Who We Are

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CCIU promotes public awareness, understanding about, and respect for, Connecticut's religious pluralism through an array of programs and initiatives. CCIU's principal focus is on educating youth and adults about the world's religions, the values they share in common, and their differences, and how they have contributed to our respective world views and identities.

The Connecticut Committee for Interreligious Understanding (CCIU) was founded in 1994 to organize a program and worship service in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. The Committee continued to exist because the participants at that event enthusiastically endorsed the idea of ongoing dialogue and cooperation to provide an effective public voice on issues of interreligious concern.

Encouraged by a second successful conference in 1997 and another in 1998, the Committee continued to speak out and to provide resources and speakers to religious communities, schools, and community organizations.

The Committee was renamed the Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding in 2003, when it was incorporated and received a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS. 

Since then, CCIU has continued to expand its program offerings, reaching increasing numbers of people throughout Connecticut through a variety of activities, programs, and events. 

Today, our work is more important than ever. In the face of growing prejudice, especially Islamophobia and antisemitism, we continue to build a community that fosters interreligious understanding and acts against ignorance, fear, hatred and violence.