Case Studies

Jeff Young, the incoming superintendent of schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is asked to add Eid to the public school calendar. What are his options?

As a request to broadcast the call to prayer in the tiny city of Hamtramck, Michigan becomes a matter of public debate, how will city council president Karen Majewski--and the diverse citizens of Hamtramck--respond? 

Daisy Khan must navigate a growing crisis when a planned Muslim Community Center becomes known as the "Ground Zero Mosque."

After a controversy over the Christmas tree display at Sea-Tac Airport, a Holiday Decorations Advisory Committee is appointed to make a recommendation: what form should next year’s display take?

When Gene Nichol, president of the College of William & Mary, removes a cross from the historic chapel it triggers a contentious debate: how to honor tradition and create an inclusive campus?

Tom Spencer is the newly-hired CEO of a struggling Austin interfaith organization. With the organization “bleeding money,” is it time to close the doors or take a closer look at the organization’s purpose and brand?

Steve Wareham, an airport director in Minnesota, must respond to conflicting demands of customer service for passengers and religious accommodation for taxi cab drivers.

In El Sobrante, California, Pastor Kent Brandenburg distributes fliers at a Sikh parade as an expression of his evangelical Christian faith; to the Sikhs, and some others in El Sobrante, it is an affront.

A house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is vandalized with anti-Muslim epithets and death threats. How will local citizens respond? 

Rabbi Rachel Cohen, a new rabbi in a wealthy New Jersey congregation, seeks greater accountability for the youth Mitzvah Projects.

Rev. Tim Anderson is asked if the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska would like to join Jewish and Muslim communities in a groundbreaking Tri-Faith neighborhood in Omaha. 

Meetings in Chesterfield County, Virginia regularly open with prayers; however, when Cyndi Simpson -- who identifies as a Witch -- asks to deliver an invocation at the Board of Supervisors Meeting, controversy follows.

When Jessica Bizub, director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Milwaukee, learns that the spiritual and temporal leader of Shambhala has been accused of misconduct, she must find a path forward amidst “community chaos.”

Mayor Dean Koldenhoven knows that most in his small Illinois town oppose the sale of a local church to a Muslim organization. As tensions rise, and the city council approves a “buyout,” Koldenhoven faces a decision.

When Parvez Ahmed is nominated to the local Human Rights Commission, some allege that the professor has links to terror; others argue this is a matter of “guilt by association.” How will Ahmed -- and other leaders in Jacksonville -- respond?

Sherry Chayat Roshi, who identifies as both Jewish and as a Buddhist leader, asks Rabbi Sheldon Ezring if she and her family can become members at Syracuse’s historic Temple Concord.

After the murders at the Tree of Life Synagogue, a national Jewish organization announces an interfaith “Show Up for Shabbat” event. Rabbi Joel Sisenwine questions the value of an interfaith event when his community is seeking safety and security.

Moments before a youth-organized interfaith event, Rabbi Barry Starr is asked to remove a sign supporting Israel from the synagogue lobby.

Sister Mary is approached by three doctors at Avera McKennan Hospital with a unique request: could the hospital assist in securing space for a Muslim Community Center?

After swastika graffiti is found at the Pierce Middle School, Principal Karen Spaulding’s first steps are a matter of district protocol: document, report, investigate, and punish those responsible. But her next steps are less clear.

Padma Kuppa, a local Hindu resident of Troy, Michigan, challenges her exclusion from the town’s National Day of Prayer observance.

With ongoing violence in the name of Islam, rising rhetoric against Muslims and refugees, and isolation in the American Muslim community, Imam Hassan Selim faces a grueling schedule of inreach and outreach in his Midwestern community.