Release date: July 17, 2007
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Initiative Helps Teens Build Interfaith Bridges

Participants in the 2006 Youth Theological Initiative Summer Academy sing at choir practice at Cannon Chapel.

High school seniors from throughout the United States and Canada have taken up residence at Emory's Candler School of Theology July 7-28 for the 15th annual Youth Theological Initiative Summer Academy. They are attending classes and discussions led by Candler faculty, visiting theologians and Ph.D. students in Emory's top-rated Graduate Division of Religion.

The YTI Summer Academy also will once again bring together Muslim, Jewish and Christian teens to work side-by-side in community service, and engage in socializing and interfaith discussions this Thursday, July 19. Another highlight of this year's Academy will be a visit by "Speaking of Faith" National Public Radio host Krista Tippett on Monday, July 23.

While the 44 teens enrolled in the Summer Academy are predominantly Christian, in recent years more of them began identifying themselves as "bi-religious," says Faith Hawkins, YTI director. "They will tell you that they go to church with one parent, but their other parent may be Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist. And they don't want to leave one parent out of the conversation about how they understand the world."

In response to this trend, and the fact that interfaith matters have become a critical part of both national and international relations, the YTI program last year invited Atlanta area high school seniors who are Muslim and Jewish to join the Summer Academy teens in a day of community service projects, followed by a group picnic and dialogue.

Last year's interfaith service day won praise from the local non-profit agencies and faith communities involved, including the Building Bridges Award from the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. This year, about 15 Muslim and 15 Jewish high school seniors are set to participate in the YTI interfaith service day.

"In the world we live in right now, a lot of young people are eager to get out the message that they're interested in building bridges across faiths," says J. Drew Johnson, dean of the YTI Summer Academy.

NPR's Krista Tippett was chosen as this year's guest "public theologian" for the Summer Academy, due to her groundbreaking work in creating thoughtful conversations about religion and society that span denominations and faiths. She will spend a full day with the YTI participants, talking about her work, answering questions and engaging in informal workshops.

Emory's Youth Theological Initiative (YTI), launched in 1993 with the support of Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc., was the first of what has blossomed into at least two dozen spin-off theological programs for rising high school seniors, hosted by universities and seminaries across the United States and Canada. Emory's YTI program strives to encourage a life-long love of theology and social action.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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