The D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation

Through its public-facing brand Faith And Reason, The D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation seeks to connect audiences with approachable ways to study scholarly analysis and critique of Christianity. Our goal is a return to the nonviolent core of Jesus’ historical life and teachings, and to shed the dominion-based empire of Christianity, wherever it appears.

Building a Culture of Peace is our new strategic framework - an open invitation to organizations and individuals to collaborate in the spirit of restoration and harmony. This statement was developed by the D.L. Dykes Jr. Foundation Board of Directors, but is open to evolution through the spirit of critique and collaboration from our fellow organizations.

Learn more about Faith and Reason

Building a Culture of Peace

A Selected Reading List

The Spirituality of Nonviolence

The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, by Dorothee Sölle
The Scapegoat, by Rene Girard
The Beatitudes of Jesus (Matthew 5-7)
The Biblical Jubilee and the Struggle for Life, by Ross & Gloria Kinsler
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
Radical Sacrifice, by Terry Eagleton
When Things Fall Apart, by Pema Chödron
The Wisdom of Insecurity, by Alan W. Watts
Zen and the Birds of Appetite, by Thomas Merton
Everybody: A Book About Freedom, by Olivia Laing
The Art of Losing (a poetry collection), edited by Kevin Young
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Applied Nonviolence

Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom, by Rev. James M.
Lawson, Jr.
Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Erica Chenoweth
Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism, by L.A.
Kauffman
The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, by R.
Wilkinson and K. Pickett
The Children (a civil rights history), by David Halberstam

Exploring the Roots of Structural Violence

Holy War, by Karen Armstrong
The Nutmeg’s Curse, by Amitav Ghosh
Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
No Name in the Street (essays), by James Baldwin
Nickeled and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

Exploring the Roots of Alienation and Distraction

Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman
Lost Connections, by Johann Hari
World Without Mind, by Franklin Foer
Acts of Resistance, by Pierre Bordieu
The Society of the Spectacle, by Guy Debord