The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Interfaith Initiative

As the United States finds its way forward as a truly multi-religious democracy, one of the most important new forms of civic life is the growing interfaith movement. The events of September 11, 2001 demonstrated the importance of interfaith groups already formed; the ensuing years have seen the emergence of hundreds of new interfaith initiatives. While the interfaith movement is expanding, there is still little understanding of what these new instruments of relationship and dialogue will mean for American society. As our country becomes more religiously and culturally complex, increasingly interfaith initiatives are significant for the kind of engagement we describe as “pluralism.” In building a foundation for this initiative, we are exploring emerging trends and best practices, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Research on Interfaith Activity

Our organizational profiles and research reports explore interfaith initiatives, groups, events, and trends. They represent the diverse nature of interfaith work, which varies greatly in location, size, structure, mission, and focus. Our profiles outline an organization’s actions, motivations, and membership. Our research reports include interviews with interfaith leaders, studies of national and local networks, examples of civic practices, and an overview of national and international interfaith trends.

• Profiles
• Research Reports

Directory

Foundational to our interfaith work has been the extensive development of our directory of interfaith initiatives, interfaith centers, interreligious councils, and multifaith projects. Our directory now numbers 638 interfaith groups. While this will continue to expand, it now gives us easy access to a range of interfaith groups for the next phase of our work.

• Interfaith Directory Entries

We have created a map of the data from our interfaith directory listings, which offers a visual presentation of the distribution of this activity across the United States.

• Interfaith Geographic Distribution Map

Interfaith Religious Diversity News

Our Religious Diversity News and International Religious Diversity News offer a wide range of news stories of interfaith activities in progress. This searchable database gives both the most up-to-date news as well as a searchable archive, a virtual treasure trove for those exploring the growth and development of the interfaith movement.

• Religious Diversity News
• International Religious Diversity News

Selected Links

This short set of links will give you an overview of the more prominent interfaith organizations and resources in the United States.

Slide Shows

The images in these slide shows demonstrate the spaces and contexts of interfaith initiatives.

• “T.I.D.E. (Teenage Interfaith Diversity Education): The Wave of Change” conference co-sponsored by Interfaith Action, Inc.’s Youth Leadership Program and The Pluralism Project
• Sacred Space: Practices and Potentials
• The Interfaith Landscape of San Diego
• Religious Diversity in Southern Mississippi
• “A Lively Experiment”: A Multireligious Historical Overview of Rhode Island
• The Hindu and the Cowboy… and Other Kansas City Stories
• The Pluralism Project of Ohio
• World Religions in Metropolitan Detroit

World Religions in Boston

Our research on the religious diversity of Boston includes a survey of the interfaith activity in this urban area, offered as a set of profiles.

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