The Pluralism Project at Harvard UniversityPluralism Project Newsletter: December 22, 2011
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December 2011 E-Newsletter
December 22, 2011
Dear Friends,
As we celebrate two decades of The Pluralism Project, the frequent controversies that erupt around issues of religious diversity in America remind us that the need for research and education is as
critical as ever.
A couple of weeks ago, the Pluralism Project staff spent a "virtual" evening in Dearborn, Michigan. We screened Fordson: Faith, Fasting, and Football along with an episode of TLC’s eight-part reality television series All-American Muslim. The TV series follows five families in Dearborn, MI, as they attend weddings, baby showers, and Iftar dinners, support the local high school football team, and live out their diverse lives as faithful Muslim Americans. As you surely know, this program has attracted national attention in recent weeks. According to a New York Times article, the Florida Family Association accuses the show of “hiding ‘the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.’” The Muslim families in Dearborn are deemed too “normal” to be an accurate portrayal of the Muslim community. Disappointing as it is to see yet another example of Islamophobic sentiment in the United States, the fact that Lowe’s decided to pull its advertising during All American Muslim as a direct result of this fringe group’s opposition was truly astonishing. Clearly, friends, we have much work left to do.
At the close of another year, it seems appropriate both to look back at the Pluralism Project’s legacy and to look forward to the ways in which the Project continues to provide quality research and educational resources to students, scholars, educators, clergy, and civic leaders.
America’s Interfaith Infrastructure: An Emerging Landscape will launch with an interactive website in January 2012. This is the pilot phase of the first major attempt by scholars to map, document, and interpret the growing interfaith movement in the U.S. This is a social infrastructure as important to our future as bridges and highways. The generous support of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation made possible the collection of quantitative and qualitative data from twenty cities in the United States. You will soon be able to see the web resource that maps the religious and interfaith landscape of these cities and provides snapshots of some of their many interfaith initiatives and promising practices. As it develops, the website will capture the multi-vocal and dynamic reality of what we call the "emerging interfaith infrastructure" by offering users the opportunity to share their own story of interfaith engagement as a part of an ongoing, online conversation.
On Common Ground: World Religions in America 2.0 is slated to go live in late 2012 as a newly updated web-based resource that will be free of charge. The first edition of On Common Ground was 
released in 1997 as a CD-ROM that explored world religions in the United States and the issues that arise in the public sphere as a result of religious diversity. While the award-winning pedagogical approach of OCG 1.0 will remain the same in the newest edition, OCG 2.0 will include GIS technology that allows for interactive, content-rich maps of America’s religious diversity. On Common Ground 2.0 has been made possible by the ongoing support of the Lilly Endowment. To read more about On Common Ground 2.0, we invite you to click here for an article that ran in The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions newsletter earlier this month. In it's CD-ROM form, this valuable educational resource was widely purchased for libraries and schools, but it was expensive. Now in its online form, it will be freely available to everyone who wants access to basic education about religion in America.
The Case Study Initiative continues to engage students in seminaries and theological schools, undergraduate and graduate students, and civic and community leaders in the real-life challenges that arise in the context of a religiously diverse America. This year, in addition to another successful iteration of my course "Case Studies in Multi-Religious America," we have added to our collection of case studies several cases including “Center of Dispute,” a case study exploring leadership within the Muslim community during the Park51 controversy, and “Invocation or Provocation?,” which offers a glimpse of one Wiccan's struggle for recognition of her religion in the public arena. We are working on a case on Yoga-Ed, a yoga course for public schools. I continue to find that case-study teaching is exciting and engaging --both for me and for the students. Join us, and let me know if you would like a syllabus.
You should know that the Pluralism Project is now on Twitter! Follow us @pluralismproj to keep up to date with the latest happenings at the Project and with our partners. You can also find us on Facebook by typing “The Pluralism Project at Harvard University” in the search bar.
As we celebrate twenty years of researching issues of religious diversity in the United States, we give thanks to you, our friends and supporters, for making this work possible. Your generosity allows us to equip citizens with the skills necessary to promote religious pluralism in an increasingly diverse world. Thank you for your continued partnership with us in this work. We are grateful for your sustained support.
All the best,
Diana Eck and The Pluralism Project
P.S. Click here to read one story of the Pluralism Project’s legacy within one family. David Odell-Scott, a long time Pluralism Project affiliate, and Megan Odell-Scott, a Pluralism Project Internship Program alumna, both research religion in northeast Ohio. They also happen to be father and daughter.
The Pluralism Project Presents at the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference in San Francisco
In late November, The Pluralism Project hosted a reception for affiliates and friends at the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA. Our reception drew nearly 100 people, many of whom were long-time Pluralism Project affiliates from the United States and abroad. In addition to networking and collaborative conversation, the evening included a presentation by senior staff who gave a sneak peak of On Common Ground 2.0, the Project’s newly updated web-based resource on world religions in the United States that will launch in 2012. Senior staff also accepted the invitation by the Coexist Foundation to present on the Project’s current initiatives as a part of the AAR.
If you are a Pluralism Project affiliate but were not able to join us for the AAR reception, we would love to receive an update from you about your research and current initiatives. Please e-mail the Project at staff@pluralism.org with any updates, including the best way to reach you and any changes you would like to see made to your affiliate page.
Are you subscribed to The Pluralism Project Newsfeed?
After a brief hiatus, The Pluralism Project newsfeed (formerly Religion Diversity News) is back! Subscribe to the newsfeed to receive articles exploring issues of religious diversity from around the globe. Recent articles include:
First Hindu Chaplain in the United States Military is ‘Groundbreaking’ (BBC News)
Lowe’s Yanks Ads from ‘All American Muslim’; Local Community Outraged (The Detroit News)
Jefferson Bible Goes on Display (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Century-Old Afro-Brazilian Religion Under Threat (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Announcing: Building an Interfaith Community and Leadership Seminar Opportunity for Summer 2012
The Pluralism Project is pleased to announce that it will begin accepting applications in January 2012 for an intensive two-week seminar that will take place June 1-14, 2012 in Greater Boston. This seminar will offer graduate theological students the opportunity to take part in programming to enhance their religious literacy and build skills for inter-religious engagement. Through site visits to local religious communities and participation in case discussions on the implications of a multi-religious society, participants will be encouraged to reflect on their decision-making and public voice. The Building Interfaith Community Seminar is offered jointly with Andover-Newton Theological School and is generously funded by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. More information, including an application, will be posted in January. The instructors for the course will be Dr. Jennifer Peace, of Andover-Newton Theological Seminary (pictured right), and Dr. Diana Eck, of the Pluralism Project and Harvard University.
The Pluralism Project in the (Local and Virtual) Community
A select list of recent Pluralism Project engagements:
- Dr. Diana Eck spoke about the Pluralism Project’s cities-based research approach during the First Annual Interfaith Dialogue Award Ceremony sponsored by the Massachusetts Council of Churches.
- Professor Eck also gave a keynote address on the shape and challenges of the interfaith movement at Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries’ Annual Meeting in Cambridge, MA. Video segments of Dr. Eck’s remarks are available on CMM’s homepage.
- On October 23rd, Assistant Director Whittney Barth represented the Pluralism Project at the Southwestern Connecticut Interfaith Council's conference, "Navigating Interfaith Waters" which took place at Temple Sholom and Christ Church, Greenwich, CT.
- In late November Whittney was invited to kick off a series of webinars offered by the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC). The webinar series provided coaches engaged in IFYC’s Better Together Campaign the opportunity to speak with young professionals furthering interfaith cooperation in their fields.
- On Common Ground 2.0 was recently featured in The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions newsletter and in The Interfaith Observer.
Interfaith Responses to 9/11 Focus of All American Muslim's Upcoming Episode on TLC 
Premiering on New Year's Day, Episode #7 of All-American Muslim epitomizes what the show's creators hope will be the show's legacy: forging the bonds of unity in the wake of tragedy. The Day the World Changed centers on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and its lasting impact, conveyed through the lives of cast members, as the greater Dearborn community comes together to commemorate and reflect upon the tragedy.
The town mourns the loss of fellow Americans while also recalling the backlash many faced in the wake of the attacks. Reflecting on whether things have gotten better or worse for American Muslims in the years since, the cast members grapple with their memories, and the anniversary reveals contrasting experiences and wounds yet to heal. And in an uplifting and poignant moment of interfaith solidarity at the city-wide public memorial service, an Imam, a Rabbi, and a Priest pray together for Peace and Unity. Airs January 1, 2012 - 10-11 PM EST.
Tis the season for gift giving…
Have you considered giving a gift to support the Pluralism Project? Now it is easier than ever! Give online by clicking here. You can also show your support by sending a check. Remember: buttons must be clicked and checks postmarked by December 31st in order to qualify as a tax-deductible gift for 2011. Want to read more about the kind of legacy your gift would be supporting? Check out our annual appeal letter here. Thank you!
Thank you for your ongoing support! - ThePluralism Project Staff
