Multifaith Matters

Bradley J. Galloway was a fixture in the North American right-wing extremist movement for 13 years and was the president of a racist skinhead gang for five of those years. It is these lived experiences that play a role in his work in combating violent extremism. Brad currently works as the Coordinator of the Centre on Hate, Bias & Extremism (CHBE) at Ontario Tech University. Brad also works as a Case Manager with Life After Hate (LAH), where he assists others find their way away from violent extremism. He also conducts research and intervention work at the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV). He has been a Research Assistant on a number of projects that are funded by Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS). Brad has also served as a consultant for Google, Moonshot CVE, and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), among others. His primary research interests include right-wing extremism and terrorism, preventing and countering violent extremism, and the roles of former extremists in combating violent extremism.

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Members of their community have been victims of stereotypes and misunderstanding, from confusion with Muslims and individual attacks after 9/11 to mass shootings at their temples. This is the Sikh community, and our guest is Darren Duerksen who shares his research and experience among Sikhs in India and the U.S. Duerksen is the director and assistant professor of intercultural studies at Fresno Pacific University. He received an M.Div in intercultural studies from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno and a Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. A committed Anabaptist, he is an active member in the Mennonite Brethren Church.

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The options for addressing ultimate concerns includes not only religious possibilities, but Atheistic ones as well. This is particularly the case with the rise of The Nones, those that the Pew Forum describe as "the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or 'nothing in particular,'" a rapidly growing segment of the population." Christians tend to have "cool" and negative feelings toward Atheists, and in this conversation with Randal Rauser we explore the reasons why. We also discuss some of the stereotypes associated with Atheism, the importance of emotions as well as rational considerations, and how Christians can engage Atheists in more neighborly ways. Rauser is Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the author of many books, including Conversations with My Inner Atheist (2020), An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar (2016), Is the Atheist My Neighbor (2015), and You're Not as Crazy as I Think (2011).

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In a new podcast feature, the commentary, we interact with a recent opinion piece at ReligionNews.com titled "The campaign is over. Will a Biden-Harris administration deliver on its interfaith promises?," by Eboo Patel, Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, and Mary Ellen Giess. Their essay discusses the potential for the incoming administration to provide a lasting legacy through interfaith initiatives. In this commentary we interact with the opinion essay and provide some further thoughts.

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This podcast is an interview with Pastor Mark Shetler of RiverCity Christian church in Sacramento, California. He shares the story of their congregational engagement with the local Muslim immigrant community.

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A conversation with Ron Sider about his book Nonviolent Action. From the book's promotional description: There are numerous examples throughout history of effective nonviolent action. Nonviolent protesters defied the Soviet Empire's communist rulers, Gandhi's nonviolent revolution defeated the British Empire, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s peaceful civil-rights crusade changed American history. Recent scholarship shows that nonviolent revolutions against injustice and dictatorship are actually more successful than violent campaigns. In this book, noted theologian and bestselling author Ron Sider argues that the search for peaceful alternatives to violence is not only a practical necessity in the wake of the twentieth century--the most bloody in human history--but also a moral demand of the Christian faith. He presents compelling examples of how nonviolent action has been practiced in history and in current social-political situations to promote peace and oppose injustice, showing that this path is a successful and viable alternative to violence.

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An interview with Douglas Johnston on faith-based diplomacy. Johnston is the founder and former president of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy out of Washington, DC (www.icrd.org). He has produced several books including Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft, and Religion, Terror and Error: US Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement.

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An interview with Steve Stone, former Pastor of Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tennessee. He discusses his congregational relationship with the local Muslim community, and how this became a national media story, which after appearing on CNN, positively impacted Christians and Muslims around the world.

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An interview with Os Guinness on religious freedom and diversity. Guinness' book on this topic is The Global Public Square: Religious Freedom and the Making of a World Safe for Diversity (InterVarsity Press, 2013). From the book: "How do we live with our deepest differences, especially when those differences are religious and ideological, and very especially when those differences concern matters of our common public life? In short, how do we create a global public square and make the world safer for diversity?" (p. 13).

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An interview with Paul Louis Metzger and Kyogen Carlson on Christian-Buddhist relationships. Metzger is Professor of Christian Theology and Theology of Culture at Multnomah University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary. Carlson is a Soto Zen priest and abbot of Dharma Rain Zen Center. This conversation was recorded on September 17, 2014. Kyogen Carlson passed away the following day. This was his last work in religious diplomacy. We are privileged to have known him, to have had him as a friend, and to have worked with him in religious diplomacy and peacemaking.

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