Daniel Bellerose, a 2017 Houghton College graduate, has been actively promoting interfaith development and climate action through his work. Since graduation, Bellerose said he has published a journal article inspired by his study abroad experience in Tanzania. Bellerose also founded and directs The Global Symmetry Project, an interfaith environmental organization that he began in Western New York during his sophomore year and has since expanded to address interfaith development on a global scale.
When Bellerose interacted with people of different faiths in Tanzania, he was struck by their ability to look past their differences and form a cohesive community. His reflections on this experience were published last fall in The Interfaith Observer, a monthly digital journal. In his article, titled “Doing ‘God’s Work’ In Tanzania,” Bellerose recalls his first experience of the “built-in connectivity” between religious communities in Tanzania: a conversation with his Anglican host mother. When he asked his host mother how she viewed her Muslim neighbors, she said simply, “They worship on Friday, and we worship on Sunday. We’re brothers and sisters. There’s nothing else,” a response which Bellerose said he found unexpected and refreshing.
Bellerose writes of the communities he encountered, “Everywhere we went, the expected animosity among Muslims, Christians, and Pagans was replaced by an openness and an understanding of the need to live in community.” From these examples, Bellerose concludes “Tanzania, and the wonderful people living there, is an inspiration for those of us in the development world.”
Bellerose said his experience in Tanzania influenced his ideas about how communities should address problems such as climate change. The goals of his organization, The Global Symmetry Project, reflect a hope he learned from the people of Tanzania: according to The Global Symmetry Project’s website, the organization “seeks a world where interfaith cooperation is the norm for social change,” and affirms that “we are a world of many faiths, but we are one community.”
He commented that currently The Global Symmetry Project “conducts research and outreach for the use of interfaith principles in development work.” This research focuses “creating a new set of indicators for determining which countries should be considered ‘developed,’” Bellerose said. Through this research on development strategies, the stated mission of The Global Symmetry Project is to “change the way international development is viewed.”
When Bellerose began the organization as a college student, he put into practice principles he was learning as part of his major in International Development and his minors in World Religion and Political Science. Sustainability Coordinator Brian Webb, who was a mentor to Bellerose during his time at Houghton, commented on Bellerose’s strong capacity to put his ideas into action. “Dan is the kind of guy who not only gets excited about great and new ideas, but actually makes them happen. I’m not at all surprised to see him recognized for his accomplishments…Dan is wired to do good in this world,” Webb said.
Bellerose said changes are in the works for The Global Symmetry Project. He plans to apply for nonprofit status for the organization this year, a process which he described as “a long road.” He is also starting a podcast, called Global Symmetry Podcast, which he said will be released on Patreon. Monthly subscribers to the podcast will fund the organization’s monthly financial requirements. Finally, Bellerose said that he is beginning to work on a major long-term project for the organization: the publication of a book. He said he hopes to publish “a book of interfaith development principles [titled] Many Faiths, One Community” within the next few years.
Bellerose currently lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia with his wife, Rachel Bellerose, and a group of other Houghton alumni. In addition to his work with The Global Symmetry Project, he is employed as a Program Assistant at Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions. This allows him to exercise his “deep passion for working with climate issues,” he said. His involvement in climate action and development research also extends to a variety of smaller projects: as a contractor with Friends Committee on National Legislation, a researcher for the National Wildlife Federation, and a junior contractor for an independent contracting firm that works on development research. “I’ve been organizing here in my community a lot, mostly climate advocacy, doing some business development contracting with local businesses, and writing letters to the editor in local papers,” Bellerose said. His future plans include getting his PhD and continuing to write and travel.