WAMU 88.5 : Community

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Uniting people of diverse faiths through dialogue and service

September 1, 2011
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Interfaith activity among faith communities has more than tripled since the September 11th attacks of 2001.* Local interfaith organizations celebrate religious freedom and challenge religious and political extremism through dialogue, interfaith alliances and community service.

Created in 1978, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC) brings together eleven historic faith communities to promote dialogue and understanding among persons of diverse faiths while working cooperatively for social and economic justice in the Washington, D.C., area. IFC members are of the Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Sikh and Zoroastrian faith communities. IFC works to better the community through coalition-building, education, training and advocacy, by uniting diverse faith leaders to speak and act together, publishing community resources and holding a range of public events. IFC participates in and leads a variety of service programs where young people of many faiths come together to clean up the environment, help build houses with needy families and other socially constructive projects. IFC also sponsors an annual scholarship essay contest for high school, college and graduate students, based on their annual lecture series on a topic at the intersection of faith and social justice.

For more information, contact:
InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington
The Gatehouse, 100 Allison Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20011
202.234.6300
ifc@ifcmw.org

*Statistic from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, 2006

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