Maxwell Institute Podcast #200: Interfaith Friendship, featuring Dr. Andrew Reed

Maxwell Institute Podcast

Christianity, Education, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 809 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this interview, Rosalynde Welch and Andy Reed explore the impact of the information age on religious understanding, the importance of religious literacy, and how interfaith engagement can foster mutual respect and reduce conflict. Andy Reed shares insights on navigating religious diversity, the role of authentic sources, and practical steps for fostering deeper interfaith relationships.

Key Topics

Impact of the information age on religious understanding
Krister Stendahl's three rules of interfaith engagement
The importance of authentic sources and insider voices
Moving beyond religious tolerance to mutual encouragement
The role of religious literacy in reducing conflict

Transcript

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0:00.0	From Brigham Young University's Maxwell Institute, this is the Maxwell Institute podcast, Faith Illuminating Scholarship.
0:12.7	Today I have for you an interview with Professor Andrew Reed, who is the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding and an associate professor at Brigham Young University.
0:25.2	I invited him on the show to talk about interfaith engagement, which is one of the Maxwell Institute's four research initiatives.
0:33.6	As current holder of the Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, Andy is an affiliate fellow with the Institute, and we've begun partnering with him to promote efforts at BYU and beyond that foster understanding among people of differing religious faiths.
0:50.3	We couldn't ask for a more experienced leader for this initiative. Dr. Reed is an expert
0:57.5	on the history of relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and the founder of the
1:02.9	BYU Council for Interfaith Engagement. He recently published an article in BYU Studies
1:08.8	Quarterly titled, Where Risk and Reward Meet, Interfaith
1:13.8	Engagement and Learning. And we use that as the jumping off place for our discussion. The conversation
1:21.4	is packed with interesting ideas from Dr. Reed, but my favorite was a new insight he shared
1:27.1	about the two great commandments,
1:29.9	to love God and to love our neighbor. Andy wondered what would happen if we learned from our
1:35.7	practice of the first commandment, love God, how to better observe the second commandment.
1:43.3	We approach God with respect and awe and wonder. What if we
1:48.5	approached our neighbor with a similar respect, awe, and wonder? We only worship God, of course,
1:56.8	but I found that in my most meaningful relationships, when I've truly been able to see the image of God in another person, despite our differences, I've experienced something like wonder.
2:10.6	I felt called beyond myself in a way I recognize from my worship of God.
2:17.4	I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Andrew Reed. in a way I recognize from my worship of God.
2:21.7	I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Andrew Reed.
2:26.5	Andy Reed, welcome to the Maxwell Institute podcast.
2:28.7	Thank you. It's great to be here.
2:33.0	You are a professor of religious understanding. So as a professor, tell me, is religious understanding
	...

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