Interfaith Leadership

Today where cross-cultural and cross-religious contacts are nearly ubiquitous, professionals in various sectors (e.g., health- care, law, business, education, NGOs, government service and public policy) are beginning to recognize the need to address the religious/spiritual dimensions of their work not only to serve more compassionately and effectively, but also to contribute to the evolution of a more inclusive and just society. The Interfaith Leadership Minor program provides students with a set of competencies and perspectives to begin to understand what is at stake in our religiously diverse world and how to make a difference in it in their own lives and in whatever careers they pursue. Those who develop the capacities of interfaith leadership understand that religion can be a source of conflict or an invitation to cooperation, and they know how to lead others toward the latter. Hence, an “Interfaith Leader” is a person with the knowledge, capacity for self-reflection and empathy, values and skills to lead inclusively and effectively in any religiously and spiritually diverse environment.

Faculty

Barbara A. McGraw, JD, PhD, Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Public Life and Director of the Interfaith Leadership Program

Interfaith Leadership Advisory Board

Julie Ford, D.MA, Performing Arts
Emily Hause, PhD, Psychology
Makiko Imamura, PhD, Communication
Yuan Li, PhD, Organizations and Responsible Business
Julie Park, PhD, Integral and Collegiate Seminar
Aaron Sachowitz, PhD, Communication
Grete Stenersen, MA, Leadership Studies and Collegiate Seminar
Marguerite Welch, PhD, Leadership Studies
Paul Zarnoth, PhD, Psychology

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the program will be able to:

IDENTITY/BIAS: Reflect on students’ own and others’ identity formation and perspectives; articulate how religious and other identities and worldviews affect perceptions of issues that arise in various environments and situations; and articulate how such perceptions can result in bias.
COMMUNICATION/DIALOGUE: Demonstrate effective communication and dialogue facilitation skills that can be used to address interreligious conflict and promote interfaith cooperation, engagement, and understanding.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY: Demonstrate an understanding of what it means to be religiously literate; articulate ways that religions differ in thought, practice, and organization; and articulate the meaning of “pluralism” in this context.
LEADERSHIP: Identify interfaith challenges and opportunities; propose inclusive methods for addressing them; and articulate how to lead implementation of those inclusive methods.
APPLICATION: Demonstrate interfaith leadership (as defined above) in a collaborative community-based project.