Sojourners in the News

When I was 15, I stepped into a warm bath on my church's sanctuary stage. I was a bit of an outsider - the occasionally bullied Chinese-American kid in the white suburb - and I had found a place of belonging at this Chinese immigrant church. I made a joke about how I felt the same way about my new faith as my 16-year-old friend felt about her new driver's license: I had no idea how I ever lived without this. Even my pastor chuckled as he clasped my hands, preparing to dunk me.

Think back to the images from last year in Murrieta, California, where buses of unaccompanied minors and women with children, all fleeing violence in Central America, were blocked by angry, screaming adults. In his column about this incident, the Christian evangelical, Jim Wallis, told of a talk he had recently given on immigration to his son’s fifth-grade class in Washington, DC–a class that was racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse.

For all the media attention paid to the Religious Right, much less energy has been spent looking into its counterpart, the Religious Left. And yet, when Barack Obama first ran for president in 2008, he appealed directly to religious voters, pairing his Christian faith with his progressive politics—something his Democratic predecessors Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton did as well.

The crush of religious people I have just witnessed is staggering. Under one roof, a tapestry of faiths flock together -- Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Humanists, Jews -- congregated in a singular location to discuss some of the most pressing matters facing humanity today. But for every external difference of faith I see, this conference is harmonious. People are in good spirits. Here in Salt Lake City I attended my first Parliament of the World Religions -- the largest inter-religious conference in the world -- and I have been moved from what I have witnessed.

The Parliament of the World's Religions (October 15-19, 2015 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) is the oldest, largest and the most inclusive gathering of people of all faith and traditions. This year the Parliament connects the dots between spirituality, culture and politics with major speakers such as the Dalai Lama, Dr. Karen Armstrong, Rev. Jim Wallis and Dr. Vandana Shiva, bringing their global wisdom and practice to the Parliament's theme, Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity.

Thousands of people from around the world filled the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday evening for the opening ceremonies of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” said Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions to thunderous applause from the audience.

Rev. Jim Wallis leads the Christian social justice group Sojourners. He is known for merging faith with public life, urging candidates for office to discuss moral issues in a way that transcends ideological divisions. Michel Martin talks with Wallis about his book America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

NAIROBI, KENYA — In a small side hall inside a ministry building, a group of young developers and artists huddled over their laptops. Half-filled Fanta and Coke bottles sat forgotten in the center of the table as the group worked in studied concentration while gospel music played in the background. With crumpled candy wrappers lying nearby, the scene was reminiscent of a college dorm hall or cafeteria. But but rather than cramming for exams, these young Kenyans were trying to hack government corruption.