This chapter addresses how the continuity of individual and communal religious identity can be preserved in a modern context characterized by a rapid rise in religious diversity and a concomitant decline in traditional religious association. The chapter discusses various postures that religious communities can take in such a context. The authors advocate an intentional and engaged religious pluralism, achieved through “interfaith education.” This concept is defined and parsed into three activities in which religious communities should engage: developing a theology of interfaith cooperation, nurturing appreciative knowledge of shared values, and engaging in relationship-building activities. The chapter concludes with a brief consideration of how North American seminaries have been on the vanguard of adopting interfaith—sometimes referred to as multifaith or inter-religious—education.
On the Role of Ritual in Interfaith Education
