Eboo Patel – September 28 and 29, 2022 (Archive)

Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division.

His visit will focus on his newly-released book We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy.

More information on his visit can be found below!

Play Video We Need to Build an Interfaith America

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Students Lead, Students Build, Students Change: Envisioning a Better St. Olaf

4:15-5:15 p.m. in Valhalla (student event, faculty/staff can sit in)
REGISTER HERE (encouraged but not required)

Keynote Address: We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy

7pm-8:30pm in Boe Memorial Chapel, free and open to the public – REGISTER HERE (registration encouraged but not required)
- Includes panel responses from Anthony Bateza (Religion), Mary Carlsen (Social Work), and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu (Music)
- Streaming Link
Book signing immediately afterward

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Daily Chapel

11-11:20am in Boe Memorial Chapel
Will be live-streamed & archived

Eboo‘s visit will focus on his newly-released book We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy. We Need to Build is a guide for those who seek to promote positive social change and build a more diverse and just democracy. Aimed at challenging people to fight injustices in society by building institutions and structures that promote the change they want to see, Eboo shares his stories of building and leading his organization Interfaith America and how along the way, he has come to construct as much as critique and collaborate more than oppose.

“Defeat the things you do not love by building the things you do.”

_{-Eboo Patel}

Author, Speaker, Educator, and Interfaith Leader

Eboo Patel is a civic leader who believes that religious diversity is an essential and inspiring dimension of American democracy. Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division.

Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books, including We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and their two sons.

_{–Interfaith America}

Mission:

“Interfaith America’s mission is to inspire, equip, and connect leaders and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity.”

Vision:

“Religious diversity is a foundational American strength. Interfaith America is building a nation that achieves that promise for the common good.”

What They Do:

“We provide expert consultation, training, curricula, and resources to positively engage religious diversity. We value collaboration, developing robust institutional partnerships to leverage interfaith cooperation as a proven approach in solving challenges.”

“We curate a broad, deep media platform to share stories of interfaith cooperation and work with seasoned journalists and social media to combat polarization and promote bridgebuilding.”

Join Them!

“Interfaith America will serve as a catalyst, a resource, and a partner for building Interfaith America the nation. We delight in knowing that we walk this path with many others – college campuses, government agencies, houses of worship, civic groups, media organizations, private companies, other interfaith organizations, and individuals of goodwill everywhere. The 21st-century American city on a hill has a steeple, a mosque, a synagogue, a sangha, a ward, a temple, a gurudwara, a secular humanist society, and more. You and I are not just citizens of this city – together, we are architects of it. Now, let’s build.”

_{–Interfaith America}

See this helpful video for more information: