Spring 2023 Newsletter

What does it take to have a thriving, religiously diverse democracy? Two books I have recently started reading provide some answers. Richard Haass’s The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens makes the argument that in a healthy democracy, citizens must embrace their obligations to society and not only their rights. Some of the ten democratic virtues for which he advocates include: being informed and getting involved in politics, remaining civil, rejecting violence, valuing norms, promoting the common good, supporting civics education, and putting the country’s well-being ahead of partisan advantage. The commitments are essential, argues Haass, because they form the cultural underpinnings of functioning democratic societies. The erosion of these commitments in the contemporary U.S. poses a grave threat to American democracy. 

Haass’s book stimulated my thinking about what other obligations might be important. Valerie Kaur, in her book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love challenges her readers to embrace an ethic inspired by Sikh founder Guru Nanak, who said “I see no stranger. I see no enemy.” Kaur calls for a “revolutionary love,” which is “the choice to labor for others, for our opponents, and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us.” She frames her approach to others, even enemies, in terms of wonder and connection: “You are a part of me I do not yet know.” 

Kaur’s vision was shaped by many years of legal activism fighting for immigrant rights and social and racial justice. She recognizes that good government is essential, but not sufficient to produce a better world. Like Haass, she also points to the cultural underpinnings of a good society. “We need a shift in consciousness and culture. A revolution of the heart. A new way of being and seeing that leaves no one outside our circle of care. Love without limit. Revolutionary love.” 

This virtue no doubt has parallels in many religious traditions. The New Testament understanding of agape love comes to mind within my own Christian tradition. We are looking forward to another summer of working with young, global leaders representing many religious and non-religious identities. This summer’s SUSI institute will place a greater emphasis on civic literacy and democracy, in addition to religious pluralism, leadership development, and dialogue. For many of us in the U.S., we tend to think of our country as a beacon of religious pluralism and democracy. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that democracy in the U.S. is as vulnerable here as anywhere. The challenges of authoritarianism, religious bigotry, and religious nationalism are global. Our SUSI alumni and other our other friends around the world remind us that we are all in this together.

The DI looks forward to another year of dialogue with global changemakers to foster religious pluralism, protect the values of democracy, and build strong networks of allies.  We invite your participation and financial support!

The Dialogue Institute has recently been awarded a $30,000 research grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project is focused on developing historical content for a tour app featuring the religious diversity of early Philadelphia. 

Of the thousands of history tours given in Philadelphia each year, little is offered on religion and its diversity; we are working to change that. On a typical colonial history tour, guides may pause briefly next to Christ Church and Arch Street Quaker Meetinghouse while continuing on to more well-known sites like the Betsy Ross House and Independence Hall. Visitors will typically hear about William Penn’s vision for religious toleration but are often left with the impression that diversity refers simply to varieties of European Christianity. However, the stories of religious and racial minorities are essential to gain a complete understanding of the city as the birthplace of American democracy and religious freedom.  

Visitors need to know about Mikveh Israel, the oldest continuous synagogue in the U.S., and the important role it played in petitioning the Constitutional Convention to prohibit religious tests as a requirement for holding public office. Tourists also need to learn about Richard Allen, who founded Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in response to the racism he experienced at St. George’s. It is also important to highlight the limits of religious freedom in Penn’s city by telling the stories of Muslims who arrived on slave ships from West Africa. The tour app aims to render visible the stories of these and other early Philadelphians at society’s margins.

In sum, the NEH project aims to promote the virtues of religiously-diverse democracies and use history to stimulate dialogue about the challenges of majority-minority relations, racial justice, and the rise of Christian nationalism in the contemporary U.S. In a nation that is as diverse as ours is today, it is important to tell histories that are broad and inclusive.

Dr. David Krueger is named as project director and will be working with research director John Bright, an experienced Philadelphia tour guide who worked for several years as a docent at Christ Church, and research intern Dr. Gabriel Raeburn, who recently completed his Ph.D. in U.S. religious history from the University of Pennsylvania. Sayge Martin will provide consultation in digital storytelling.  

The Temple University faculty newspaper recently featured the research project which you can read HERE. To book a history tour with us this spring, please visit our tours page.

Look for our new dialogue course coming to the Religion and Public Life platform this spring! The DI has teamed up with Dr. Nate Walker, founder of Religion and Public Life, a website filled with educational courses to expand religious literacy in partnership with the Foundation for Religious Literacy, a non-profit. This platform offers a variety of material on a range of religious topics, be sure to keep your eyes open for new DI additions coming this year.

Andi Laudisio, DI Program and Administrative Director, was invited to speak at the 2023 Istanbul Youth Summit on behalf of the Dialogue Institute from February 6th - 9th. This invitation came from SUSI 2022 alumni, Dhohan Gollah who had been working for the Istanbul Youth Summit committee for the last few years. The Istanbul Youth Summit is part of the organization, Youth Break the Boundaries, which brings global youth together through various summits to educate and empower young leaders to be the change in their communities. Participants range from high school to college-aged youth and came from over 15 different countries to meet in Istanbul. The theme of this year’s summit was a collaboration in diversity with a focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG); Andi was asked to speak on UN SDG 4, quality education. Along with speaking on global education, Andi sat alongside fellow speakers and colleagues to judge students' projects tackling issues of education in their home countries. Students had the opportunity to meet with speakers and ask questions regarding the presentations or their own projects on several occasions. The participants in attendance were passionate about their projects, networking, and making the next step in their work. They were a very impressive group who are no doubt going to do great things in the future. You can find out more about Youth Breaks the Boundaries and the Istanbul Youth Summit by visiting their webpages and social media.  

The Dialogue Institute has once again won the competitive three-year grant cycle for the SUSI Student Religious Diversity and Democracy program. This grant will be carried out from 2023 - 2026 and kick off this June as we host 20 more international students. We are excited to have students from India, Indonesia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt once again and look forward to another rewarding summer with our participants. 

This summer we are returning to one of the students’ favorite events, host family weekend! We are looking for local families near the greater Philadelphia area who have children or family members between the ages of 15-30 that would be interested in hosting 1-2 SUSI students for a weekend homestay. If you or anyone you know are interested in becoming a host family please join us on Thursday, March 16th from 7 - 8 pm to learn more about the experience. Event registration can be found here as well as a copy of the host family application. We are also looking for undergraduate American students interested in connecting with our SUSI participants to dialogue about American culture and show them around the Philadelphia area. If this is something you are interested in please email Program Director Andi Laudisio at afl@dialogueinstitute.org. 

To support our programming, we want to hire a DI intern to learn and grow with us. Please consider donating $2,500 towards this internship opportunity that will enrich a local student’s experience with dialogue and pluralism and help the DI expand its programing to reach more people. Additionally, we are looking to raise $700 for an iPad device to aid student learning. 

By supporting the Dialogue Institute, you build bridges of understanding, support exchanges of ideas, and promote peaceful dialogue initiatives. Your gift, no matter how small or large, empowers us to continue this important work with global students and scholars.