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12 Interfaith Stories That Inspired Hope in 2024

12 Interfaith Stories That Inspired Hope in 2024

Last updated on: January 16, 2025 at 12:36 pm by Guest Contributor

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12 Interfaith Stories That Inspired Hope in 2024 2025-01-16T12:36:48-05:00 Guest Contributor

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Suzanne and Brayton Shanley, center, stand with a group outside of Francis House during the annual Francis Day anniversary celebration in Hardwick, Mass.

Suzanne and Brayton Shanley, center, stand with a group outside of Francis House during the annual Francis Day anniversary celebration in Hardwick, Mass., on Oct. 6, 2024. | Photo by Fiona Murphy

By Allie Vroegop

Every year, readers can always find stories in the news that speak of the division, of people not getting along, and of communities’ disagreements across the U.S. And 2024 was no different. But Interfaith America Magazine seeks to craft inspiring interfaith stories from our religiously diverse democracy and showcase how cooperation across difference is happening every day.

This year, the top stories each month in the Magazine show how people on campuses, in corporations, and in civic institutions are coming together to work together. These stories are glimpses of people who are inspired by their faith or values to bridge divides and engage in spaces of division. From religious celebrations and the presidential election to world events like the Olympics, here are the stories the Magazine readers most engaged with in 2024.

January

Why Religious Literacy is Pivotal to Providing Better Healthcare

By Steven Clark Cunningham

January 4, 2024

Foundations of Interfaith Leadership LIVE course creates space to have important conversations about faith, identity, and how we can use them in our personal and professional lives to cooperate. Through the course, healthcare provider, Dr. Steven Clark Cunningham, found that the more religiously literate he is as a provider, the better he can do the work of providing care.

February

Lupercalia, Imbolc, and Valentine’s Day: The Passionate Season of February

By Julia Pillard

February 13, 2024

Imbolc took place on Feb. 1 and is the first of the pagan spring festivals. Julia Pillard, a writer and pagan in Colorado, finds meaning in this holiday that encompasses connections to land, community, and the self.

Jim Robinson tends the Agape garden

Jim Robinson tends the Agape garden in Hardwick, Mass., Aug. 20, 2024. | Photo by Fiona Murphy

March

Starcross Monastic: An Interfaith Sanctuary in the California Coastal Hills

By Anu Gorukanti

March 21, 2024

Anu Gorukanti, public health practitioner and co-founder of  Introspective Spaces, talks with Brother Toby and Sister Julie of Starcross Monastic Community in Sonoma County on creating a place for interfaith connection and service through farming.

April

IN PHOTOS: College Presidents Convene to Navigate Rising Polarization on Campuses

By Silma Suba

April 5, 2024

Higher education leaders convened in Washington D.C. for Interfaith America’s Advancing Campus Pluralism conference to help navigate prejudice and polarization on campuses amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

May

Kendrick vs. Drake: A Surprising Mirror of Interfaith Cooperation

By Nathan “Bam” Stanton

May 23, 2024

Bam Stanton writes about the latest in the hip-hop dispute between Kendrick Lamar and Drake and the need for more cooperation in a world of competition.

Brayton Shanely, left, wears a hardhat while preparing to cut down a dead tree on the Agape property

Brayton Shanely, left, wears a hardhat while preparing to cut down a dead tree on the Agape property in Hardwick, Mass., on Aug. 20, 2024. | Photo by Fiona Murphy

June

How to Watch the Presidential Debate as a Civic Pluralist: 5 Questions to Consider

By Rollie Olson and Adam Phillips

June 24, 2024

Throughout the election season, the Interfaith America Faith in Elections team urged each person to pursue the principles of civic pluralism by embracing their values and beliefs to strengthen our democracy.

July

A Mormon* and a Witch: How Divergent Faiths Brought Sisters Back Together

By Sam Ryan and Gena-Marie Rajaniemi

July 23, 2024

Two sisters, a Latter-day Saint and a witch, discovered that finding their divergent spiritual identities brought them closer together.

Amuzujoe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

August

As The World Watches, Olympic Athletes Challenge France’s Hijab Ban

By Dilshad D. Ali

August 12, 2024

This 2024 Olympics, Senior Columnist Dilshad D. Ali investigates France’s secularism and its tension with the visual representations of faith, like a hijab.

September

Two Opposing Governors Endorse One Message: Have Faith in Elections

By Rollie Olson

September 5, 2024

Governor Cox of Utah and Governor Moore of Maryland endorse the Faith in Elections Playbook to help faith communities support elections.

October

How I am Celebrating Samhain This Year

By Julia Pillard

October 28, 2024

Halloween originated as Samhain, a Celtic New Year festival. In the modern pagan celebration, Samhain is the final harvest festival, and for writer and pagan Julia Pillard, Samhain is about remembering those who have gone before.

November

Interfaith Prayers Before Voting

By Rabbi Or Rose and Rheya Spigner

November 1, 2024

Five interfaith leaders across the U.S. from different spiritual and religious traditions write poetic reflections during the voting season.

December

Rafia Amina Khader

Be Kind, Speak Truth: Interfaith Work as a Muslim Leader

By Rafia Amina Khader

December 4, 2024

Being a Muslim hijabi woman in an interfaith leadership position at a historical organization such a Chautauqua during this difficult time is an incredible opportunity to do real change-making work, writes Rafia Amina Khader.

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Embracing Joy, Unity, and Tradition This Holiday Season