"To have a situation in which we recognize the full equality of women changes everything,” says Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones.

“There is a whole historical world of women who have risen as leaders in religious communities because they were called to do it, not because someone said they could,” according to the first woman president of Union Theological Seminary.

This award-winning economist is credited with bringing down Thailand’s HIV infection rate, lowering its high birth rate, reducing poverty rates, and championing sustainable development ideas that work in rural settings.

“The idea of the Talmud is that you are allowed to ask questions about everything,” says Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. He calls the Talmud “the central pillar of Jewish culture” and “a vast book encouraging you to ask questions.”

The Boston Archdiocesan Choir School has been described not as a school with a choir, but as a choir with a school.

"These schools are the jewels of their neighborhood, and we need to save them," says Susan Work, president of Holy Family Ministries in Chicago.

“Our Christian faith,” says David Montague, director of the Memphis Teacher Residency program, “informs our belief that every child can learn.”

"It is our love that brings us into communion with God, not our knowledge about God," he says. "It’s the difference between looking at a photograph of somebody you love and looking into the eyes of someone you love."

"I feel the young people and children, adolescents, all of them, they all need an opportunity...they need a good education," says Sister Judith Lupo, head of Brazil's largest church-run social services agency.

The Claremont School of Theology, the Islamic Center of Southern California, and the Academy for Jewish Religion California are partners in a new effort to educate leaders for churches, synagogues, and mosques in shared classes.