In 2025, the United States saw another round of cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While lawmakers framed this as a budgetary measure, the consequences reverberated across religious communities that have long played a frontline role in feeding the hungry. From Islamic centers offering iftar meals to low-income families during Ramadan, to ChristianContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #10: Faith in Crisis: How the 2025 SNAP Cuts Threaten Religious Communities Fighting Hunger”
Category Archives: Interfaith Fridays
Interfaith Friday #9: Freedom to Dissent: Religious Objections to Christian Nationalism on Independence Day
This Independence Day, many Americans will celebrate freedom. But for religious minorities and progressive faith communities, July 4, 2025, carries a more somber tone. As Christian nationalism continues to riseâasserting that the U.S. is and should remain a Christian nationâthose who follow other religions (or none at all) are increasingly marginalized. Public school curricula areContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #9: Freedom to Dissent: Religious Objections to Christian Nationalism on Independence Day”
Interfaith Friday #8: LGBTQ+ Faith and the Anti-Trans Laws of 2025
Across the country, new anti-trans laws are restricting gender-affirming care and access for trans youth. Many of these laws are championed by conservative religious groupsâbut thereâs another side to faith. Progressive synagogues, churches, and spiritual centers are becoming safe havens for queer and trans believers. Interfaith Pride events this year include rituals of blessing, nameContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #8: LGBTQ+ Faith and the Anti-Trans Laws of 2025”
Interfaith Friday #7: Climate Justice and Sacred Stewardship: The Faith Fight for the Planet
The 2025 rollback of key environmental protections has triggered outrage from faith groups who view Earth as sacred. Indigenous leaders, Christian climate activists, and Muslim eco-justice networks are mobilizing. Father Miguel Angel, a Catholic priest in New Mexico, leads weekly climate vigils: âCaring for Creation is not optional. Itâs moral duty.â From mosques installing solarContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #7: Climate Justice and Sacred Stewardship: The Faith Fight for the Planet”
Interfaith Friday #6: Prison Ministry and Faith-Based Rehabilitation Under Threat
A new round of prison privatization laws has led to the cutting of funding for faith-based rehabilitation programs that donât conform to state-approved Christian doctrine. Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and interfaith prison ministries are being restricted from offering counseling or ceremonies unless they use state-approved materials. âIâve been offering Buddhist meditation sessions to inmates for 12Continue reading “Interfaith Friday #6: Prison Ministry and Faith-Based Rehabilitation Under Threat”
Interfaith Friday #5: Christian Nationalism and the Erosion of True Religious Liberty
A growing movement of Christian nationalismâwhere the government is seen as an instrument of a singular, conservative religious visionâthreatens pluralism in America. Recent legislation in several states requires âBiblical values educationâ in public schools, and public funding is increasingly funneled into explicitly Christian programs. This marginalizes non-Christian, progressive, and secular voices alike. âChristianity doesnât needContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #5: Christian Nationalism and the Erosion of True Religious Liberty”
Interfaith Friday #4: Book Bans and the Attack on Interfaith Education
The rise in book bans across U.S. schools and libraries is not only censoring LGBTQ+ and racial justice topicsâitâs also erasing the complexity of religion in America. Books about Sikhism, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, and even non-Western Christian traditions have been quietly pulled from shelves under âanti-critical race theoryâ and âparental rightsâ justifications. This silences voicesContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #4: Book Bans and the Attack on Interfaith Education”
Interfaith Friday #3: Immigration and the Right to Worship: Faith Under Fire at the Border
Under new 2025 immigration enforcement directives, several religious leaders who offered sanctuary or aid to undocumented immigrants are now facing legal threats. The crackdown not only targets migrantsâit criminalizes the compassion extended by clergy and laypeople alike. Sister Maria Elena, a Catholic nun in Arizona, was recently fined for sheltering a family facing deportation. âIContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #3: Immigration and the Right to Worship: Faith Under Fire at the Border”
Interfaith Friday #2: Abortion Bans and Interfaith Solidarity: Progressive Faith Leaders Speak Out
Following new abortion restrictions in several U.S. states, progressive faith leaders from various religious backgrounds are stepping up to voice their support for reproductive freedom. Rabbi Talia Cohen, Reverend Joseph Black, and Imam Leila Siddiqui recently held an interfaith vigil outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Missouri. âOur faith calls us to protect life, butContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #2: Abortion Bans and Interfaith Solidarity: Progressive Faith Leaders Speak Out”
Interfaith Friday #1: Muslim-Americans and the 2025 Surveillance Bill: A Renewed Fear
Congress is currently advancing a new federal surveillance bill aimed at âdomestic threat mitigation,â but civil liberties groups are sounding the alarm. For many Muslim-Americans, the language is hauntingly familiar. Back in the early 2000s, the Patriot Act led to increased surveillance and profiling of Muslims in the U.S. Today, with vague definitions of extremismContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #1: Muslim-Americans and the 2025 Surveillance Bill: A Renewed Fear”