Millennial writer Chris Crawford writes:

“Now is the time for dialogue and building bridges.”

These words, from Pope Leo XIV during one of his first speeches as pope, struck a chord with me as a Catholic with deeply held beliefs and as someone who seeks common ground and common action with people of other faiths. I’ve been inspired by how the first American pope has spoken in ways that align with the very best of American pluralism and Catholic social teaching: A commitment to unity, love, human dignity, and an ability to find understanding across differences.  

Perhaps these words resonated with me because they were similar to words on the cover of a book sitting near me, “We Need to Build” by Eboo Patel, Interfaith America’s founder and president.  

Indeed, building is central to all of Interfaith America’s work, and I am proud to be joining this effort in my new role as Senior Director of Civic Strategies. In a divided country, where so many people feel isolated and angry, the only way forward is to build connection and understanding – and to build coalitions that can safeguard and strengthen our democracy and society.  

As Mary Ellen Giess, IA’s Chief Program Officer, recently wrote in a “Faithful Fight” toolkit on bridgebuilding, “In a time when many communities are under threat, some argue that bridgebuilding and dialogue is irrelevant or insufficient — or worse, that it is cooperating with the enemy — and instead suggest direct activism is more impactful.  

Despite legitimate concerns, bridgebuilding remains a valuable strategy. In this moment, strengthening democracy requires a variety of approaches, contributing to outcomes that bring society more together than apart.” 

The truth is we need a wide variety of leadership and action to meet this moment. To bring our democracy to higher ground there will be times where we need to dig in and call out injustices and harmful actions for what they are. There will be times when we need to extend empathy and understanding to people who are different from who we are. And, ultimately, we can be more successful in building the pro-pluralism, pro-democracy coalition if we do these two things together.