Founder of Interfaith Youth Corps Discusses His Book, Sacred Ground

November 7, 2012

On the day following the 2012 elections, Wellesley College in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves welcomes the public to gather for an important conversation on the future of religious pluralism in America, with one of the nation's leading visionaries on the topic.

Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Corps and member of President Obama's inaugural Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, visits Wellesley on Wednesday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m. to lead a discussion on interfaith cooperation in the face of religious extremism.

This event is free and open to the public and takes place in Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center at Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Mass.

Co-sponsor Facing History and Ourselves is an organization that works to combat bigotry and nurture democracy through education. Since it was founded in 1976 in Brookline, Mass., Facing History and Ourselves has grown from an innovative course taught in a single school district to an international organization with more than 150 staff members in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, London, Los Angeles, Memphis, New England, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Toronto, with partnerships worldwide.

Eboo Patel

Named by US News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo Patel founded the Interfaith Youth Corps in 2002 to help counter the forces of religious extremism. In his new book, Sacred Ground, Patel explores the role of religious pluralism in American history.

According to Patel, “Standing up for someone else is the most American thing you can do. From George Washington through Jane Addams and Martin Luther King, it's how this nation was built. I'm proud that Interfaith Youth Core is with Facing History and Ourselves and Wellesley College on an event that hopes to inspire and mobilize the forces of pluralism in our generation."

Victor Kazanjian, Dean of Intercultural Education and Religious and Spiritual Life at Wellesley College, will present remarks.