What did it mean to you to be raised with “Christian values”, “Jewish values”, “Muslim values” or the values upheld by whatever religious tradition you were raised in?  How do these values inspire your life today?  When you meet people of other faith traditions do you recognize differences in the values you each hold?  Are values universal?  

We met a woman today in Florida who was raised as a Unitarian, and in her church the youth were taught about all the world religions. From the beginning, she was taught that God was One and available to all. What did you learn about religion as a child and where did you learn it? Do you think that the things you learned helped or hindered your spiritual growth as an adult?

It wasn’t easy in our Faith Club Experience for Suzanne to admit she didn’t want to be mistaken for a Jew; for Priscilla to acknowledge that she stereotyped Jesus; and for Ranya to recognize that even she held stereotypes of her own religion.  Do you think you hold stereotypes related to religion?  Are you afraid to admit them? Why? Have you ever been in a situation where a religious stereotype was voiced? How did you react?

Is there a difference between religion that services your faith and between faith that is held hostage to rituals. What are your favorite rituals and why?

Do all good people end in heaven? Do you believe in the afterlife and why?

We have just returned from St. Louis where we had the honor of participating in The Big Read and talking about our book to a wonderful group of people there.  We are so grateful for all the gracious comments, prayers, blog posts and guest book entries that we have received.  You give us faith that our reception will be a warm one as we take our Faith Club message out into the world.  Thank you.

Evangelicals are worried that teens are leaving their ranks so they have ramped up the number of teen-oriented Christian events like youth extravaganzas. But according to Christian Smith, a sociology professor at the University of Notre Dame, evangelical teens are more likely to stay involved with their church than teens of just about any other religion.  What do you think about these teen events?  How do other religious communities keep teens involved?

Dear Faith Clubbers,
We want to remind everyone that the first rules of The Faith Club are honesty and respect for all. This blog is meant to be a safe place where ideas can be shared and debated thoughtfully. In order to maintain that environment, we reserve the right to exclude postings that are impolite or include excess capital letters and/or punctuation, the internet’s equivalent of shouting. Thank you for your understanding.
The Faith Club

 Yuri Lane and Sharif Ezzat rap a modern telling of Isaac and Ishmael. Check out the article in USA Today.  Any interfaith rappers out there among you?