In November 2018, I attended the Parliament of the World's Religions in Toronto, and the following spring I attended the Spiritual Directors International Conference in Seattle. At those gatherings, I started to notice a new vision for what it means to practice “interfaith”. I call it “Interfaith 3.0”, and it bridges what often seems like an abyss between spirituality and social action. It moves us from the prayer rug and the meditation cushion into the secular world where we offer a better way of being human. Steeped in the Loving Essence of our faith traditions, we embody the way to heal polarization, systemic racism, and structural inequities.

Interfaith 3.0 implies there is an Interfaith 1.0 and Interfaith 2.0., which are the foundations upon which the new interfaith movement is emerging. Below is where I sense we have been, what might be emerging, and how it addresses the crises in which we find ourselves.

1. Interfaith 1.0. “Co-exist in peace.” Interfaith 1.0 asks: “Can we be in the same room together and let our full diversity hang out without harming each other"?” This initial interfaith movement draws together people of different faiths to ease tensions and eliminate violence rooted in religious zeal. We do this by meeting each other as fellow human beings and practicing loving curiosity. We do not meet “Judaism” or “Buddhism”, but a unique human being who practices a particular faith tradition (or none) and has their own experience of it. Where respectful dialog and a desire to connect are present, we can co-exist in peace.

2. Interfaith 2.0. “Cooperate in common concern". Interfaith 2.0 asks: How will we learn from each others’ faith traditions and from shared values promote the common good? This next phase builds on respectful relationships of co-existence as we collaborate to alleviate suffering. In the process of working together, we are nourished by the richness and wisdom of each other’s faith traditions. We also attend services, meditations, classes, and retreats hosted by other faith traditions, not only to promote understanding, but simply because we need it. The insights and spiritual juice of another faith tradition restores us for our shared justice work and deepens our appreciation of our own faith tradition.

3. Interfaith 3.0. “Change consciousness; Change the world.” Interfaith 3.0 asks: “How can every interfaith activity have the explicit purpose of changing consciousness in order to change the world?” Interfaith 3.0 builds on and includes Interfaith 1.0 and 2.0, which are ongoing and essential work. Yet the urgency of climate change, unbearable inequity, systemic racism, hate speech and many other crises requires a new level of interfaith engagement. Utilizing the full, diverse wisdom and energy of our faith traditions, we intend to evolve the way people think, feel, and behave. At their root, these crises are not about policies and systems. We reframe the crises we face as essentially spiritual matters. Systemic racism, climate change, etc. are really about who we are as human beings, what our place is in the cosmos, how we treat each other, and how we relate to all life on the planet…spiritual questions. This is what we uniquely have to offer in our community, our intentional, spiritually-grounded, ever awakening presence. This is the heart of Interfaith 3.0 and is what this moments asks of us.

Interfaith 3.0 refocuses our human eyes to view “what is” from a spiritual perspective where we see every being as sister and brother in one interdependent and connected Web of Being. We see through the veneers of fear, unfettered materialism, and scapegoating and view all life with pure cherishing. For ultimately, there is only one Life, and we are it! We invite others of any or no faith to join us as we recreate a world of greater peace, equity, and inclusion where all life can thrive.

One image that describes Interfaith 3.0 is a thread. What is the common thread that runs through all of our faith traditions and that courses in the core of every human being? Whether we call this God, Buddhahood, Ground of Being, or any other name for the Sacred Mystery, this is who we really are. It is also the thread running through all justice work that makes it both sustainable and transformative. Poet William Stafford spoke of this thread in his poem “The Way It Is”:

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread.

Interfaith 3.0 is to hold on to the thread and weave it through prayer and meditation, through city council and school board meetings, and through conversations on race and privilege. The awareness of the thread is the most precious gift we have to give our world right now. It is how we, in our own corner of the world, help transform the collective trajectory of humanity. No small task!

The thread weaves together Transcendent Reality and the world as it is - with all its injustices and suffering. Awareness of the thread shifts every public meeting we attend and conversation we have. Our presence as the thread mirrors the “thread” residing in others so that they recognize it within themselves and all life. As “people of the thread”, we practice humility, radical compassion and self-compassion, for we are all imperfect and in process.

This thread alone changes hearts and minds, and thus policies and norms. To be strands of Hope and Healing is what this moment asks of us. We never let go of the thread.