I must say I'm impressed and quite taken aback by former UK prime minister Tony Blair's recent announcement, reported in the New York Times, that he will launch his own foundation dedicated to religious dialogue and action.

I'm impressed because not only are high-profile leaders like Blair, particularly those in the UK/European context, pressured to keep quiet if they bring religious views to bear on their offices, but it seems like the sorting process itself strongly favors the un- or at least nominally religious. I have no idea what sort of theological chops Blair brings to the table, but the very fact that a sharp, significant British PM (who didn't drone on about how he was God's chosen one while in office or running for office) would choose to dedicate his time and considerable influence to the significance that religion plays in the modern world is... countercultural, for lack of a better term. It's shocking.

I'm taken aback because Blair was so quiet about his own religious convictions. As detailed in the Times story, "While in office, Mr. Blair was reticent about religion. His spokesman once interrupted an interview with the words: 'We don't do God.'" What's more, Blair doesn't seem to be tackling the issue with antiseptic gloves, wondering if we can all just tone it down a bit. There's a big difference between a call to mute beliefs -- make them private and inactive -- and championing the living out of religious beliefs that lead to some concrete actions (conflict resolution and poverty alleviation for Blair) and not others (violence).

Mr. Blair recently converted to Catholicism, from Anglicanism, but dates his religious awakening to his student days at Oxford. While in office in secular England, he was quiet about his deep religiosity. Mr. Blair's charity, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, is the most high-profile effort in a recent proliferation of organizations dedicated to inter-religious understanding.

In part, the trend is a reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Religious leaders began looking for ways to build interfaith ties and to elevate the voices of religious moderates at a time when extremists seemed to be monopolizing the microphones.

Now there are interfaith dinner parties, book clubs and university dorms. Among the latest initiatives, Karen Armstrong, a prominent British scholar of comparative religions, wants to convene a council of Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to draft a "Charter of Compassion" of shared moral principles.

I look forward to hearing more about the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Props to Blair for striking out on a bold, seldom-trod course.