This article originally appeared in The Catholic Herald.

Hearing the Call Across Traditions: Readings on Faith and Service, edited by Adam Davis, foreword by Eboo Patel. Skylight Paths Publishing (Woodstock, Vt., 2009) 337 pp., $29.99.

With the separation of church and state that exists in the United States, the role of religion in public society is limited. Except for a few states that allow classes in the Bible or courses in comparative religions, the role of religious thought and values remains absent from the classroom. Unlike in countries such as Ireland, where religion is taught as a required course to all students because of its perceived value to creating an informed citizenship, religious thought in the United States is usually treated as a highly toxic poison which corrodes the mind.

Join Chicago Public Radio as Interfaith Youth Core founder Eboo Patel sits down for a conversation with Krista Tippett, the host of public radio's Speaking of Faith. How does she answer the kinds of questions she asks of others?  And how has her sense of the creative dialogue between belief and non-belief in modern life changed? 

Before the program, enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving reception and help poet/collage artist Krista Franklin lay the foundation for a mixed-media collage entitled “Speaking of Faith.” Guests will be provided a small piece of paper to write one word or phrase that articulates their definition of faith. These writings will serve as the base for a larger mixed-media collage that Franklin will create to commemorate the evening.  

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Former Republican Congressman to highlight day of service and remembrance by attending reading and discussion program and reception at Newberry Library.

 CHICAGO – The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) is pleased to announce that Jim Leach, new chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will make his first visit to Illinois as NEH chair on September 11, 2009 to observe the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Chairman Leach, who was sworn-in as NEH chair on August 12, 2009, served thirty years representing southeastern Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives. He recently announced an expansion of the focus of the NEH to emphasize “Bridging Cultures,” both domestically and internationally.  In Chicago, he will be discussing this dual challenge while celebrating the distinctive American trait of social organization around voluntary community causes. “In our society” says Leach, “respect begins with civility, which has unfortunately broken down on important issues of the day.”