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Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations   Volume 3(2008): R1-2 

Patel & Brodeur, Building the Interfaith Youth Movement R1 http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol3 

 

 
Eboo Patel and Patrice Brodeur, eds. 

     Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to Action 

                                           (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006), 263 pp. + index 

       R e v i e w e d  b y  M a r y  C .  B o y s ,  U n i o n  T h e o l o g i c a l  S e m i n a r y  
 

 

“A quick read,” someone said about this book. Yes and no. Readers do not need to 
make their way through dense theories or technical language; clearly, the intended 
audience transcends the company of scholars. It would be a mistake, however, to 
dismiss the value of this volume. It not only offers considerable information about 
various interfaith youth movements in a variety of locations at various levels, but also 
some splendid reflections about interfaith engagement. 
 
The editors have organized the twenty-four chapters, each relatively brief, into seven 
sections indicative of the range of the anthology. The initial section offers some 
theoretical discussion of the context of interfaith youth movement. Eboo Patel’s essay, 
“Affirming Identity, Achieving Pluralism” is especially strong, and establishes the 
framework for his later essay (jointly authored with Mariah Neuroth) on the Interfaith 
Youth Core. The essay on “Theologies of Interreligious Encounters and Their 
Relevance to Youth,” by J. Nathan Kline consists primarily of a superficial review of Paul 
Knitter’s highly nuanced Introducing Theologies of Religion. Among the chapters in the 
second section on international interfaith organizations is a fascinating chapter, “The 
Gujarat Young Adult Project of the International Association for Religious Freedom” by 
Zulfikhar Akram and Ramola Sundram. This essay documents the contribution interfaith 
engagements have made in a region of India where religious conflict has been endemic.  
 
Sections three and four deal with interfaith work in the context of schooling, focusing on 
higher education and secondary education, respectively. The former includes analysis 
of the Seminarians Interacting program by Karen Wood, descriptions of interfaith in the 
life of Wellesely College by Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr., and the University of Illinois by five 
young leaders , and an insightful essay by Alison L. Boden on “Articulating What Is at 
Stake in Interreligious Work.”  High school teachers, in particular, would learn from all of 
the essays on secondary education. Jane S. Rechtman’s article on “Teaching World 
Religions” seemed especially rich. 
 
Sections five and six describe various projects, both community-based and immersion 
programs. All make for worthwhile reading, including the “Sacred Stories Project of the 
Ghetto Film School,” by Joe Hall and Andrew Unger. A final section by Paul 
Raushenbush analyzes the sorts of questions he fields as a contributing editor at 
Beliefnet.com in his advice column, “Ask Pastor Paul.” 
 

REVIEW 



Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations   Volume 3(2008): R1-2 

Patel & Brodeur, Building the Interfaith Youth Movement R2 http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol3 

A survey of the book as a whole is advisable. Not only do the essays read quickly, but 
the range of perspectives and projects is impressive. Yet musing on some of the central 
ideas and theoretical foundations will reveal the potential of this book; many essays 
bear re-reading. For example, readers might ask about the extent to which 
developmental psychology provides a valuable tool for evaluating interfaith youth 
movements. They might pursue the nine “integrated theories” Patel identifies as the 
basis of the Interfaith Youth Core (171-172). They might ask how religious institutions 
might instill a lively sense of religious identity in their adherents without disparaging the 
other. They might even ask about the likely impact of the collected “testimonies” in this 
volume on those who hold religious office: What if bishops, heads of presbyteries, etc. 
were to take this book seriously? Would it affect their priorities?  
 
I often think of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s sage – and sobering – judgment that the fate of 
the twenty-first century may turn on whether the world’s religions can “make a space for 
those who are not its adherents, who sing a different song, hear a different music, tell a 
different story” (The Dignity of Difference: How To Avoid the Clash of Civilizations, 43). 
As one who shares this belief, I commend Building the Interfaith Youth Movement to a 
wide audience. It is a resource that should be taken seriously by religious leaders of 
every generation.