My First Academic Book!

The title—Modeling Religious Pluralism—is a play on words (what else would you expect from me?). The book presents a model for addressing inequities on the basis of religion. We developed these ideas at the Aspen Institute under the leadership of Meryl Chertoff, Zeenat Rahman, and Allison Ralph. One of its central premises is that while it’s important to talk about why religious pluralism and equity matters, the discourse on its own is not enough. We also have do the hard work of putting these ideas into practice in order to make the idea become manifest. It’s in this spirit that this book also explores the practical aspects of how we bring the aspiration of religious pluralism into reality.

At the same time, the book itself is meant to model religious pluralism in action. It has a diversity of authors, who come from a diversity of traditions, approaches, and fields. People are differently educated and differently convicted, and even their voices and styles of writing are different. Respecting their perspective and honoring their unique expertise is an exercise in what we mean by religious pluralism, and we hope that book shows people what religious pluralism looks like in action.

I believe strongly that no single person is the exclusive expert on anything, and that we all benefit when we listen to and learn from one another. It’s in this spirit that we designed this book as a collection of essays from leaders in the field of religious pluralism. I started working on it upon joining the Aspen Institute a few years ago, and many of the the people whose essays are featured in the book are people I worked with through that role. It’s a simple vision: I’ve learned so much from these leaders over the years. Wouldn’t the world be better off if more people had a chance to learn from them?

When we started this work several years ago, not many people were talking about pluralism. Not many people felt the urgency of this project, either. But in the last few years, the world has shifted, and conversations about pluralism seem to be everywhere. My view on pluralism is guided by a basic question: How do we change our culture so that we’re kinder, and more accepting, and better able to share the planet with one another? This seems to be one of the most pressing issues of our time. I find deep meaning in helping to bring forward some answers to that question.

It’s been a joy and an honor to work on this project alongside so many people I admire, not just for what they do, but also for how they do it. There’s so much to learn, and so much to do, to make our world a more fair and just place for everyone. I don’t take for granted how special it is to work in a community of people who are committed to this vision, and who live by practicing it, day in and day out.

Stay tuned for more about Modeling Religious Pluralism, its contributors, and potential events related to it. Excited to bring this book into the world and to share it with you all!