Stack focuses on the world's major religions, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, as well as many branches of Christianity, and other smaller but thriving faiths, such as Ba'hai, Shintoism and the Sikhism.

"Bigotry begins with ignorance," writes Stack, "and many of today's children know little or nothing about faiths other than their own. We hope these pages will show them similarities and connectedness so that they can be tomorrow's peacemakers."

Stack focuses on a faith's origins and the founding events from which it emerged. She also conveys some of that faith's religious traditions and practices.

Arranged alphabetically, 28 groups have been included. Of course, there will be widely divergent views on who should have been highlighted. Stack settled on the Hopis to represent Native American religions and the Yorubas to represent African religions. Because she also gave an entry to the Salvation Army, I felt she might also have described the Wiccan religion, the New Age movement and other American phenomena.

But I enjoyed reading about the Salvation Army as well as all the other entries. I think this is a wonderful way to begin to present the diversity of religious experience in America and I'll look forward to a second volume.

Chinaberry Books
In the process of trying to explain the specifics of what makes the Mormon faith different from other Christian religions to her 7-year-old son, Peggy Fletcher Stack found a void of clear, accurate information about the world's faiths presented in a manner children can understand. So, having a deep interest in religion herself (Stack studied at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley and covers Religion for the Salt Lake Tribune), she bit off what turned out to be a lot to chew: writing a book that not only explains the roots and basic beliefs and practices of 28 different religions in terms a child can understand, but that does so with an accuracy that, with painstaking editing, satisfies the clergy of each of the faiths represented. (That is saying something!)

In my opinion, this book belongs in every home where there are curious, informed people. Both adults and children will find facts here that will answer many of the vague unknowns and right many of the misunderstandings most of us have about various religions. To the child, it is an unusually lucid and understandable glimpse, if not awakening, into those paths that bring so very many people the world over to a relationship with their God. A wonderful preface explains why the religions chosen to discuss were selected. Hopis, for instance, were chosen to convey the sense of all Native American paths, although there are indeed wide differences among the more than 500 traditions. On the other hand, the book includes Yorubas to represent all African tribal religions, of which there are hundreds. And because America's religious palette is colored so strongly by Christianity, more Christian variations are described than other religions. "Indeed," reads the preface, "an American child is more likely to meet a Presbyterian than a Zoroastrian."

The illustrations contribute immensely to the value of A WORLD OF FAITH. Resembling panes of stained glass, each painting contains significant symbols or images important to that faith. These, combined with a very readable, understandable text, make for an experience that is one-of-a-kind for introducing children to other people's religious beliefs. An important and deeply satisfying book!
(7-12 yrs. And younger, if there is interest.)

Christian Science Sentinel, Wendy Winegar
"The Olympic ideal seeks to cultivate international understanding and generate peace among nations—to break through physical and mental barriers and perform in the words of the Olympic motto, "swifter, higher, and stronger." And because of the international nature of the Games, the Olympic charter requires that religious services representing five major world religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism—will be offered to the athletes in the Olympic Village on the campus of the University of Utah.

Responding to this requirement, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) created the Interfaith Roundtable in 1997, designed to develop the chaplain and religious service programs for the participants.

The work of the Rountable has cultivated an appreciation and respect for each person's commitment to God. Through private donations, $2 million was raised to renovate the 150-year-old Fort Douglas Chapel on campus. As the religious center of the Olympic Village, it will provide church services as well as provide a place for the 32 Olympic chaplains to meet with athletes on an as-desired basis. The chapel will remain permanently as an interfaith center at the university after the Olympics are over.

While 75 percent of the 2.2 million people in the state of Utah are Mormon, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints figures prominently in Olympic activities, the religiously diverse Roundtable, including Christian Science, shows that there is a plurality of religions in the state.

As a result of the SLOC Roundtable's work, the official Web site of the Winter Olympics will present a one-page history of each church in the state, as well as a directory of its services, including times, locations, and contact information.

The SLOC Rountable has also copublished A World of Faith, a book honoring the diversity of religions represented by the 82 countries involved in the Olympics. Written by Peggy Fletcher Stack and illustrated by Kathleen Peterson, it is a compilation of one-page introductions to 28 different religions. The book concludes with a section titled, "The Golden Rule as Taught in Many Traditions." It can be ordered on-line from Signature Books. The Interfaith Roundtable has worked to set a tone of respect and love for the religions of the world.

Statement from the Olympic (SLOC) Interfaith Roundtable, Jan Saeed
Light the Fire Within—the theme of our Olympics. Most Utahns, I believe, would say that their faith or something "greater" has helped them achieve great things. Most people also turn to a higher power to light that fire within, that human drive or spirit that makes each of us want to excel though the path is fraught with challenges and failures; but the path is also paved with the eternal hope for a personal success.

When an athlete achieves excellence, often times a turning to God, faith, and family is acknowledged as a source of strength that carried them on when things got tough. It is faith that teaches a human being to struggle beyond what is felt to be bearable. It is faith that reaches for excellence in the individual, physically and spiritually, as they are components of the one same human being. In many cases it is faith that lights that fire within; faith that one can achieve more, do better the next time—that there is more to give when all seems to be gone.

Though faith can be such a strength to an individual, and communities of faith can forge the strongest bond amongst individuals in creating new civilizations, prejudice of religions can be one of the worst scourges as a cause of war and hate.

The Olympic competition crosses boundaries of nation, race, and religion. It is a time of international truce. A time to celebrate the excellence of the human spirit through its physical manifestation in the games. It is a time of bringing people together from all over the planet to share in our differences and rejoice in the victories of individual striving.

This time gives us an opportunity to reflect on more than just winning and losing. It gives us a time to look at every person from various parts of the world as a fellow human being in the eternal struggle called life.

Religion has always been the great source of knowledge and understanding of the meaning of life across the planet. Though different teachers have come from time to time, two underlying messages have always been taught, that there is a need for love and connectedness and that there is a source greater than us. The first message—of love and interconnectedness among all human beings on this planet—can be felt at the Olympics. The sports competition has a way of breaking down barriers that nations, races, and religious practice often build up.

The SLOC Olympic book, A World of Faith, constitutes a gift of understanding to people of the world. Our SLOC Interfaith Roundtable has worked together for the past few years to help support the athletes, their families, and the Salt Lake City community at large in welcoming the world to Utah, USA. We are proud to say that many faith communities have been able to come together, reach out together, serve together.

Since it is through the various faith communities of the world that people learn the qualities that are required by the Olympic ideals, we feel it can only be helpful to our greater understanding and appreciation of each other to know more about each other's faiths. This book, though a children's book, shares some basic beliefs of many of the world's religions. If the first ideal of the Olympics is peace, what better way to help bring it about than increasing the understanding of each other's faith? If the second ideal is friendship and goodwill to all people, what better way to bring it about than through knowledge and understanding of our different faiths. The third ideal is fair play and sportsmanship, spiritual qualities that many learn as they experience justice and refinement through their faith communities. The fourth, appreciation of fine arts is part of learning of other cultures. Religion is one of the fundamental building blocks of any culture or civilization. The fifth and last ideal is brightness and enthusiasm for the games. Each religion encourages people to let their inner light shine, the light that is sparked by the fire within and that radiates from every human being when striving for excellence.

May this book bring each of its readers a better understanding of people of many faiths and help them see where some of the fire within each of us has come from!