Guide

Seventeen ways to honor our home, the Earth. These practices help strengthen democratic values and virtues through our connection with the Earth, its current inhabitants, and its future generations.

Developed with Spirituality and Practice as part of the Practicing Democracy Project.
 

Explore the themes of the condition of whiteness, the condition of blackness, and creation and destruction in this guide to James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time and Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use.

Explore the themes of identity, race, nobility, and violence in this guide to Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use. Questions within each theme facilitate (1) your interpretation of the text, (2) your personal reflections inspired by your reading, and (3) practices for you to try that animate the book's democratic values.

Eleven ways to support healthy and wise connections online. An increasing number of our interactions about democracy occur online. We turn to our favorite websites, channels, and chat rooms for research, dialogue, and debate, often as a replacement for pursuing face-to-face opportunities. To help foster healthy engagements online, we offer these suggestions.

Developed with Spirituality & Practice as part of the Practicing Democracy Project.

Thirteen ideas for practicing democracy in the workplace. Americans spend a major portion of each week at work. The way we go about our jobs and how we relate to our coworkers—both in our own workplace and on behalf of the larger community of workers—reveals how we much we value the common good and the national motto “Out of many, one.”

Developed with Spirituality & Practice as part of the Practicing Democracy Project.

Explore the themes of the beauty of existence, the complex blessings of family, and moral light and moral blindness in this guide to Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use.

Explore the themes of systems and technology, tough ethical decisions, and class in this guide to George Saunder's Tenth of December. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use. Questions within each theme facilitate (1) your interpretation of the text, (2) your personal reflections inspired by your reading, and (3) practices for you to try that animate the book's democratic values.

Explore the themes of equality and freedom, the power of the individual, and audacity and resilience in this guide to selected poems from Walt Whitman and Maya Angelou. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use. Questions within each theme facilitate (1) your interpretation of the text, (2) your personal reflections inspired by your reading, and (3) practices for you to try that animate the poems' democratic values.

Eighteen ways your faith community can help strengthen the bonds within our democracy. Faith communities serve as pillars of light modeling civility and hospitality to the stranger; they boldly denounce injustice and offer programs to enhance the common good. Here are some ways your faith community can strengthen the bonds within our democracy.

Developed with Spirituality and Practice as part of the Practicing Democracy Project.

Explore the themes of human sin, redeeming grace, and the abundance of nature in this guide to Flannery O'Connor's short story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Part of the We the People Book Club, a year-long program contemplating America’s past and possibilities, this guide was created for individual and group use. Questions within each theme facilitate (1) your interpretation of the text, (2) your personal reflections inspired by your reading, and (3) practices for you to try that animate the novel’s democratic values.