It is the essence of ecumenical work to seek ways of helping all humanity to know the nurturing and continually creating presence of God. Denominations organize themselves differently but many forms of ministry are best carried out when denominations work together. We value our relationships with partner denominations, local, other state, National and the World Councils of Churches. We advocate for religious freedom and human rights in the U.S. and around the world in many ways, including The Religious Nationalisms Project (TRNP).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CALL TO COUNTER HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES
NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES' LETTER ON HINDU NATIONALISM
PALESTINE AND ISRAEL EDUCATIONAL AND ADVOCACY RESOURCES
December 2023 Statement from Churches for Middle East Peace
STATEMENTS AND RESOURCES ON GAZA AND ISRAEL
New York State Council of Churches Statement on the Current Conflict in Israel and Palestine
Churches for Middle East Peace has recurring events on Mondays, Wednesdays, and/or Thursdays. Below is a reminder of the links for all of these events. We will see you on Zoom!
Wednesday Prayer Call at 12:30 PM ET Weekly Wednesday Prayer Call Link
Meeting ID: 849 9109 9007
Passcode: 960852
Thursday Briefing on Current News at 10:00 AM ET Weekly Thursday Briefing Link
No Meeting ID
Passcode: 263314
Community Calls to Congress First Monday of the month at 12:00 PM ET Monthly Monday Calls Link
Meeting ID: 835 7258 2836
Passcode: 133495
Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA)
National Council of Churches, USA
National Council of Churches of India
Member denominations of New York State Council of Churches
Churches United In Christ is the cover site for Churches Organized for Christian Unity.
July 3, 2025 - This Pastoral Letter in Response to Violence in NY is written by Bishop Lee M. Miller, II of the Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It is composed of 170 congregations in Upstate New York.
New York State Reparations Task Force - Press release August 1, 2024
Denominational and Secular Resources to Address Structural Racism
Indian American Muslim Council
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
International Freedom Secretariat
Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD)
The Religious Nationalisms Summit: Countering Religious Nationalisms Multi-Faith Public Witness in Today’s Political Climate - February 6, 2025
International Religious Freedom Summit - February 4-5, 2025 Washington DC
Pre and Post-Election Tour on Christian Nationalism - On October 22, we embarked on a pre-election tour on White Christian Nationalism which began at Messiah Lutheran Church in Rotterdam, New York and engaged congregations on the underpinnings of in Christian Nationalist and our rigorous opposition to New York Proposition 1–the Equal Rights Amendment.
See the conversations here–Christian Nationalism and Proposition 1-The Equal Rights Amendment, Messiah Lutheran Church, Rotterdam, NY, October 22, 2024
White Christian Nationalism in Buffalo Two Years After 5/14 TOPS Supermarket Shooting, Trinity Episcopal Church, Buffalo, NY, October 29, 2024
White Christian Nationalism in Batavia Two Years After Re-Awaken America Tour, First Presbyterian Church, Batavia, NY, October 30, 2024
Conversation with US Justice Department and Clergy, Springfield, Ohio, October 31, 2024
Conversation on Christian Nationalism in Cincinnati, Clifton United Methodist Church, Cincinnati, November 1, 2024
White Christian Nationalism in the Southern Tier, United Presbyterian Church, Binghamton, NY, November 3, 2024 -
Reflections on Christian Nationalism After the Presidential Election, The Riverside Church, NYC, November 24, 2024
Community Reflections on the Buffalo TOPS Shooting, June, 2024
Responding to the Global Rise of Religious Nationalisms: Looking Through a Lens at Hindu Supremacy in India - The Chicagoland Tour: Oct. 4-6, 2024, Friday, Oct 4, 7pm - 9pm | Broadway United Methodist Church, 3338 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657; Saturday, Oct. 5, 10am - 1pm | Wesley United Methodist Church, 21 E. Franklin Ave., Naperville, IL 60540; Sunday, Oct 6, 12pm - 3pm | Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 1401 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
Nurture the Soul: A conversation with member ministries of the UCC Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM), United Black Christians, August 8, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
Silence is Complicity - Wednesday August 14, 2024 at 7PM
Nurture the Soul: A conversation with member ministries of the UCC Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM), Colectivo de UCC Latinx Ministries, August 15, 2024 at 3:30 PM
Mennonite Action's next mass call - August 22, 2024 8PM - Join Mennonite Action's next mass call on Thursday August 22nd. This month, we'll hear report backs from participants and supporters of our All God's Children's March for a Ceasefire, and from participants of the Interfaith Action for Palestine coalition that mobilized in Washington, DC from July 28-30.
Church of the Ascension, Rochester, NY - Rev. Peter Cook's sermon, December 22, 2024
The Religious Nationalism Project was started to help congregations, and the public identify the way in which governments can adopt and twist any religion to deny freedom and democracy to religious minorities and people of the same faith who disagree with the government’s interpretation. We then offer practical steps on how to live into our faith authentically and act and speak in the face of opposition. Our latest tour focused on Christian Nationalism before and after the Presidential election. This tour was made possible by a grant from West Virginia Council of Churches. Here are the recordings for the tour:
Christian Nationalism and Proposition 1-The Equal Rights Amendment, Messiah Lutheran Church, Rotterdam, NY, October 22, 2024
White Christian Nationalism in Buffalo Two Years After 5/14 TOPS Supermarket Shooting, Trinity Episcopal Church, Buffalo, NY, October 29, 2024
White Christian Nationalism in Batavia Two Years After Re-Awaken America Tour, First Presbyterian Church, Batavia, NY, October 30, 2024
Conversation with US Justice Department and Clergy, Springfield, Ohio, October31, 2024
Conversation on Christian Nationalism in Cincinnati, Clifton United Methodist Church, Cincinnati, November 1, 2024
James Wallis offered a lecture on November 2 in Columbus, Ohio under the auspices of the Ohio Council of Churches. No recording is available. However, he gave a lecture at Hope College around the same time offering similar themes.
White Christian Nationalism in the Southern Tier, United Presbyterian Church, Binghamton, NY, November 3, 2024 - Panel of speakers to include: Prof. David Cingranelli, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Rev. Douglas Taylor, pastor at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, Rev. Kimberly Chastain, pastor at the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, Rev. Peter Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches and Principal of The Religious Nationalisms Project, Rashida Tyler, Deputy Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches, Rev. Jim Ketcham, Chaplaincy Coordinator and Policy Lead on Criminal Justice Reform, New York State Council of Churches, Rev. Neal Christie, Principal of The Religious Nationalisms Project
Reflections on Christian Nationalism After the Presidential Election, The Riverside Church, NYC, November 24, 2024
Community Reflections on the Buffalo TOPS Shooting, June, 2022
“The Religious Nationalisms Project” (TRNP) is a national initiative designed to convene, educate, train, and mobilize faith communities in response to the rising threat of religious nationalisms in the United States. It is an initiative of the New York State Council of Churches.
The Religious Nationalisms Project (TRNP) equips religious groups with proactive strategies to safeguard religious freedom and advance justice for all, irrespective of faith identity. By leveraging collective strength and diverse perspectives, faith communities build and model inclusive, resilient alternatives that uphold fundamental human dignity, human rights, and social harmony across different faith traditions.
The Religious Nationalisms Project aims to help houses of worship of all faiths to discuss and evaluate where and how religious nationalism functions in their communities, nationally, and globally.
Religious nationalism threatens democracy by distorting religion to serve authoritarian agendas. When governments misuse religion to justify discrimination and violence, both religious freedom and human dignity are at risk.
The Religious Nationalisms Project responds by fostering cross-faith dialogue, examining how religious nationalism operates across traditions and regions. We build relationships among communities impacted by rising authoritarianism and equip them to defend democracy, human rights, and pluralism.
Too often, religious nationalism is viewed in isolation, focusing on one faith tradition without recognizing how forms of religious nationalism reinforce one another. Our approach breaks this siloed thinking and helps diverse communities recognize common threats and shared solutions.
An Alternative Vision
Authentic faith practices are rooted in love of God and neighbor. They uphold the equal worth of all people and resist attempts to manipulate religion for political gain. The Religious Nationalisms Project calls people of faith to reclaim this vision—defending democracy, human rights, and a pluralistic society where all can flourish.
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July 19, 2025 - PRESS RELEASE from International Human Rights Committee - Charity is Now a Crime: Ahmadi Man Jailed for Distributing Biryani in Pakistan
June 9, 2025 - An important piece of legislation, H.R. 3565, "The Block the Bombs Act," was recently introduced in Congress that I think deserves our support. Here is the press release from Rep. Ramirez who introduced the bill. And here is the action alert https://www.blockthebombs.org/ for contacting your Member of Congress. The bill has the support of a number of national organizations including churches (PCUSA, UCC, UMC, Disciples of Christ.)
The Aguilar Conversations: A Global Perspective interview with our Executive Director - The Trump administration has made false accusations against Catholic Charities and the Lutheran organization Global Refuge about its immigration efforts. Is the Trump administration attempting to delegitimize the mainline church in order to lift up Christian nationalism. Rev. Peter Cook executive director of the New York State Council of Churches joins us to discuss this issue. The Aguilar Report Interview
The Religious Nationalisms Project held its inaugural conference on February 6, 2025 in Washington DC. Here is the full six hour recording of all of the proceedings. At the conference we critically reflected on the scourge of religious nationalisms where governments adopt and twist religions and weaponize them against religious minorities or those of the same faith who disagree with the government’s interpretation of the faith. The Religious Nationalisms Project aims to highlight the common theological and ethical virtues of different religions and how these virtues can be used to critique government systems which use religion for their economic, militaristic, racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-immigrant objectives.
Ani Zonneveld, Muslims for Progressive Values, discussed Islamic nationalism (see presentation here).
Ria Chakrabarty, Hindus for Human Rights presented a lecture on Hindu Nationalism (see slide deck here).
Suggested by Jim Ketcham
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future,” by Robert P. Jones (2023)
White Too Long: The Legacy Of White Supremacy in American Christianity, by Robert P. Jones (2020)
Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (2020)
Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice, by Kerry Connelly (2020)
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin Diangelo (2018)
Dear White Christian: What Every White Christian Needs to Know About How Black Christians See, Think, and Experience Racism in America, by Aaron J. Layton (2017)
The End of White Christian America, by Robert P. Jones (2016)
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, by Carol Anderson, Ph.D. (2016)
Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in United States History and Life, by David Billings (2016)
Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame and the Rise of the Right, by Arlie Russell Hochschild (2024)
Christians across the theological spectrum are increasingly speaking out. Please read the recent letter from Over 300 American Christian Leaders Appeal for Indian Religious Minorities initiated by Neal Christie and Peter Cook.
Religious Minorities and Transnational Violence: A Seminar Sponsored by Sikh Assembly, Peter Cook and Neal Christie, and full video with Congressman Greg Pence (R-IN), Simar Singh, and USCIRF Commissioner, and Asif Mahmood. Click here for more pictures and background on this event.
India Day Parade delights thousands in NYC. Here's more on a float that sparked controversy.
Ram Temple tableau prompts Indian Muslims of North America to withdraw float from NYC parade
Lecture by The Reverend Dr. Munther Issac, Pastor Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, at The Riverside Church, Silence is Complicity, August 14, 2024
Support for Christian Nationalism on All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 Values Atlas
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A Pithy Primer on Christian Nationalism on Tik Tok
Faith and Democracy: Confronting White Christian Nationalism
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