting Baptist Pastor to a choir concert and vice versa. Speech given at the NAACP's 110th Annual National Convention.- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JpIyW2S-WA

In a world of division, how can we relate across our differences in religion or other beliefs?

In this episode, I interview The Reverend Patricia Matthews from The Interfaith Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. We talk about each other’s faiths—her Episcopalian tradition and my Latter-day Saint tradition—and discuss how people can engage in interfaith efforts. You don’t want to miss this one!

Link to Rev. Patricia and her colleagues' panel discussion at BYU Religious Freedom Annual Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFJrn8c71jk&t=2s

The Interfaith Center

https://www.theinterfaithcenter.org/

Link to their newsletter

https://www.theinterfaithcenter.org/newsletter

The Episcopal Church of Utah

https://episcopal-ut.org/

Utah’s St. John's Anglican Church (in ACNA)

https://www.acna.org/admin_units/158

Book of Common Prayer History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Common_Prayer

Link to Book of Common Prayer in Episcopalian tradition (1979)

https://www.bcponline.org/

Have you wondered where people can study in an inter-religious way? Where one can continue in their own faith, but learn from other faiths both in a scholarly and experiential way? In this episode, I highlight Hartford International University, which has a strong track record in teaching religion and peace. I sit down with Dr. David D. Grafton, a professor at the University, to discuss HIU's origins, purpose, and current educational opportunities. I also talk with Dr. Grafton about his career as a top Christian-Muslim relations scholar.

Hartford International University websitehttps://www.hartfordinternational.edu/Educational opportunitieshttps://www.hartfordinternational.edu/academic-programs/degrees-and-graduate-certificatesDuncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relationshttps://www.hartfordinternational.edu/religion-research/macdonald-center

After learning of an attack on the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, I contacted the local priest Caru Das. I wanted to show my solidarity for the good this faith community has brought to Utah Valley and the world for over 30 years. 

Caru Das shares about the temple, how his tradition understands God, and their primary sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita. There’s so much wisdom to learn in this clip!

Consider helping them recover from this tragic event by donating at their GoFundMe page.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-repairs-to-the-krishna-temple-today

Check out the links below for the Krishna Temple’s website and social media platforms

https://www.utahkrishnas.org/

https://www.facebook.com/krishnatemple

https://www.youtube.com/utahkrishnas

Krishna Consciousness Website

https://www.iskcon.org/

Read the Bhagavad Gita online

https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/

With all the division and skepticism in the world today, many find it hard to relate with others, let alone other faiths. Dr. Rebecca Glazier shares with us how to community engagement not only improves interfaith relationships, but helps people become more active in their community and more respectful of other worldviews. Check out our conversation!Link to BYU's Religious Freedom Annual Review:https://religiousfreedom.byu.edu/Dr. Glazier recently published a book on her 12-year community study in Little Rock, Arkansas on Faith and Community. You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Community-Engagement-Strengthens-Democratic/dp/1439925305

Learn about the earliest built Jewish Synagogue in the US, which is still in use today in Newport, Rhode Island! Check out their website at www.tourosynagogue.org.