Religious traditions often resist new ways of thinking and living— as well they should. Innovation tries to escape the failures of the past. Traditions try to retain its successes. Both innovation and tradition get things wrong, of course: Innovation can bring short-term prosperity and long-term harm; traditions can grow petty, superficial, dogmatic, and stupid. Thoughtful people try to live out and pass on the best of both modernity and tradition. That requires clear thinking, honesty, integrity, and the challenge of principled opposition.

Productive dialogues that result in mutual respect, and something approaching consensus are difficult. They require patience, imagination, hope, and (most of all) a willingness to rethink our own ideas if we expect others to do the same. The Difficult Dialogues Group at OU is a loosely organized band of students, faculty, and community members (religious and non-religious) engaged in this process. You are welcome to register and join us in these online discussions.

This site contains several different contexts for discussions related to religion. The Daily Nugget is the place for casual unfocused conversation. The Forums are a place to post and discuss specific questions in ongoing conversations. All registered users are welcome to develop Diaries, in which they can present essays, creative work, etc. Thinking about religion also involves understanding human experience. In Heartbeat registered users are welcome to submit anonymous "cries of the heart"—joys, sorrows—which often give rise to religious ideas.

This site is not a refuge for piety or political correctness. It is a gathering place for people of all kinds—religious, non-religious, and anti-religious—to help one another refine our thinking about "religious" matters. Please read the DD Site Participation Guidelines.