“Interfaith Worship and Interfaith Cooperation Among Congregations Has Increased Significantly”
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Naomi Greenspan is a Program Associate for the Commission on Interreligious Affairs. She holds a degree from St. Louis' Washington University. |
Immediately following September 11, 2001 there was a tremendous increase in interfaith activities in the United States. After this initial period of increased cooperation, however, there was a sense that people retuned to the pre-2001 levels of interfaith involvement.
Faith Communities Today (FACT) recently released the results of a far-reaching study showing that interfaith activity has more than tripled since 2000. Non-Christian congregations have the highest rate of involvement in interfaith worship (40%), followed by mainline Protestant congregations (30%), Catholic and Orthodox congregations (28%), and evangelical Protestant and historically black churches (17%). A significantly higher percentage of congregations are involved in interfaith community service activities, ranging from 30 to 64%.
The results of this study are incredibly telling of the changing dynamic of American religious life and have repercussions for how we interact with our neighbors of other faiths. Interfaith relationships have increased dramatically over the last five years and may continue to do so. We each have a role to play in this important process so that we can create a pluralistic society based on cooperation and respect.