"When Christians and then Jews (or, Catholics, Protestants, and Jews) first came to these shores, they encountered not only one another, but also the faith of indigenous people as well as that of Africans imported as slave labor. They did not remain unaffected. Most recently, other religious voices have been raised throughout the land: Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and others. How do people of faith, whether Christian or Jew, respond to these new voices; how do we learn of them while teaching them about ourselves in ways that enable us to live and work together in harmony? Why is it so important that we do so today?"

*Diana L. Hayes areas of specialization are Womanist Theology, Black Theology, U.S.Liberation Theologies, Contextual Theologies, Religion and Public Life, and African American and Womanist Spirituality. She is the author of over sixty articles and has written and/or co-edited six books, including: Many Faces, One Church: Cultural Diversity and the American Catholic Experience. Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.