The InterFaith Council of Metropolitan Washington (IFC or IFCMW) is an

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The organization was founded in 1978 and the Reverend Clark Lobenstine served as the first Executive Director from 1979–2014. Reverend David Lindsey is the current Executive Director. The IFC brings together eleven historic

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

communities to promote dialogue, understanding and community and to work on projects of common interest throughout the DC region. Through its events, resources and collaborations, IFC aspires to uphold the worth and dignity of all people and all life, to provide opportunities for interfaith engagement, increase religious literacy and promote mutual respect among diverse faiths.

History

In an interview with the

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs is an academic research center at Georgetown University in Washington, DC dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of religion, ethics, and politics. The center was founded in 2006 und ...

in 2011, Executive Director Lobenstine said, "The Interfaith Conference was founded by the Islamic, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish communities and was the first organization to engage the Islamic community back in a metropolitan area in both interfaith dialogue and interfaith collaboration for justice in 1978. Since then Baháʼí, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Latter Day Saint, Sikh, and Zoroastrian believers have joined. We now represent eleven faith-based communities. The founders before I started were clear that the Conference wouldn’t do service, but rather enact justice by building a just community as well as through interfaith dialogue. These principles continue to guide us still and our Center for Nurturing Understanding is focused on applying those ideals to young people."

IFC Member faiths

* Baháʼí *

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

* Islamic *

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

* Sikh *

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

References

External links

InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington

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Interfaith organizations Organizations based in Washington, D.C. 1978 establishments in Washington, D.C. Religious organizations based in Washington, D.C. Religious organizations established in 1978 {{reli-org-stub