♪ >> Tonight, a special edition of "MetroFocus," finding faith.

We will take you to a palace in Washington Heights where they preach with an open heart, bridging the divide between religion and tradition with honest and raw conversations.

And from religious melting pot to a city of Gods, queen is known as the birthplace of -- Queens is known as the birthplace of religious freedom.

Find out which borough is the most diverse in the nation.

And then losing their religion, is it possible for millennials to put down their phones, disconnect and actually be fulfilled?

We go in search of spirituality in a digital age.

Less, portraits of -- Plus, portraits of faith.

Come examine the human experience.

Those stories and more, as "MetroFocus" starts now.

♪ >> This is "MetroFocus," with Rafael Pi Roman, Jack Ford, and Jenna Flanagan.

"MetroFocus" is made possible by The Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney Fund.

Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation.

Barbara Hope Zuckerberg.

And by Jody and John Arnhold.

Bernard and Denise Schwartz.

Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn foundation.

The Ambrose Monell Foundation.

Estate of Roland Karlen.

>> The United Palace of spiritual arts created a monthly forum called open heart conversations, whose mission is to help New Yorkers come together and foster respect, tolerance, and human connection.

A tall order at a time when divisions are rampant throughout the country and we are increasingly -- we are increasingly opponents are seen as enemies.

The concrete goal of these conversations is for participants to learn about the different faith and wisdom traditions found within our own community, traditions such as Judaism and Christianity,, Islam, Hinduism, and African spirituality among many others.

Joining us to talk about open heart conversations is the spiritual director, Heather Shea.

Welcome to the program.

Before we get into the Open heart conversations, I wonder if you can talk about the United Palace.

What is it, where is it, how did it begin?

>> The United Palace is one of the wonder theaters, those great legendary movie theaters developed back in 1929.

In the late 1960's, because people move to the suburbs and started watching television, people were not going to the movies quite as much.

So at that point, a church but it -- River night about it and turned it into a spiritual center as well as an entertainment center.

So today we continue the tradition of having movies, arts education as well as church on Sunday, and the open heart conversations.

The United Palace is in Washington Heights.

Many New Yorkers have not spent time coming up to Washington Heights.

Got on the eight train and come on up.

>> Let's turn to open heart conversations.

Can you elaborate on the brief description I gave?

>> Sure, it is a monthly forum where we got together to discuss and explore the great religions of the world and also world traditions.

We like to have people celebrate, participate, get a little understanding, because people may not be as exposed to other traditions.

For example we recently had someone come to talk about Hinduism.

He explain a little bit about Hinduism and then we did a meditation and participated in a music call and response.

It is a little opportunity for people to get an insight they might want to learn more about.

>> Beyond learning more about the religions, the thing that grabs me/ captures me is the end goal of wanting to help foster and develop compassion, tolerance, understanding among the participants, right?

But it just strikes me.

It kind of makes me sad to think about that goal in the time we are living in.

As I said in the introduction, we kind of hate each other's guts.

We want to shut people down.

We want to shut them up.

Is this a propitious time for your endeavors?

>> Absolutely.

What's great about our endeavors as people come in the door and one of our last programs was about Judaism, it was during the harvest Festival, and we had the rabbi roll out the Torah.

We had 100 or more people holding onto the Torah of different races, religions, backgrounds, all singing and chanting together.

And afterwards somebody came and said,, this is amazing, this is really about community, this is about humanity.

It's an exploration.

We believe we are all connected to the divine spirit in some way, whether you call it God, goddess, the supreme being, whatever that is.

There's different pathways.

People will choose different pathways or traditions.

They sometimes think, minus the right way or the only way.

We are saying, come explore others.

You might like a little bit of it, you might know more about it.

We should choose our own path.

>> What if we don't have any spiritual faith?

Is it still for us?

>> Absolutely.

We are all human.

We are all interested in community.

Especially these days.

People are looking for, what is a community can be a part of?

We are very much a community, a congregation, we have servicea, shows -- services, showss, movies.

>> Talk about that.

All the things that you have.

I didn't know until we were talking about it earlier.

>> We have been a movie theater since 1929.

It was maybe four or five years ago that one of our neighbors, Lin-Manuel Miranda, was talking to our executive producer saying, this is a classic movie theater, why don't we start it again?

He helped us launch the movie series.

Every month or so, more than once a month, we have a classic movie.

And we have the last single screen major movie theater in New York City.

>> How do you keep the conversations going beyond the palace?

What happens if we don't get the conversation going?

>> Part of our philosophy is -- It's actually designed into the building.

You know that something is different when you walk into the building.

That is the way that Thomas Lam designed it.

Back in the 1920's, people were depressed, a lot was going on, you would walk into this building and all of a sudden you were in a palace and it is magnificent.

And you fill up with this joy.

You come in and up.

As you experience it, whether it is a show, a service, community activity, by the time you go out to the streets, something is different about you.

And if you get that aliveness, not awareness, that you're wonderful and others are wonderful, it gives you a different point of view.

>> Sounds very good, Heather.

Sounds very seductive.

I might drop up there.

.

>> We invite you.

We sometimes call it the best kept secret in New York.

People don't know it's there.

People have lived there their whole life and never knew the United Palace.

It's very easy to get to.

Using the subway on the bus.

>> Thank you so much, Heather, for joining us.

>> Thank you.

It was a delight.

Thank you.

♪ >> Known locally as the birthplace of American religious freedom, the neighborhood of Flushing Queens is so diverse, it's become a microcosm of world religions.

According to census statistics, Queens itself is now the most ethnically diverse county in the nation.

As far as religious diversity's concerned, in Flushing alone, which stretches no more than 2.5 square miles, there are currently nearly 200 different places of worship.

One author documents the dozens of temples, mosques, churches and synagogues that dominate the Flushing skyline and the religious communities that call this New York enclave home.

Professor Hansen joins us now.

Welcome to the program.

.

I wonder if you could elaborate just how religiously diverse is Flushing Queens.

>> As you noted, there are over 200 different places of worship in less than 2.5 square miles densely concentrated in this diverse residential and commercial district.

There are six Hindu temples, several mosques, synagogues, Buddhist temples, over 100 Korean churches alone, and some of the oldest other churches and synagogues in the city.

>> Innovation is what is driving the immigrants that have found residence in flushing, this religious pluralism, is it like a quilt where is religion is like a distinct piece sitting next to a different distinct piece or is it more like a melting pot?

Each religion keeps its labor but unite to form a more tasty stew?

>> The melting pot's early,.

I would like to think -- really common.

I would like to think of it as a mosaic or patchwork or a symphony even.

In flushing, you do see various ethnic enclaves, parts that are more Korean or Chinese, or Indian.

But because it is New York, there's not much space, people do mix quite a bit.

>> Increasingly so?

>> They do.

>> With second-generation and third-generation, probably more.

>> They bump into each other in the subway, the elevator, and so on.

They may not interact a great deal always.

But at least they tolerate and are aware of each other.

>> As you write, the famous Jesuit theologian once asked, how much pluralism and what kind of pluralism can a pluralist society stand?

Flushing -- How does the Flushing experience help answer that question?

>> At the time, the Catholic Church was Protestant Jewish, white and black.

He was trying to change how the Catholic Church viewed pluralism itself.

He asked that question that you formulated in a very different time, in different circumstances, but it's more relevant today in a place like flushing, and increasing religious diversity in America, too, studying a community like flushing, any community can absorb a tremendous amount of religious diversity and still turn out OK.

There are growing pains.

Parking is an issue.

[LAUGHTER] You might imagine when people come to shop and worship, and so on, it's probably one of the biggest issues.

There are social limits, New Yorkers like their privacy.

They may be aware of others but they still want their privacy and they may not always interact in meaningful ways.

.

There are certainly exceptions.

Many people enjoy many people from different religions and cultures and so forth.

There are also limits of race and ethnicity.

There are parts of Flushing that are segregated.

There are ethnic enclaves, like we just spoke about.

Their theological limits as well.

Some are not interested in in speaking to a Muslim, if they are an evangelical fundamentalist Christian.

They would rather convert them.

Right?

Those are some of the limits.

But the good news is -- People can live together.

In civil coexistence.

>> History has taught us, unfortunately, diverse places, even as diverse -- maybe not quite as diverse as flushing Queens, but it can turn into its opposite.

How does that happen and how do we avoid it?

>> I think places that are just beginning to experience rapid demographic change are the ones that are most afraid of the other and of religious difference and ethnic difference.

You saw parts of the country that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump that were characterized by some extent by that nature -- that this kind of loss or nostalgia for a kind of circa 1940's, early 1950's white Protestant America, that is changing.

President Trump himself is from Queens ironically.

He might be afraid of that diversity in some ways.

That's actually what makes America great again, diversity and immigration.

>> Professor, your book is "the city of God's: religious freedom, immigration, and pluralism in flushing Queens," it's a great read for this day and age.

Great having you, Professor.

♪ For many Jewish New Yorkers, the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a time for prayer, reflection and family.

But how can the wisdom of the Torah and the Jewish sages guide the lives of those who are today enmeshed in the frenzied and disconnected society that is warping all the core values?

That's the question Rabbi Mark Wilde attempts to answer in his book, "beyond the instant: Jewish wisdom for lasting happiness in a fast-paced social media world."

He joins us now.

Welcome back to the program.

>> Thank you for having me.

>> As you point out, in this country and all developed countries around the world, we have more comfort and more freedom -- more of everything that money can buy, just about, yet we are more depressed and more anxious than never before.

How do you explain that?

>> That's a great question and it is the reason I wrote the book.

Money and affluence, financial security are all important things.

But all the studies show that they are not factors -- they are not determining factors in happiness.

Provided you have your basics, food, shelter, clothing, those types of things are not going to provide happiness beyond the instant.

What will provide happiness beyond the instant R values -- are values.

A value driven life that has purpose and meaning.

All the studies demonstrate and this is what Judaism has been teaching for centuries is that if you live a life based on certain values, and you focus on those values, one of which, I start the book off by talking about giving, and prosperous, more developed societies, we tend to focus on ourselves, our own professional advancement, but doing and giving for others actually produces more long-lasting contentment and happiness.

And that is why you are not going to necessarily see happiness flourishing more in a more developed prosperous country.

>> You talk about the values and the values that come from traditional religious beliefs.

You also write about how we have become skeptical of religious beliefs in our age.

We are in an age where religion is used as an excuse for terrorism, sexual predation, example we are familiar with.

Doesn't it make sense to be skeptical of religion?

>> Where throwing out the baby with the bathwater -- >> We are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

There are many reasons to hate religion today.

There more bloodshed in the name of Allah, God, however you want to refer to the Almighty.

The examples you gave are true, I can't deny that.

But I also can't deny that religion has promoted values for centuries that have cap people not only happy, but productive.

And there are actually unfortunately -- there has been more bloodshed in the 20th century not due to religion but other forces, but if you strip down what religion is supposed to give, it is supposed to give eternal values.

You raise an important point.

Which is, how do you do that, if everyone is skeptical?

We don't believe in objective morality anymore?

What we need to argue about is we need to go back and ascertain that there are certain truths -- there are certain rights and wrongs.

When we can embrace those and live our lives accordingly, we will be happier.

One of the studies I demonstrate in the book was Rosetta Pennsylvania, the most studied town in the U.S., in the 1950's, they had blessed that half the rate of heart -- less than half the rate of heart disease than the rest of the nation, no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, nobody was on welfare, very little crime, it was a very boring place to live.

They discovered something very simple -- Rosetta, Pennsylvania was settled by Italian immigrants from southern Italy, a place called Rosetta, and they brought with them a tremendous sense of values and community.

And it would -- They would stop with each other and talk to each other in the streets.

Everybody attended mass every Sunday.

They all went to church.

They counted 22 civic organizations in a population of less than 2000 which means everybody was volunteering.

Everybody was praying and looking out for each other.

And they were happier.

>> So what do you say?

I'm sure you've heard people tell you, rabbi, I want to believe what you say, I want to connect myself to something greater than myself, but I just can't do it, I can't change.

>> I have a chapter devoted to that.

"the power of change."

If Judaism stands for anything, it is all about change.

Why go and pray if you can't change?

Why go to therapy?

I like to put my favorite Jewish philosopher -- He was grappling with the pre-determinists, the extreme astrologist's that thought everything was in the stars and you could not shape your own feet, your own destiny -- own fate, your own destiny.

We believe you can change.

Just take baby steps.

Don't try to do everything overnight.

We have an important principle in Judaism that after one's behavior, follows the heart.

You have to be feeling everything.

Just perform an act of kindness.

Do the right thing.

The more right things a person does, the more we develop, the more we are shaped.

It's just a question of taking one little step.

>> Rabbi, the book is "Beyond the instant," as I told you in a private conversation, the book already affected me profoundly.

Thank you so much.

>> It's really an honor.

A pleasure.

Thank you.

♪ >> What role do organized religions play in the lives of human beings?

Do they buy their very nature divide us rather than unite us?

Often turning the unbeliever into an infidel and they threat?

Or other commonalities of different faith expressions ultimately greater and more fundamental than the differences?

The documentary, "Sacred," which took more than 40 film cruise to 25 countries and there is more than 20 years in the making provides a hopeful answer to that question.

here's a preview.

♪ >> Learning about God made me mad about all the things I did in my life.

The sins I committed.

I was just like, man, there's got to be something better.

There's got to be something better.

>> [Speaking Spanish] -- >> [Speaking Spanish] >> [Speaking Spanish] >> Joining us now to talk about it are Dr. Bill Baker, and Tom L., the film's director.

An producer.

Welcome to the program.

As I made clear in the introduction, this is truly a film of epic proportions.

How did the idea of it come to be?

>> It is a really interesting story that involves the beginning of this film.

That is one of our board members, one of the channel 13 board members, a man by the name of George O'Neill, who was retiring, he is still alive, still with us, when I retired, he said, "I want to give you a large gift, my wife and I, Abby, want to give you a gift for a project you want to do."

I thought about it.

I had made other significant movies on faith subjects.

I thought, I want to do a big global film on faith.

And let me tell you why -- First, as you said in your introduction, often, religion gets blamed for a lot of the problems in this world, rightly so.

However, of the 7.5 billion people in this world, 6 billion of them have faith.

So, it must mean something.

It is the way many of us get through life.

It gives us a centering of values, it gives us a chance to kind of orient ourselves to communicating about the meaning of life, and so, for me, trying to deal with that in the most positive way was my dream.

I had originally started thinking about sacred places and a bunch of other things.

Finally when it came to it, Had to work really hard at raising quite a bit of money to make the film, I realized I didn't have the skill to do it, so, I needed somebody that did.

Hence -- your other guest.

Tom Lennon.

Who really is a gifted filmmaker who helped take that original dream and vision and he really made it sing.

I taught for a long time at the Juilliard school.

One of our top composers did the music for the film from Juilliard, Ed billows.

We had quite an experience here in this multi-year even.

>> Do you know any other person who gets approached by a friend and says, "I want to make a gift for you to do whatever you want?"

[LAUGHTER] >> That doesn't happen often.

>> The only person.

>> Let's talk about the making of the film.

I used to run a film union.

I know firsthand that a shoot with a second unit can be difficult to coordinate, how did you coordinate this beautiful seamless film with more than 40 units around the world?

>> It was pretty nuts.

I didn't want to do a crowd sourced thing where everybody sends in whatever they want.

I wanted something much more control.

I wanted it to be a film that I directed.

But I wanted to direct it in a very different way.

We spent a lot of time plotting the film out before we hired anybody.

And then we gave really kind of micromanage-y fussy requirements, about what cameras to use and what stabilization, lens is to use, that sort of stuff -- But then we found all these unbelievable filmmakers, shooters all over the world, almost nobody said "no" when we approached them, and they said, we want you to build this little piece of this larger picture.

And it was an astonishing adventure.

I can't tell you.

>> There are so many stories, so many vignettes.

Have my favorite stories -- favorite segments.

What is your favorite story and the film?

>> Many short pieces.

One is almost six minutes long.

A group of prisoners in Angola prison, who have no prospect of coming out anytime soon.

Maybe not ever.

And the faith they conjure, with enormous creativity and conviction -- They find freedom inside.

I think that is maybe one of my favorites.

>> There was a woman in Connecticut Diane.

-- Connecticut dying.

Her thoughts and her good articulation of her life and the meaning of her life as she is dying and how she is dying, praying for other people, it was a very touching and moving segment.

I like that a lot.

>> What is the ultimate impact you want the film to have on the viewers?

What impact did it have on you?

>> We know religion and faith are a big part of the majority of people's lives in this world.

To celebrate that, to realize that we are all kind of -- all trying to do the same thing, to try to get closer to God, is a good thing.

>> Gentlemen, you did a beautiful job.

It's a beautiful film.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you so much for making it.

>> Very fun.

>> Thanks for tuning into "MetroFocus."

You can take our award-winning program with you wherever you go with our "MetroFocus" podcast.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Simply ask your speaker to play "MetroFocus," the podcast.

Also available at metrofocus.org and on the NPR1 app.

♪ >> "MetroFocus" is made possible by -- ♪ Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III.

Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation.

The Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney Fund.

Bernard and Denise Schwartz.

Barbara Hope Zuckerberg.

Jody and John Arnhold.

Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn foundation.

The Ambrose Monell Foundation.

Estate of Roland Karlen.

♪ [CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY.

VISIT NCICAP.ORG]