At a time of constitutional stress tests and overlapping crises, the question is not whether we face deep division or escalating polarization — it is how we choose to respond.
In moments like this, it can be tempting to retreat to our separate corners, surrounded by those with whom we already agree. But retreating is not a strategy for building a shared future. What this moment calls for is something more demanding: collective action through bridgebuilding — anchored in shared service and grounded in our common humanity.
Across the country, the foundations of our civic and social life are being reshaped by threats to safety, frayed connections, and challenges to belonging and democratic norms. It is fair to ask whether bridgebuilding is sufficient — or even appropriate — in a moment of such urgency.
Both experience and evidence point in the same direction: engaging across divides is not a departure from meaningful action — it is one of the ways we make that action more effective, more inclusive, and more durable over time. The question, then, is not whether to step away from bridgebuilding, but how to sharpen its practice — and meet this pivotal moment with greater clarity, courage and purpose.
Bridgebuilding as Civic Infrastructure
Interfaith America defines bridgebuilding as “the intentional practice of coming together across differences to respect diverse identities and divergent ideologies, cultivate mutually inspiring relationships, and cooperate to advance the common good.” But bridgebuilding is more than a definition, or a moment of goodwill or a single act of convening; it is both a choice in any given moment and a lifelong practice that requires humility, courage, and continued learning.
At its best, bridgebuilding is not simply about bringing people into the same room. It is about helping people engage differences in ways that make cooperation possible. It is not a surface-level tactic but rather a strategy for how communities and institutions build the relational and civic infrastructure needed for real, sustained change.
This work matters because diversity includes not only the differences we celebrate, but also the differences that challenge us. Bridgebuilding does not ask us to erase those differences or to pretend they are easy. Instead, it asks us to engage them honestly, listen across discomfort, and stay in a relationship long enough to discover what shared action might still be possible. That is how a diverse democracy moves from coexistence to cooperation.
How Bridgebuilding Strengthens Democracy
Bridgebuilding is not new. In moments of deep division, societies have repeatedly turned to bridgebuilding as an essential means of holding together the work of justice and the work of living together.
The Civil Rights Movement, led by figures such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and later expanded through efforts like Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, succeeded not only because of moral clarity, but because of its ability to build broad coalitions across lines of race, faith and class. It brought together people who did not share the same backgrounds or experiences, but who chose to act together toward a common purpose. This was not surface-level unity. It was disciplined, strategic cooperation across difference — demonstrating that bridgebuilding and organizing for justice are not at odds but deeply interconnected.
This same principle continues to shape how change happens today. Our partners at The Horizons Project — leaders in understanding how communities can resist authoritarianism and strengthen democracy — frame this through their “Block, Bridge, Build” model: block harm, bridge across divides, and build a more resilient future. Their insight is simple but profound: collective action requires the skills and relational infrastructure to work across many lines of difference.
We see this in practice. In Minneapolis, following multiple killings by federal immigration agents, our colleague Mary Ellen Giess described a moment of “courageous pluralism.” In the face of fear and uncertainty, faith communities, advocates, organizers, businesses, and civic leaders came together — not only to call for change, but to provide direct and sustained support to the families and communities most impacted.
The urgency of action and its breadth were both powerful. It showed that even in moments of fracture, people can still choose to stand together, act together, and serve together.
Bridgebuilding as a First Step Toward Shared Action
If bridgebuilding is to meet this moment, it must do more than inspire — it must deliver.
Across the country, communities are using shared action to address urgent challenges — from refugee resettlement to housing access to civic participation. Through our Team Up partnership, Interfaith America partners with Catholic Charities USA, Habitat for Humanity, and the YMCA to embed bridgebuilding as a strategy for service.
Through multiple years of evaluation, we have seen clear impact: stronger cross-sector collaboration, expanded service delivery, increased trust, building capacity to meet urgency, and greater community resilience. By embedding bridgebuilding into institutions that already serve millions, this collective work is helping build civic infrastructure that extends far beyond any single project or moment.
Meeting this moment requires that we move beyond false choices — between justice and relationship, between advocacy and service — and instead invest in approaches that hold these together. Bridgebuilding alone is not the answer to every challenge. But without it, our ability to address those challenges together becomes far more limited.
The Path Forward: Investing in What Holds Us Together
At a time of deep division and uncertainty, the path forward will not be defined by whether we avoid difference, but by how we choose to engage it. Bridgebuilding offers a way — not as a replacement for other forms of action, but as a force that makes them more effective, more inclusive, and more durable over time.
In a diverse democracy, the goal is not simply to live alongside one another, but to build the capacity to work together. That is the work of bridgebuilding: turning difference into the foundation for cooperation in pursuit of the common good.
As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, we are being called to ask what a participatory democracy requires of us: are we willing to invest in the relationships, practices, and institutions that allow us to move forward together, especially with those we may not agree with, or fully understand?
The opportunity before us is not simply to manage division, but to shape a civic life that is strong enough to hold both our differences and our shared future — and to build it together.
Shafaq Choudry is the Director of Community Service Partnerships, Team Up Project and Chris Crawford is Senior Director of Civic Strategies at Interfaith America.
Recommended Next
Build with Us
Interfaith America equips leaders to cooperate across differences for the common good. Sign up to receive free resources, funding opportunities, and event invites in your inbox!
