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Parliament of the World's Religions

Experiencing the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions with Fresh Eyes

Experiencing the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions with Fresh Eyes

by Sofia Sayabalian & Cloë Poole

Two young leaders from the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIE) attended their first Parliament of the World’s Religions event. It was held in Chicago…

Guru Ka Langar: The Sikh Ethos of Sharing Hospitality

Guru Ka Langar: The Sikh Ethos of Sharing Hospitality

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

Many who have had the opportunity to attend a Langar (a Sikh word for “open kitchen) surely have fond memories of the incredible hospitality we experienced.

Guru Ka Langar: The Sikh Ethos of Sharing Hospitality

Guru Ka Langar: The Sikh Ethos of Sharing Hospitality

by Tarunjit Singh Butalia

Many who have had the opportunity to attend a Langar (a Sikh word for “open kitchen) surely have fond memories of the incredible hospitality we experienced.

Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons

Responding to the Unique Challenge of Nuclear Weapons

by Jonathan Granoff

The destructive capacity of nuclear weapons is beyond imagination, poisoning the Earth forever. These horrific devices place before us every day the decision whether we will be the last human generation.

A Fifth Directive Added to the Global Ethic

A Fifth Directive Added to the Global Ethic

A TIO Report

Towards a Global Ethic – An Initial Declaration is a cornerstone of the modern interfaith movement. The text was drafted by German theologian Hans Küng at the request of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Engendering Interfaith in Edmonton, Canada

Engendering Interfaith in Edmonton, Canada

by Netta Phillet

The Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action (EICEA) was officially incorporated in 1996, but its roots go back to at least 1992.

Enlarging the Interfaith Tent

Enlarging the Interfaith Tent

by Hans Gustafson

Despite an ever-widening door to the growing tent of interreligious engagement, there remains work to do. Interreligious studies in the academy, as well as the interfaith movement in the wider community, have blossomed in the West over the last few decades.

Huston Smith – The Passing of a Giant in Our Midst

Huston Smith – The Passing of a Giant in Our Midst

by Paul Chaffee

If Swami Vivekananda’s clarion voice at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions introduced us to the challenge of living happily in an interfaith world, it was Huston Smith’s voice in The Religions of Man (1958) which taught us what that meant. 

Joseph Prabhu's Anatomy of Wisdom

Joseph Prabhu's Anatomy of Wisdom

by Ruth Broyde Sharone

“Wisdom includes action as well as knowledge,” maintains Joseph Prabhu, a professor of philosophy and religion for four decades, a passionate interfaith activist, and Mother Teresa’s first altar boy in India. “Action brings insight into dynamic motion,” Prabhu explains, “and insight without thoughtful action, to my mind, is seriously incomplete.”

Beating a Message of Peace in Uganda

Beating a Message of Peace in Uganda

by Vicki Garlock

In a country often known for unspeakable violence and political strife, Buyondo Micheal offers a beacon of hope to those desperately seeking peace. As founder of Faiths Together Uganda (FTU), Micheal uses dance, music, and art to unify and delight. Inspired by global interfaith initiatives, he provides the funding and the energy for events that cross religious, cultural, and tribal divides.

Huston Smith and the Parliament of the World’s Religions

All of us can look back over our lives and identify people who have been significant role models. One of those persons for me has been Huston Smith. Perhaps the most important American scholar of religions for five decades, Smith was born the son of Methodist missionaries in Dzang Dok, China, where he spent the first 17 years of his life. Now 96 and confined to a favorite chair in an assisted-living apartment in Berkeley, California, the old gentleman – eyes sparkling – still “banters in Chinese with his friend, Mr. Lin, the maintenance man” (Lisa Miller, “Huston Smith’s Wonderful Life,” The Daily Beast, 2009).

Finding the Light

The struggle to find consensus in addressing a warming planet, the violence that infects our lives so many ways, the tempting xenophobia that fuels more violence, the growing flood of refugees … Mother Earth and her peoples are having a rough go at living together these days.

Religions for Peace USA at the Parliament

The Parliament of the World Religions gathers in Salt Lake City, Utah this October 15th-19th, and many of RfP USA’s religious communities will be presenting their work. Religions for Peace USA will be featured on two panels, we hope to see you there supporting our work. Don’t miss this chance to learn more and connect!

Rev. Jennifer Bailey – What Defines a Millennial Interfaith Leader?

Often in the interfaith movement, we speak about the changes in the religious landscape and the impact these sociological, religious and political shifts have on the movement. Rarely, however, do we get the chance to hear from young leaders of the movement who spend time thinking about and challenging our expectations of what it means to be a leader in the interfaith movement today.

Dalai Lama and Karen Armstrong to Keynote 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Dr. Karen Armstrong will be keynoters at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions, to be held October 15-19, 2015 in Salt Lake City. The theme of the Parliament is “Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity: Working Together for a World of Compassion, Peace, Justice, and Sustainability.”

An Historic Overview of Faith Relations in Europe

The Long Journey in Getting to Know Each Other

The World Congress of Faiths – An Overview

Nudging Religion Towards Inclusiveness

The Beloved Community in the Face of Violence

This story was originally posted in Huff Post Religion on July 7, 2012, following the tragic violence at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Entering 2013, Susan Baller-Shephard’s story about the Sikh community continues to resonate and offer lessons for us all. Ed.

International Interfaith Stakeholders Today

In last month’s TIO, Marcus Braybrooke wrote a brief history of the interfaith movement since 1893. He tells how major interfaith organizations emerged in the twentieth century, starting with the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), whose roots go back to 1900. The World Congress of Faiths, celebrating its 75th birthday this year, was the first established organization to invite all people of faith and practice to a shared table of dialogue in the “spirit of fellowship.” Both IARF and the Congress remain active international organizations, a tribute to the resilience of their hope for a happier religious future.

The $100,000 Question in the Interfaith Movement

How do we know when we have arrived in the interfaith movement?  When religious pluralism is normative?  When religious differences don’t cause conflict or even concern?