Dear Friends,
We're so grateful for your feedback so far on the recently launched online
version of *On Common Ground: World Religions in
America<http://www.pluralism.org/ocg>
! *
If you haven't do so already, there is still time to fill out our
survey<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2PMF557>. You
have until *next Tuesday, September 5th at 5pm EST *to do so and be entered
into our drawing to receive a copy of the DVD *Fremont, U.S.A* or a
Pluralism Project t-shirt. To access the survey, click
here<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2PMF557>
.
If you haven't yet seen the full press
release<http://www.pluralism.org/press-releases/2013-08-16> or
read the initial letter from Professor
Eck<http://www.pluralism.org/newsletters/current> announcing
the launch, you can do so on our website. We've also pasted the contents of
the press release below.
Please share the news widely with your friends and colleagues and do let us
know how you plan to use *On Common Ground: World Religions in
America<http://www.pluralism.org/ocg>
.*
We'd love to hear about any announcements about *OCG* that appear in
newsletters, publications, or social media. Please share those with us by
mentioning them when you fill out the
survey<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2PMF557>or send them to us in
note to
staff(a)pluralism.org.
Many thanks!
With best wishes,
The Pluralism Project Team
---------------------------
The Pluralism Project Launches Updated and Online Version of On Common
Ground: World Religions in America
PRESS RELEASE: AUGUST 16, 2013 For Immediate Release
*The Pluralism Project Launches Updated and Online Version of On Common
Ground: World Religions in America*
Contact: Whittney Barth
617-496-2481
staff(a)pluralism.org
http://pluralism.org
Cambridge, MA – What does it mean to be religiously literate? Where can one
learn about the world’s religions, from Afro-Caribbean traditions to
Zoroastrianism? How can one explore the religious diversity of cities and
towns across the U.S.? And what historical perspectives and contemporary
challenges shape our understanding of religious difference in America?
Explore On Common Ground: World Religions in
America<http://pluralism.org/ocg> to
find out.
Many affirm the need for better religious literacy in our globalized world,
yet there are few quality educational resources to support this endeavor. The
Pluralism Project <http://pluralism.org/>, an ongoing research effort based
at Harvard University and led by Diana
Eck<http://www.pluralism.org/about/eck_cv.php>,
now offers a free, online resource—On Common Ground: World Religions in
America <http://pluralism.org/ocg>—to meet this urgent need. Professor Eck,
a National Humanities Medal recipient, was recognized by President Bill
Clinton as “helping us appreciate not only the richness of our diversity,
but the strength of our shared values.”
Winner of the EDUCAUSE Medal in 1998, our CD-ROM On Common Ground: World
Religions in America <http://pluralism.org/ocg/about> (Columbia University
Press) was recognized as an “extraordinary resource” and “pioneering work,”
bringing to life America’s religious diversity through text, image, and
sound. Today, the updated version of On Common
Ground<http://pluralism.org/ocg> is
online at no cost. This extensive resource, available at pluralism.org/ocg,
integrates new technology and content while maintaining the resource’s
time-tested educational structure.
*America’s Many Religions <http://pluralism.org/religion>* follows the
history, life, and development of seventeen different traditions in the
American context. New content includes essays on the experience of Muslims,
Sikhs, and others post-9/11 as well as sections on Humanism and Unitarian
Universalism.
*A New Religious Landscape <http://pluralism.org/landscape>* explores
religious diversity in select cities across the United States through
interactive maps of religious centers. Maps may also be customized with
layers of demographic data from the U.S. Census and additional Pluralism
Project research.
*Encountering Religious Diversity <http://pluralism.org/encounter>* highlights
the old and new questions of American identity in the context of our
diversity. Through essays, original documents, links, and new research,
users can explore historical perspectives on religious difference as well
as today’s challenges. Additional resources include current news stories
from the Pluralism Project’s newsfeed <http://pluralism.org/newsfeed> and case
studies <http://pluralism.org/casestudy>on the dilemmas and disputes of our
multireligious society.
Pluralism Project Director Diana Eck comments, “The online launch of On
Common Ground: World Religions in America <http://pluralism.org/ocg> builds
on more than twenty years of collaborative research, and reflects our
ongoing commitment to providing educational tools to foster informed
engagement with the reality of America’s religious diversity. This is a
great resource for teachers, professors, students, clergy, media
professionals, and community leaders.”
Thanks to the hard work of our affiliates and researchers and to funding
from Lilly Endowment Inc., the new updated and online version of On Common
Ground: World Religions in America <http://pluralism.org/ocg> is available
for public use.
----------------------------------
--
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-496-2481
www.pluralism.org
Twittter: @pluralismproj
Like The Pluralism Project on
Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pluralism-Project-at-Harvard-University/1…>!
"On Common Ground" Now Available Online!
August 16, 2013
HTML version:
http://pluralism.org/newsletters/view/2013-08-16
Newsletter archive:
http://pluralism.org/newsletters
Dear Friends,
[Image: ]
Greetings from the Pluralism Project! I am delighted to share with you the launch of an online and updated version of On Common Ground: World Religions in America [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/ ]. You can view the press release on our website at www.pluralism.org [ http://www.pluralism.org/press-releases/2013-08-16 ].
For fifteen years, the CD-ROM version of On Common Ground [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/about ](Columbia University Press) has been a go-to resource on religious diversity in America for teachers, professors, students, clergy, community leaders, and media professionals. Over the years, many of you have expressed your hope for an online version of this wonderful resource. We’ve echoed your excitement and are pleased that this new version of On Common Ground [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/ ] is now online and available free of charge.
In the new online version, the time-tested educational structure of the On Common Ground [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/about ] CD-ROM is replicated and enhanced. We have:
• added new sections on Humanism and Unitarian Universalism to America’s Many Religions [ http://www.pluralism.org/religion ] and developed new content on the experiences of Muslims and Sikhs post-9/11;
• expanded America’s Changing Religious Landscape [ http://www.pluralism.org/landscape ] by including interactive maps of religious diversity in select cities across the U.S. which incorporate both census data and information from the Pluralism Project Directory of Religious Centers [ http://www.pluralism.org/directory ] (a database that now includes well over 10,000 entries);
• explored new versions of old challenges by integrating new materials and weblinks into Encountering Religious Diversity [ http://www.pluralism.org/encounter ], further building on a rich cache of historical examples, documents, news stories, and videos that highlight the many ways in which Americans experience our new multireligious reality.
We invite you to take a brief survey [ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2PMF557 ] about your experience of the new On Common Ground Online [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/about ]. As our thanks, we will randomly select to two survey respondents to receive a Pluralism Project t-shirt and a copy of the DVD Fremont, USA. Those who complete the survey and wish to be considered for a prize are asked to please respond to the survey [ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2PMF557 ] by 5pm EST on September 3, 2013.
This project would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of generations of Pluralism Project affiliates, researchers, staff, students, and the communities we both study and seek to serve. The Pluralism Project is grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. which was a major funder of the original On Common Ground [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/about ] CD-ROM as well as the new version On Common Ground Online [ http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/ ]. This project would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of generations of Pluralism Project affiliates, researchers, staff, students, and the communities we both study and seek to serve. Thank you.
We look forward to hearing your responses to OCG!
With all best wishes,
[Image: ]
Diana Eck
-------------------------
This is the read-only email list of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
To join or leave this mailing list, please email us at staff(a)pluralism.org, or visit the subscription edit page at http://pluralism.org/subscribers/edit
