Religion & Peace

America is a nation built on a promise of pluralism. Walk through any major city or increasingly, any suburban school district, and you’ll see the evidence: storefront temples, megachurches, mosques, synagogues, and community centers representing a spectrum of beliefs and non-beliefs. This diversity is one of our nation’s greatest strengths. Yet, living side-by-side does not guarantee understanding. Beneath the surface of our diverse neighborhoods often lie deep cracks of misunderstanding, fear, and prejudice. Our physical proximity is too frequently matched by ideological distance.

 Why Interfaith Literacy is Needed Now

The need for interfaith literacy, the ability to understand, respect, and engage with the diverse religious and philosophical traditions around us, is more urgent than ever. Our civic landscape is marked by deepening divisions where a lack of knowledge fuels conflict.

Consider these concrete examples of how interfaith illiteracy causes real-world problems:

• In Schools: A student is bullied for wearing a hijab or a turban, their classmates targeting symbols they don’t understand. A school calendar that ignores major religious holidays like Eid al-Fitr or Yom Kippur forces students to choose between their education and their faith.
• In Local Government: Zoning board disputes erupt over the construction of a mosque or Buddhist temple, often fueled by not-in-my-backyard sentiment masked as traffic concerns but rooted in fear of the “other.”
• In the Workplace: An employee’s request for a schedule adjustment to observe the Sabbath is denied out of hand, seen as an inconvenience rather than a reasonable religious accommodation. Casual assumptions about “Christmas parties” exclude those who don’t celebrate.

These aren’t abstract issues. They are daily fractures in our community, born from a simple lack of knowledge and empathy.

 How Relationships Bridge the Divide

The most powerful antidote to this illiteracy and fear is relationship. Data consistently proves that personal connection is the key to dismantling prejudice. Studies show that Americans who know someone who is Muslim are significantly more likely to hold favorable views of Muslims. The same holds for Jewish, Evangelical Christian, and other groups. This “relational space” is where abstract stereotypes confront real human beings. It’s harder to fear a belief system when it belongs to a coworker you respect, a neighbor who helps you shovel snow, or a friend who shares your love of barbecue. This space transforms “them” into “us.”

What Cooperation and Resilience Actually Look Like

Interfaith literacy moves beyond mere tolerance to active cooperation and builds civic resilience, the ability to withstand societal shocks. This doesn’t mean everyone must agree. Instead, it looks like:

• Interfaith Task Forces: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders partnering to run a homeless shelter or a food bank, focusing on shared values of service.
• Rapid Response Networks: When a synagogue is vandalized, local churches and mosques show up to condemn the act and provide support, strengthening the community’s collective immune system against hate.
• Inclusive Policies: A company proactively creating a quiet room for prayer and meditation for employees of all faiths, fostering a truly inclusive environment.

This is the practical result of interfaith literacy: a community that doesn’t fracture under pressure but draws strength from its woven-together diversity. 

How to Build Interfaith Literacy

This is not a passive skill; it must be actively cultivated. Here’s how we can all build it:

• Be Curious, Not Assumptive: Ask genuine questions with respect. “I don’t know much about your faith; would you be willing to share?” is a powerful opener.
• Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: Attend an interfaith dialogue event, tour a house of worship different from your own, or simply read a book or watch a documentary about a world religion.
• Listen to Understand: The goal is not to debate or convert, but to comprehend the values, practices, and stories that shape another person’s life.
• Advocate for Education: Support educational initiatives in schools and communities that teach about world religions from an academic, non-devotional perspective. 

We must see interfaith literacy not as a soft skill, but as an essential civic one, as critical as understanding how a bill becomes a law. It is the practical work of building one nation from many people. By choosing to bridge the divides with curiosity and relationship, we do more than reduce conflict; we actively build a more resilient, empathetic, and united America.

This is the work we advance at Hartford International University, where every program is designed to cultivate interfaith literacy within a collaborative, interfaith environment. Here, students learn to translate principle into practice.