1. Plans for particular sessions make reference to web sites. In particular, note the availability of www.ncccusa.org/interfaith/ifrresources.htm where Interfaith Relations and the Churches and companion resources are available for reading and downloading. You are asked not to sell copies you make from your downloading.

2. Resources from denominations should be secured from the central offices of particular denominations or from local resource centers of these denominations. If you need help in determining where to call or write, contact Interfaith Relations, National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 870, New York, NY 10115 (phone 212/870-2560).

3. Ask persons from other religious communities to suggest materials about themselves for your reading—books, magazines, pamphlets, web sites. These will give you an opportunity to discover how communities want to be known.

4. The annotated bibliographies that follow have been prepared by members of the Commission on Interfaith Relations of the National Council of Churches for sharing. They refer to materials that are basic though substantial, from various perspectives. (The NCCC Commission has dealt primarily with relationships with Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists–reflected in the bibliographies that follow. Its fourth area of emphasis, traditional Native American religions, should be referred to denominational offices for bibliographic recommendations.)

Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Azzam, Abd-al-Rahman. The Eternal Message of Muhammad. New York: Mentor Books. 1964.

This is an excellent book for those who want to read a single book on Islam. It is written by an Arab politician. It shows how Islam interacts with the concerns of personal, social and political life and would be particularly useful for someone seeking to understand the role of Islam in the arena of public life--an important consideration in light of current world events. The book includes an overview of the history of Islam along with a presentation of its faith and practice.

Cragg, Kenneth. The Call of the Minaret. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. 1965.

This book has long been a standard introduction to Islam, written by a former Christian missionary bishop to Egypt. It provides an excellent overview of Islamic faith and practice and some historical background. The author has often been accused of "Christianizing" Islam--most apparent in the fact that the legal dimension of Islam is not given the centrality that most Muslims would give to it and that the author is concerned with what Islam says (or doesn't say) about matters many Muslims consider peripheral. In spite of these problelms, there is authenticity in the presentation.

Esposito, John L., ed. Voices of Resurgent Islam. New York: Oxford University Press. 1982.

This book allows the reader to view the kaleidoscope of approaches and agendas that are so often lumped together under the title "Resurgent Islam" or "Islamic Revivalism." The extracts from Muslim sources are well chosen and provide the reader with a deeper understanding of what is happening in the Muslim world today, an understanding that often belies media presentations.

Though the book is a bit dated now, it provides an important introduction to the breadth of the Islamic movement and allows the reader to grasp some historical forces that underlie the contemporary situation.

Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck, ed. The Muslims of America. New York: Oxford University Press. 1991.

The sixteen essays in this book by Muslim and non-Muslim researchers deal with the history, organization, challenges, responses, outstanding thinkers, and future prospects of the Muslim community in the United States and Canada. They also discuss American Muslim self-images, Islamic education, the status of Muslim women in America, American Muslims' political activity, and the impact of American foreign policy on Muslims in the United States.

Mallon, Elias D. Neighbors: Muslims in North America. New York: Friendship Press. 1989.

A series of nine interviews with representative North American Muslims allow the reader to understand the attitudes, problems, hopes, and fears of the richly diverse Muslim community now living in North America. The interview format is very readable and makes the reader conscious that we are dealing with real men and women when we discuss "Muslims."

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. Boston: Beacon Press. 1972.

This is excellent for the person who says, "I want to read one book on Islam." The author is a Shi'ite Muslim with an education in Western philosophy. The book, however, is equally acceptable to Sunni Muslims, the majority Muslim community, who simply ignore the chapter on Shi'ite Islam. The style is readable and deals thematically with all major aspects of Islamic faith and practice. It is particularly eloquent in its presentation of the spiritual dimension of Islam.

Speight, R. Marston. God is One: The Way of Islam. New York: Friendship Press. 1989.

This book provides a lucid and accessible introduction to Islamic faith and practice, including historical background and discussion of Islam and Muslims in the modern world. It is richly illustrated and includes reference to Islamic contributions to science, art, medicine, architecture, and literature. It also gives an impression of the significance of Islam as a world religion. The major lack, as with most introductions to Islam written by Christians, is a section dealing specifically with Islamic law.

Christian-Muslim Relations

Kateregga, Badru D. and David W. Shenk. Islam and Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1981.

This book, written jointly by a Christian missionary in East Africa and an East African Muslim, presents the Christian and Muslim perspectives on particular themes in a series of short essays. The themes include God, prophets, scripture, sin, salvation, community. While the scope of the book makes it impossible for either author to reflect the rich diversity of his own tradition, the book is an interesting introduction and starting point for people who want to know what Christians and Muslims feel they have uniquely to say to each other about their experience of and understanding of God.

Kimball, Charles. Striving Together: A Way Forward in Christian-Muslim Relations. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. 1990.

This book provides an excellent introduction to the history and current state of Christian-Muslim relations. Most of the major themes of the encounter between Christianity and Islam in the contemporary world are dealt with and the reader is enabled to put them into both historical and social/political perspective.

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Interreligious Documents I: Guidelines for Dialogue between Christians and Muslims. Prepared by Maurice Borrmans, trans. R. Marston Speight. New York: Paulist Press. 1990.

This book is more than its title suggests. It puts the contemporary state of Christian-Muslim relations into historical context while explaining the contemporary social and political situation of Christian-Muslim encounter. It is particularly good concerning the human dynamics involved in interfaith dialogue, and much of what it says about the nature and practice of dialogue would be useful to Christians engaged in any kind of interfaith or ecumenical dialogue.

Buddhism and Christian-Buddhist Relations

LaFleur, William R. Buddhism: A Cultural Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1988.

This is one of the better general introductions to the Buddhist tradition. It includes material about modern controversies and the role of the arts along with the standard historical and doctrinal introductions.

Strong, John S. The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations. Belmont, Ca: Wadsworth.1994.

This book is a general introduction to Buddhist history. It also includes original translations of Buddhist texts that allow the reader to frame his or her own response to Buddhist thought and history.

Kalupahana, David J. A History of Buddhist Philosophy: Continuities and Discontinuities. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 1992.

An excellent history of Buddhist thought that makes difficult material about as comprehensible as it ever will be. The book is particularly useful for those with some previous university training.

Fields, Rick. How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America, 3rd edition. Boston: Shambhala Publications. 1992.

The fascinating story of the emergence of Buddhism in America. This book almost reads like a novel.

Gross, Rita. Buddhism after Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis and Reconstruction of Buddhism. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1993.

Probably the most comprehensive study of the past and present roles of women in Buddhism. The material is fascinating both for its history and theological reconstruction. This work demonstrates the vital character of North American Buddhism.

Lester, Robert C. Buddhism: The Path to Nirvana. Prospect Heights, Il.: Waveland Press. 1998 reprint.

This is another good introduction written by a scholar of the Theravada or Southern Buddhist tradition.

Mitchell, Donald W. Spirituality and Emptiness: The Dynamics of Spiritual Life in Buddhism and Christianity. 1991.

This book presents the spiritual roots of both traditions. It is written from an ecumenical Roman Catholic position and illustrates how the arts of meditation have been an important topic of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

Judaism and Christian-Jewish Relations

Limburg, James. Judaism: An Introduction for Christians. Augsburg Press.1987.

This book is recommended as a basic survey of topics including Jewish identity, worship, and teaching. It also discusses the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Questions are included which make the book valuable for group study.

Wylen, Stephen M. Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism. Paulist Press.1989.

Rabbi Wylen provides a very informative and readable introduction. The first two sections deal with Jewish self-definition, observance, and belief, while sections three and four cover Jewish history into the present. It is a very helpful book.

Shermis, Michael and Arthur Zannoni, eds., Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations. Paulist Press.1991.

The ten essays in this book offer helpful introductions to the central issues of contemporary Christian-Jewish relationship. They include, among others, discussions of understandings of scripture, the Holocaust, Israel, Jesus, feminism, and education.

Fisher, Eugene, ed., Interwoven Destinies: Jews and Christians Through the Ages and Visions of the Other: Jewish and Christian Theologians Assess the Dialogue. Paulist Press. 1993 and 1994 (respectively).

These volumes make available the excellent historical and theological lectures which made up the Ninth National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations (1986 in Baltimore). Fisher's bibliography in Visions is itself a useful resource.

Efroymson, David P., Eugene Fisher and Leon Klenicki. edd. Within Context: Essays on Jews and Judaism in the New Testament. Liturgical Press. 1993.

This volume provides for a particular need in Christian churches. It is especially valuable for those who need to prepare materials which present the Christian understanding of Judaism to others within the Church. It includes guidelines for teaching and provides valuable insights for both teachers and preachers.

Holtz, Barry W., ed. Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts. Summit Books. 1984.

This volume is for those who want to find their way deeper into the texts that form Jewish life. Excellent introductions to reading the Talmud, the Jewish prayer book, mystical texts, the Jewish approach to the Bible and more. The time spent getting acquainted with this material is well worth the effort.

Plaskow, Judith. Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective. Harper and Row. 1990.

This is a valuable exploration of male-female relations, gender roles, sexuality, and women's leadership in the community within Jewish history and tradition. Valuable in helping Christians understand how the Jewish world grapples with issues of concern to all.

Official and Semi-Official Church Documents on Christian-Jewish Relations

The positions and guidance of the churches on Christian-Jewish relations are collected in a number of different publications:

Croner, Helga, comp. Stepping Stones to Further Jewish-Christian Relations and More Stepping Stones, Paulist Press/Stimulus Books.1977 and 1985, respectively.

Ditmanson, Harold, ed. Stepping Stones to Further Jewish-Lutheran Relationships: Key Lutheran Statements. Augsburg Press.1990.

The Theology of the Churches and the Jewish People: Statements of the WCC and its Member Churches, WCC Publications.1988.

Guidelines for Christian-Jewish Relations for Use in the Episcopal Church. Forward Movement Press. 1988.

Interfaith Marriage

Dovetail: A Newsletter by and for Jewish-Christian Families. $25 for a one-year subscription (six issues). Call 1-800-530-1596 for subscriptions, at $25/year, or see www.mich.com/~dovetail.suborder.html for lists of past issues still available.

This independent newsletter attempts to balance and respect the perspectives of both Jewish and Christian partners and their children in interfaith marriages. Articles are written by interfaith couples as well as therapists, clergy, and academics. Issues addressed in past issues include: interfaith wedding ceremonies, media coverage of Jewish-Christian families, conversion, grandparents of interfaith children, religious education and intermarried clergy.

Interfaith Marriage: A Resource by Presbyterian Christians. 53pp., $1.50. Available from: PDS, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396, 1-800-524-2612.

This extremely useful booklet is the first of its kind to be published by a Protestant denomination. It contains a review of the historical and sociological context of intermarriage and Christian, Jewish, and Muslim views on the subject. It also includes case studies and sampleliturgies. While the booklet "is intended to assist Christian pastors, chaplains and pastoral counselors; interfaith couples and their families; and Christian congregations and seminaries in dealing with issues related to interfaith marriages and relationships," it is primarily directed tothose who find themselves counseling interfaith couples and their families.

Mayer, Egon. Love and Tradition: Marriage Between Jews and Christians. New York: Schocken Books, 1987.

Mayer, the director of the Jewish Outreach Institute, is the preeminent sociologist studying Jewish-Christian marriage. He draws on case studies and surveys to discuss the motivations for intermarriage, the ways in which some couples have chosen to reconcile their relationships with their families, communities and traditions, and the ways in which the children of these unions view their ethnic and religious identities. Written from the perspective of a Jew concerned with both Jewish survival and fair treatment of interfaith couples, this book provides solid background and thoughtful discussion for interested clergy.

Etiquette for Interreligious Visitation

Magida, Arthur J. and Stuart M. Matlins, edd. How to be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Relgious Ceremonies, Volumes 1 and 2. Woodstock, Vt.: Sky Light Paths. 1999.

NCCC Policy Statement

Breiner, Bert. "A Brief Theological Introduction to the Policy Statement." Published at www.ncccusa.org/interfaith/ifrresources.html   Undated.

National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. "Interfaith Relations and the Churches." Adopted by the NCCC, 1999. Published at www.ncccusa.org/interfaith/ifrresources.html or available in hard copy at Interfaith Relations, National Council of Churches, phone 212-870-2560.