In an effort to capture the role of courage for members of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, a University of Wisconsin graduate student helped organize a program for Madison-area high schools to foster communication and confront cultural stereotypes.

Sari Judge, a spokesperson from the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, said the program seeks to explore the concept of courageous acts and foster friendships and understanding among students.

The semester-long initiative began by recruiting participants from religious communities of the Abrahamic tradition in January. Judge said through the simple act of getting to know peers they may not have otherwise befriended and sharing cultural dishes, students discovered their own sense of bravery in everyday life.

“Through discovering your own bravery, you are able to make interpersonal connections with others,” Judge said. “This is the start of something that begins to change the fabric of civil society.”

She added the program operated under the institute’s belief that students can become more in touch with their own faith by achieving a new understanding of another religion or culture.

The program will culminate Sunday with its finale, which Judge said will include students’ original song and dance performances of their own experiences with courage.

Rohany Nayan, a graduate fellow with the Lubar Institute, said she has worked to increase dialogues between members of different faiths since she immigrated to the United States.

She said the most common response from students during their first meeting is many teenagers are not able to articulate a sense of courage, and they think they have never done anything courageous.

During the course of the program, Nayan said participants also traveled to different places of worship to broaden their cultural experiences.

As an unintended byproduct of students’ involvement, she said the program fostered a tight-knit group after illuminating “similarities to build common ground on.”

“These teens are future leaders and it is important for them to have the courage to reach out and find ways to work together for the betterment of their communities,” Nayan said. “Starting the conversation is what’s so important.”

Nayan said courage is a trait that is essential for crossing the boundaries sometimes perceived between different faiths, and it is an aspect that has a crucial application in all areas of life.

She added although every individual defines bravery differently, it will prove especially necessary during tough times for particular religious communities. She said while students often feel they are not allowed to talk about their religious beliefs outside of their places of worship, it required acts of courage from the teenagers to begin the interfaith dialogues encouraged by the program.

Nayan said she joins the program’s religious leaders, including Cantor Deborah Martin of Temple Beth El and Pastor Katie Baardseth of Midvale Lutheran Church, in the hope that relationships nurtured by the “Courage Project” will set the stage for increased openness and tolerance among the next generation.