It cannot be lost on us academics, theologians, and other scholars that when it comes to "town meeting time" on campuses, the audiences are made up predominantly of older people. When I visit a campus, I meet a goodly number of alert and concerned students all day long, in classes and seminars and social hours. But when evening comes and "town and gown" discussion occurs, only celebrities -- not usually noted for contributing substantively to reflection -- draw students and other young people in large numbers.

Of course, they are busy; good campuses really put them to work. But so are the middle-aged and senior people who show up. And one would think that the young, who have so many more years to produce effects and absorb shocks, would be more motivated than are those who have fewer years ahead of them. Are they mired in apathy or cynicism, too distracted or paralyzed to gather with older people to contribute and receive ideas about relating to surrounding society?

One area where I particularly notice the senior character of town-and-gown audiences is in the arena where inter-religious affairs are discussed and projects planned. It would be hard to get a quorum in a phone booth for a standard brand discussion of Christian ecumenism among the young, and Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Hindu-Buddhist dialogue does not ordinarily do better -- again, barring the presence of celebrities, e.g., the Dalai Lama or the Pope.

Now it happens that there are new stirrings. Today I have time to point to one that has in the winter past come into the range of the Sightings periscope. It's not our place to do endorsing or movement-blurbing. The risks for that are high, and our credentials and resources for sorting them out are meager. Still, I cannot help being cheered by this one: Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), "Nurturing a New Generation of Compassionate Global Leaders." Compassionate, yes. And passionate, too. Executive Director Dr. Eboo Patel offers more stories and ideas, and word of experiences and experiment, than one can absorb in an hour. Let him tell his own story: www.ifyc.org or e-mail infor@ifyc.org. I get regular invitations to the IFYC events, but don't live the kind of schedule that allows me to check in, so I view from a distance and read.

IFYC began in June of 1998 as "a group of religiously diverse young people from around the world who found a common interest in integrating faith, diversity and social action." (A Chicago home base is strongest, but the reach is long, and there have been programs in Asia, Africa, and Europe.) From what I have seen, Patel (a Muslim originally from India, a Rhodes Scholar, an ambitious, tireless thinker and fixer) and his company are not mushy "we're-all-in-different-boats-heading-for-the-same-shore" sorts, and they don't press an ideology. They are attentive to the particularity of faiths, agonized over the militant expressions of so many, and hopeful of finding resources to decrease the threat of religious war and domestic religious conflict. They listen, and they want to be heard.

If you start seeing more young people among the silver-haired constituencies in many serious audiences, perhaps the IFYC got them there. 

Martin E. Marty's biography, current projects, upcoming events, publications, and contact information can be found at www.illuminos.com.