Interfaith Resources
Multifaith Calendar
The Multifaith Calendar is intended to increase our collective awareness of diverse holy days and seasons of significance across religious, spiritual, and cultural differences and to help all Lakers plan respectfully in order to best support the needs of our students, faculty, and staff alike.
On Visiting Sacred Sites
Whether you're joining us for one of our monthly Sacred Site Visits or venturing out on your own, this page provides some helpful tips for before you visit a house of worship or sacred space, during your time there, as well as some suggested reflection questions afterwards.
Dietary Considerations
For those looking for guidance on navigating diverse religious food practices to support inclusive, respectful shared meals, check out our page of Dietary Considerations in interfaith spaces. This includes introductory information on kosher/halal food and tips on how to support those who are fasting.
On-Campus Reflection Rooms
The Interfaith Reflection Rooms are designated spaces on three of GV's campuses that are available for students, faculty, and staff of all religions/non-religious identities to use to practice their traditions or to enjoy the peace and quite in a safe and comfortable space. Room Usage Guidelines can be found here.
Campus Locations:
- VALLEY - Kirkhof Center, Room 2243
- CITY - Devos Center (DEV), Room 130B
- HEALTH - Cook Devos Center for Health Sciences (CHS), Room 166
For Digging Deeper:
These sites and partners are great places to begin when it comes to learning different approaches to interfaith.
Interfaith America - A fantastic general hub of information about interfaith across the country, with a specific focus on higher-ed campuses. Their Learning and Action Bridge (LAB) online resource can help narrow down what resources you may be seeking with regard to interfaith.
Interfaith Photovoice - Local partners of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute using an arts-based approach to interfaith understanding.
The Pluralism Project - The Pluralism Project studies and interprets religious diversity and interfaith relations in the United States. Their collections of essays on different religious and spiritual traditions is one resource among many on their site and can help with those looking to increase their appreciative knowledge about religions.
Tanenbaum: Combatting Religious Prejudice - Tanenbaum is a secular and non-sectarian non-profit that works to promote religious peacebuilders who help counter extremism and violence in armed conflicts, and tackles religious bullying of students, harassment in workplaces, and disparate health treatment for people based on their beliefs.
The Dialogue Institute - The Dialogue Institute engages religious, civic, and academic leaders in practicing the skills of respectful dialogue and critical thinking, building and sustaining transformative relationships across lines of religion and culture. Their Dialogue Principles serve as one example of fundamental ground rules for interreligious conversations.
One America Movement - The One America Movement is a national organization devoted to working with faith leaders and faith communities to build a united American society by eliminating toxic polarization.
For more resources on dialogue across difference more broadly, check out this Resource Page from our friends at the Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse at GVSU.
The Revolutionary Love Compass, by Valarie Kaur
Turning Towards Each Other: A Conflict Workbook, by Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
Common Threads - Hosted by Grand Rapids local, Fred Stella. Each week Fred invites clerics, authors, activists and the occasional mystic into conversation about the role of spirituality and religion in politics, world affairs, societies and individuals.
Detroit Faith and Works, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Detroit
How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook, edited by Stuart M Matlins and Arthur J Magida
Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, by Eboo Patel
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, by Stephen Prothero
Critical Hope: How to Grapple with Complexity, Lead with Purpose, and Cultivate Transformative Social Change, by Kari Grain
Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, by Barbara Brown Taylor
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell
The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations, by Jonathan Sacks
See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love, by Valarie Kaur
Strangers, Neighbors, Friends: Muslim-Christian-Jewish Reflections on Compassion and Peace, by Kelly James Clark, Aziz Abu Sarah, and Nancy Fuchs Kreimer
20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America, by Ryan Burge
IDEALS: Bridging Religious Divides through Higher Education - The Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey is a groundbreaking national study of religious diversity in higher education that took place from 2016-2020.
Pew Research Center - Religious Landscape Study (RLS)
Public Religion Research Institute
Patheos - A peer‑reviewed Religion Library - one of the web’s most comprehensive reference resources on global religions and worldviews - along with tools like the Side‑by‑Side Religion Comparison Lens.