News Brief

Interfaith parliament to address religious violence

-17/5/04

The Parliament of the World's Religions, expected to draw between 7,000 and 12,000 attendees from around the world when it meets in July, is set to examine how to overcome religiously motivated violence.

Nearly five months after the March 11 terrorist attack on Madrid, the world's largest interreligious gathering will convene in Spain for the fourth ever Parliament and the first since September 11, 2001. The event - last held in Cape Town, South Africa in 1999 - will take place in Barcelona from July 7-13 and is expected to draw thousands of people of faith and spirit from around the world to find inspiration and forge new pathways to peace in the new age of international terrorism.

"The first Parliament was held on September 11, 1893, a date that now-along with March 11-is inexorably linked to the tragic terrorist attacks that have shown the world the global danger of religious extremism," said Rev. Dr. William E. Lesher, Chair of the Council's Board of Trustees.

"Such tragedy and misunderstanding requires both a local and global response that is hopeful and cooperative in nature."

For the first time, the 2004 Parliament will ask its 7,000 to 12,000 international attendees to commit to taking home "simple and profound" acts that benefit their local communities in four areas: overcoming religiously motivated violence, supporting refugees worldwide, increasing access to clean water and eliminating international debt for developing countries.

"The Barcelona Parliament is not about the unity of world religions but about a search for harmony among them," said Lesher. "Instead of seeking consensus, we ask attendees to find points of convergence in their beliefs and values and to turn those commonalities into real actions within their communities."

As part of its theme, "Pathways to Peace: The Wisdom of Listening, the Power of Commitment," experts will train 2,000 of the Parliament attendees in how to perform these acts in their own diverse communities. Additionally, the Parliament will offer more than 400 programs, performances and lectures. His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama is coming by invitation of the Council, and other leading thinkers who will speak include: scientist Jane Goodall, Nobel Peace Prize Winners Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Corrigan McGuire, theologian Hans K¸ng, Ela Gandhi (social activist and granddaughter of M. Gandhi), bishop Samuel Ruiz, Raimon Panikkar and many more.

The Parliament will also be the occasion of the first-ever Paul Carus Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Interreligious Movement, a ,000 prize given to an individual, community or organization that demonstrates

exemplary and visionary efforts in promoting interreligious harmony and cooperation. The award is in memory of Dr. Paul Carus, a pioneer in the interreligious movement and a world-renowned scholar, writer and publisher in the fields of religion, philosophy and science.

The Parliament is organized by the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions in partnership with the Universal Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004, a 141-day event that includes 40 congresses and "dialogues" on conditions of peace, cultural diversity and sustainable development.

"The world has never before seen an international event on the scale of the Forum that is dedicated to open, innovative participation from all cultures," said Mireia Belil, Director of the Forum Dialogues. "Five million people are expected to participate in approximately 45 'dialogues' or themes, and the Parliament of the World's Religions is a signature event

with a long history of providing inspirational opportunities for attendees to engage one another and work towards peace."

The Parliament is also organized in association with the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, a non-governmental organization dedicated to international peace and cooperation through the promotion of dialogue and collaboration.

"Religious traditions, as expressions of experiences irreducible to one another, must advocate deep respect towards religious and cultural diversity", said FËlix MartÓ, UNESCO Centre of Catalonia's Honorary President. "They must help human communities overcome group selfishness and open them to a perspective of universal solidarity in moral, intellectual and political terms."

The Parliament and the formal interreligious movement were born in 1893 when representatives from eastern and western spiritual traditions met for the first time for structured dialogue at the "World's Parliament of Religions" in Chicago. The Parliament is credited as the first time Jews, Catholics, Bahais, Hindus and Buddhists were invited to such an exchange.

Upon the invitation by two Hindu monks in Chicago, members of Chicago's religious and spiritual communities formed the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions to revive the gathering for a centennial celebration in 1993, where 8,000 people from across the globe came to Chicago to explore identity, dialogue and responses to critical issues. In 1999, the Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa showcased firsthand the powerful role spiritual communities played in the struggle against apartheid, for reconciliation and to confront the rising AIDS epidemic.