A “thought-provoking, myth-smashing” exploration of American identity and a passionate call for a more tolerant, interfaith America (Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State) There is no better time to stand up for your values than when they are under attack. Alarmist, hateful rhetoric once relegated to the fringes of political discourse has now become frighteningly mainstream, with pundits and politicians routinely invoking the specter of Islam as a menacing, deeply anti-American force. In Sacred Ground, author and renowned interfaith leader Eboo Patel says this prejudice is not just a problem for Muslims but a challenge to the very idea of America. Patel shows us that Americans from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. have been “interfaith leaders,” illustrating how the forces of pluralism in America have time and again defeated the forces of prejudice. And now a new generation needs to rise up and confront the anti-Muslim prejudice of our era. To this end, Patel offers a primer in the art and science of interfaith work, bringing to life the growing body of research on how faith can be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division and sharing stories from the frontlines of interfaith activism. Patel asks us to share in his vision of a better America—a robustly pluralistic country in which our commonalities are more important than our differences, and in which difference enriches, rather than threatens, our religious traditions. Pluralism, Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project, and this visionary book will inspire Americans of all faiths to make this country a place where diverse traditions can thrive side by side.

For as long as the written word has existed, the Five Books of Moses has had the power to summon our unique and diverse voices. Its words have the power to stir our minds, our hearts, and our souls. Thousands of years after it was first recorded, we still find our lives reflected in its words and can be inspired by those words. In this poignant collection of brief essays, over one hundred clergy from diverse religious traditions share the passages that have brought meaning to their lives. On Sacred Ground compels the reader to ask: What is my relationship to these sacred words?

Two thousand years ago, there was a great bay and a peaceful land filled with sage, citrus trees, and pine. And there was a tribe called the Topaa. Marimi, a healer in her tribe, is unprepared for what fate holds in store for her. Without her knowledge, her actions place her under the watchful, suspicious gaze of a rival...and Marimi's family is placed under a curse that impacts how their legacy unfolds. From prehistoric California to the days of Spanish explorers, from the time of California colonialism to the swashbuckling cowboy days of early Los Angeles and right up to the present day, Scared Ground tells the story of the female descendants of Marimi. It tells of their loves, their betrayals, their loses, their families, and their ruthless ambitions that would forge a new country.

"Examines how different groups of Americans have competed to control, define, and own cherished national stories relating to events at four battlefields."--Amazon.com.

In her magnificent Sacred Ground to Sacred Space, visionary artist Rowena Pattee Kryder weaves together the scientific and spiritual traditions to reveal how the sacred is inherent in nature, and how we can get in touch with the qualities of subtle energy and light that are the power and codes for manifesting harmonious culture.