CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) — The prompt for the after-dinner discussion was a familiar phrase: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.”

Some 90 members of nine religious congregations gathered in the fellowship of hall of University Baptist Church recently to begin a study of the Declaration, with its foundational claim that “all men are created equal.”

They are just one of some 30 interfaith “clusters” in 16 states participating in Faith250 , a new initiative intended to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, this July 4th. These clusters are now pouring over “America’s sacred texts” as part of a mission to revive democratic values they feel have been eroding.

“People are really concerned about what’s happening in our democracy,” said Meg Peery McLaughlin, the co-pastor of University Presbyterian Church and a program organizer.…