“Formation is something done…in the context of community…”
When I was approached by the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue (JIRD) and the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) about working with them to create a website intended to lift up emerging ethical voices in dialogue, I jumped at the chance. We immediately entered a period of brainstorming and drafting up initial [...]
“Don’t forget, the world needs you…”
It all began with a click of the iconic blue and white button, “add as friend.” The genesis of the kindred relationship between State of Formation, The Journal of Interreligious Dialogue and The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions began yes, of all places… Facebook. There are many arguments for and against the [...]
“I was…deeply frustrated with the lack of interreligious understanding online…”
After spending some months assisting the Cordoba Initiative with communications during the “Park51” controversy, I was left feeling deeply frustrated with the lack of interreligious understanding online and the tendency for discourse to become nasty and disrespectful. At the same time, I witnessed firsthand how social media and blogging can serve be powerful tools to [...]
State of Formation Celebrates 1,000 Articles
30 months ago, State of Formation was just a vague idea. 25 months ago, it was a concept plan. 20 months ago, it was a website. Now it is one of the most vibrant forums for emerging religious and ethical leaders in the world. Today we are celebrating a truly monumental moment in its emergence: [...]
Participating in forgiveness
Last week, on our campus here at Claremont Lincoln University, we held Ahimsa Day, in collaboration with our Jain colleagues and the new Jain center on campus. “Ahimsa” means “non violence,” and I was asked to speak on a panel on forgiveness, speaking from a Christian perspective. Here are my brief remarks, on the two [...]
the Burning Place
Our first day in Varanasi, four of us went down to the Ganges to see the ghats (steps). As we meandered around, we came to the Burning Place. A priest who is in charge offered to take us around the ghat and explain the rituals to us. It has taken me a few days to [...]
I am a soul. You are a soul.
Digambara means “sky clad;” that is, digambara monks wear the air. They go naked. They have no possessions at all—their very bodies are expressions of non-attachment to this material world. We made pilgrimage to two digambara monks at a place called Kundrakundra Bhakti. In one discussion of “self” in a lecture, we were challenged to [...]
Water and tea, Delhi
It’s 10:40 PM when I arrive in Delhi. With a classmate from Toronto, we met two staff from the program, who put us in a pre-paid cab. Shades of tap-taps in Haiti; “lanes” on the highway seem meaningless, dust and hot air, people congregating randomly on the road sides. The heat. This is how hot [...]
Stephanie Varnon-Hughes
Stephanie Varnon-Hughes is a Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue™ and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, where she earned her Master's in Church History in 2008 and her STM in 2009. A schoolteacher, Stephanie received the Most Promising New Teacher of the Year Award of 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri and has taught English and Performing Arts in public schools in St. Louis and the Bronx. She is a PhD student at Claremont Lincoln University, focusing on building and piloting a multi-religious curriculum for public secondary school students. Follow her on Twitter @SVarnonHughes.
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Contributing Scholars
Lauren TuchmanLauren graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in May of 2011 with a Master of Arts in Judaic Studies and holds a BA in religion from Dickinson College. Lauren's interests include the intersection between religion and disability and religion and gender studies.
Anna DeWeeseAnna DeWeese, 28, received her Master of Arts degree in Systematic Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 2009.
She is Project Coordinator for the CARE for Teachers program, a program of the Garrison Institute's Contemplative Teaching and Learning Initiative. She also teaches for the Interfaith Community in New York City, a non-profit religious education organization for blended-faith families.
Sai KolluruSenior, majoring in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Founder of a Hindu organization on campus that works to practice and preserve Sanatana Dharmic principles and values with the final goal of Seva, Selfless Service, through interfaith collaboration.