There have been several meetings referred to as aParliament of the World's Religions, the first being theWorld's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a globaldialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993. This led to a new series of conferences under the official title Parliament of the World's Religions with the same goal of trying to create a global dialogue of faiths.
The Parliament of the World's Religions was incorporated in 1989 to organize the centennial conference of the first Parliament. The Parliament is headquartered inChicago, led by a board of trustees elected from various faiths.[2]
In 1893, the city of Chicago hosted theWorld Columbian Exposition, an earlyworld's fair. So many people were coming to Chicago from all over the world that many smaller conferences, called Congresses and Parliaments, were scheduled to take advantage of this unprecedented gathering. One of these was the World's Parliament of Religions, an initiative of theSwedenborgian layman (and judge)Charles Carroll Bonney.[4][5] Another principal organizer of the gathering wasUnitarian Universalist ministerJenkin Lloyd Jones.[6] The Parliament of Religions was by far the largest of the congresses held in conjunction with the Exposition.[7]John Henry Barrows, a clergyman, was appointed as the first chairman of the General Committee of the 1893 Parliament by Charles Bonney.[8]
The Parliament of Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at theWorld's Congress Auxiliary Building which is nowThe Art Institute of Chicago, and ran from 11 to 27 September, making it the first organizedinterfaith gathering.[9] Today it is recognized as the birth of the worldwide interfaith movement,[10][11] with representatives of a wide variety of religions and new religious movements.
TheJain scholar and juristVirchand Gandhi was invited as a representative of Jainism.[12] Virchand talked about the doctrines ofJainism – code of conduct, way of life and cosmology in such an eloquent and coherent manner thatBuffalo Courier, an American newspaper reported, "of all Eastern scholars, it was this youth whose lectures on Jain Faith and Conduct was listened to with the greatest interest and attention."[citation needed]
Soyen Shaku, the "First American Ancestor" ofZen, attended from Japan.[13]
An essay by the JapanesePure Land masterKiyozawa Manshi, "Skeleton of the Philosophy of Religion" was read in his absence.
Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk, represented Ancient Indian Religious Thought and Philosophy as a delegate, introducingHinduism at theopening session of the Parliament on 11 September. Though initially nervous, he bowed to the goddessSaraswati mentally, then began his speech with salutation, "Sisters and brothers of America!". To these words he got a standing ovation from a crowd of thousands, which lasted for two minutes. When silence was restored he continued his address: "I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects."[14][15][16][17][18]
Islam was represented byMohammed Alexander Russell Webb, an Anglo-American convert to Islam and the former US consular representative to the Philippines.
Henry Jessup addressing the World Parliament of Religions was the first to publicly discuss theBaháʼí Faith in the United States (it had previously been known in Europe).[21] Since then Baháʼís have become active participants.[22]
Gyanendra Nath Chakravarti (G. N. Chakravarti) was also a significant representative at the Parliament, advocating forTheosophy.[23] His eloquent speeches and presence contributed to the interfaith dialogue and helped raise awareness of Indian spiritual traditions.
Chinese religions were represented by Pung Quang Yu (Chinese:彭光譽;pinyin:Peng Guangyu).[24]
The 1893 Parliament had a lasting ripple effect. One striking example is its influence onSarah Farmer, who established Greenacre inEliot, Maine. After meeting with participants in the World Parliament of religions, she was inspired to dedicate the camp to the message of peace which is a principle she saw reflected in all the great religions. In 1894, representatives from at least seventeen faiths fathered at Greenacre and raised what is believed to be the world's first peace flag, symbolizing the ideal of harmonious living. Greenacre soon became a center for inter-religious learning, with figures like Swami Vivekananda and Anagarika Dharmapala visiting to teach and continue the Parliament's vision of spiritual conversation.[26]
In 1993, the Parliament convened at thePalmer House hotel in Chicago. Over 8,000 people from all over the world, from many diverse religions, gathered to celebrate, discuss and explore how religious traditions can work together on the critical issues which confront the world.[27] A document, "Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration", mainly drafted byHans Küng, set the tone for the subsequent ten days of discussion. This global ethic was endorsed by many of the attending religious and spiritual leaders who were part of the parliament assembly.[28]
Also created for the 1993 parliament was a book,A Sourcebook for the Community of Religions, by the late Joel Beversluis, which has become a standard textbook in religion classes. Unlike most textbooks of religion, each entry was written by members of the religion in question.[citation needed]
The keynote address was given by the14th Dalai Lama on the closing day of the assembly. TheDIMMID hosted also a dialogue session with the Dalai Lama on "Emptiness and Kenosis" which was the inspiration for theGethsemani Encounters at theAbbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in 1996 and 2002.[29] CardinalJoseph Bernardin also participated at the parliament.[30]
More than 7,000 individuals from over 80 countries attended 1999 Parliament inCape Town,South Africa. The Parliament began with a showing of the internationalAIDS Memorial Quilt to highlight the epidemic ofAIDS in South Africa, and of the role that religious and spiritual traditions play in facing the critical issues that face the world. The event continued with hundreds of panels, symposia and workshops, offerings of prayer and meditation, plenaries and performances. The programs emphasized issues of religious, spiritual, and cultural identity, approaches to interreligious dialogue, and the role of religion in response to the critical issues facing the world today. At this session,Michael Beckwith andMary Morrissey became the first New Thought ministers appointed to the Parliament of World Religions.[31]
The Parliament Assembly considered a document calledA Call to Our Guiding Institutions, addressed to religion, government, business, education, and media inviting these institutions to reflect on and transform their roles at the threshold of the next century.[citation needed]
In addition to theCall, the Parliament staff had created a book,Gifts of Service to the World, showcasing over 300 projects considered to be making a difference in the world. The Assembly members also deliberated about Gifts of Service which they could offer or could pledge to support among those projects gathered in theGifts document.[citation needed]
It was celebrated in theUniversal Forum of Cultures.[32] More than 8,900 individuals attended the 2004 Parliament inBarcelona, Spain. Having created the declarationTowards a Global Ethic[33] at the 1993 Parliament and attempted to engage guiding institutions at the 1999 Parliament, the 2004 Parliament concentrated on four pressing issues: mitigating religiously motivated violence, access to safe water, the fate of refugees worldwide, and the elimination of external debt in developing countries. Those attending were asked to make a commitment to a "simple and profound act" to work on one of these issues.
Melbourne,Australia, hosted the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions. The 2009 parliament took place from 3 to 9 December. Over 6,000 people attended the parliament.[34]
The Melbourne parliament addressed issues ofAboriginalreconciliation. The issues of sustainability and global climate change were explored through the lens of indigenous spiritualities. Environmental issues and the spirituality of youth were also key areas of dialogue.[citation needed]
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions suggested that the Melbourne parliament would "educate participants for global peace and justice" through exploring religious conflict and globalization, creating community and cross-cultural networks and addressing issues of religious violence. It supported "strengthening religious and spiritual communities" by providing a special focus on indigenous and Aboriginal spiritualities; facilitating cooperation betweenPagan,Jewish, Christian, Baháʼí, Jain, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu communities.[35] In addition, the council focused on crafting new responses to religiousextremism and confronting homegrown terrorism and violence.[35]
Dirk Ficca served as the executive director at the time of the 2009 Parliament of Religions. Zabrina Santiago served as deputy director and partner cities director.[citation needed]
In 2011, the Parliament of the World's Religions announced that the 2014 Parliament would take place inBrussels, Belgium.[36] In November 2012, a joint statement from Brussels and CPWR announced that because of thefinancial crisis in Europe, Brussels was unable to raise the funds required for a Parliament.[37]
On 15–19 October, the 2015 Parliament took place at theSalt Palace inSalt Lake City, Utah.[38] 9,806 attendees, performers, and volunteers from 73 countries, 30 major religions and 548 sub-traditions participated in the Parliament.[39] During the closing ceremony,Abdul Malik Mujahid announced that the Parliament would henceforth be held every two years, with the next gathering scheduled for 2017, later rescheduled for 2018.
The board of trustees of the Parliament selectedToronto as the site of the 2018 Parliament of the World's Religions at their April 2017 meeting. The event took place from 1 to 7 November 2018.[40] More than 8,000 people attended the sessions, including theDalai Lama, who addressed the opening plenary of the Parliament.[citation needed]
In October of 2021, the chair of the board of the Parliament of the World's Religions announced that its 9th global convening would take place in 2023 in Chicago, USA.[42]
The 2023 Parliament of the World's Religions was hosted from Monday, 14 August through Friday, 18 August at theMcCormick Place Lakeside Center.[43]
From March to May 1930,Kyoto, Japan hosted a Great Religious Exposition (宗教大博覧会,Shūkyō Dai-hakurankai). Religious groups from across Japan and China exhibited at the fair.[44] All of Japan's traditional Buddhist sects had an exhibit, as well as Christianity.[45]
Forum Monterrey 2007 was an international event which included Parliament-style events and dialogues.[46] It was held as part of the 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures, which featured international congresses, dialogues, exhibitions, and spectacles on the themes of peace, diversity, sustainability and knowledge. Special emphasis was placed on the eight objectives of theMillennium Development goals for eradicating abject poverty around the world.[citation needed]
2016 Central European Interfaith Forum (CEIF 2016)
On 25 July 2016 the Parliament of the World's Religions–Slovakia and the SlovakEsperanto Federation in collaboration with other partners organized inNitra, Slovakia called the Central European Interfaith Forum.[47][48][49]
Besides Elisabeth Ziegler-Duregger, ambassador of the Parliament of the World's Religions, there were also more than 150 participants representing 20 nations, three continents, seven world religions as well as other religious, spiritual or humanist traditions convened for interfaith and civic exchanges in the search for solutions to the growing ethnic, cultural and religious tension in Europe and to jointly address some of humanity's most vexing problems such as the alarming trends of nationalism, extremism and xenophobia in societies.[49][50] The event resulted in a statement (the Nitra statement).[50]
^McRae, John R. (1991). "Oriental Verities on the American Frontier: The 1893 World's Parliament of Religions and the Thought of Masao Abe".Buddhist-Christian Studies.11. University of Hawai'i Press:7–36.doi:10.2307/1390252.JSTOR1390252.
^Sun Jiang 孫江, "Representing Religion: 'Chinese Religions' at the 1893 Chicago World Parliament of Religions",Oriens Extremus 54 (2015), pp. 59-84.JSTOR26372435
^Reid L. Neilson (2011),Exhibiting Mormonism: The Latter-day Saints and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. New York: Oxford University Press, 146.
Opening ceremony 2004
