American Pluralism

When I was a child, the Thanksgiving story was presented as early Americans hosting a meal of gratitude that hosted Indians. As I grew and read, the circle expanded. And the expanding circles keep growing.

While selecting whom to vote for based on religion is not unconstitutional, the views of many of our nation's founders were in fact dominated by religious bigotry.

When we see all the evil that is done in the name of religion, we naturally want no part of it. But the truth is, the problem isn't with religion per se. The problem is with seeing religion as an end unto itself.

My hope is that the protest will be a rallying cry for all Americans to remind us of our shared values, not simply the occasion for replicating the political polarization that already grips our country.

We have made it through the commemorations of the last 10 years and perhaps we can now say that we will never forget. But first, a traffic light to guide us as we become a 9/12 community.

Editors Note: HuffPost Religion is proud to publish these reflections from religious leaders, academics and interfaith activists from around the count...

What people like Tony Perkins don't understand -- or choose to ignore -- is that his ability to practice his religion as he sees fit is a direct result of the hands-off approach that government has taken toward religion for the last 200 plus years

Muslims are our fellow Americans. They are part of the national fabric that holds our country together. They contribute to America in many ways, and deserve the same respect as any of us.

Since 9/11, a negative image of Muslims was successfully portrayed in the media. However, the year 2010 witnessed a dramatic shift in auto-correcting that error by un-stereotyping Muslims.

By Alexi Friedman and Dan Goldberg Religion News Service PATERSON, N.J. (RNS) Hours after Osama bin Laden's death was announced, the American Arab Fo...

Maybe this Sept. 11 can be what Eboo Patel has been calling "our Tahrir moment," enabling us to take the baggage from 9/11 and transcend it into wisdom for the American future.

We can be hopeful in a world with too much despair. It is a deeply Christian act to use words that heal, and healing needs all the words it can get.

This diverse, unorganized mish-mash of open-minded seekers tends to approach spirituality in a reasonable, rational and pragmatic manner, and it's the fastest-growing religious category in America: spiritual but not religious.

After reviewing a book in which an author mentioned "that goyish holiday" Thanksgiving and then noting that one of my Jewish friends in New York was not celebrating, I took an informal poll.

This Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for the contributions of all America's diverse communities. And let us remember that standing for the logic of pluralism may be America's greatest contribution to the world.

If he gets a thousand emails from all of us, perhaps Bill Maher will rethink his sloppy analysis of Islam in America.

When I first started doing interfaith work, I didn't see many other nonreligious people involved. Now, we're impossible to miss.

Rather than being engaged in a divisive cultural war in the hopes of turning back time, Young Christians are engaged in pressing social concerns that benefit the common good -- not just the Christian good.

By G. Jeffery MacDonald Religion News Service CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (RNS) Harvard University scholar Robert Putnam has earned a reputation as an expert on...

According to the PBS special, not only is God in America, but God, or belief in God, is woven into the very fabric of American culture and politics. So much so, observes Prothero, "we are no longer a country of two political parties but two political-religious parties."