NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Parliament of the World's Religions

There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World’s Religions, most notably the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, the first attempt to create a global dialogue 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". Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

1 1893 Parliament
- 1.1 Address by Swami Vivekananda
2 1993 Parliament
3 1999 Parliament
4 2004 Parliament
5 2007 Monterrey Forum of Cultures
6 2009 Parliament
7 References
8 See also
9 External links
10 Publication
11 Further reading

1893 Parliament

In 1893, the city of Chicago hosted the World Columbian Exposition, an early world’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. Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... One-third scale replica of The Republic, which once stood in the great basin at the exposition, Chicago, 2004 The World Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago Worlds Fair), a Worlds fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbuss discovery...

The 1893 Parliament, which ran from September 11 to September 27, had marked the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. Today it is recognized as the occasion of the birth of formal interreligious dialogue worldwide. Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Absent from this event were Native American religious figures, Sikhs and other Indigenous and Earth centered religionists. (It would not be until the 1993 Parliament that these religions and spiritual traditions would be represented.) The conference did include new religious movements of the time, such as Spiritualism and Christian Science. The latter was represented by its founder Mary Baker Eddy. Rev. Henry Jessup addressing the World Parliament of Religions was the first to mention the Bahá'í Faith in the United States (it had previously been known in Europe.^[1]) Since then Bahá'ís have become active participants.^[2] Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ... Mary Baker Eddy (born Mary Morse Baker July 16, 1821 â€“ December 3, 1910) founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879 and was the author of its fundamental doctrinal textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. ... This article is about the generally recognized global religious community. ...

The Buddhist preacher Anagarika Dharmapala was invited there as a representative of "Southern Buddhism" - which was the term applied at that time to the Theravada. He was a great success and by his early thirties he was already a global figure, continuing to travel and give lectures and establish viharas around the world during the next forty years. Anagarika Dharmapala (1864 - 1933) was born David Hewavitarne in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ... Theravada (PÄli: theravÄda (cf Sanskrit: à¤¸à¥à¤¥à¤µà¤¿à¤°à¤µà¤¾à¤¦ sthaviravÄda); literally, the Teaching of the Elders, or the Ancient Teaching) is the oldest surviving Buddhist school, and for many centuries has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (about 70% of the population[1]) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia...

Address by Swami Vivekananda

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Swami Vivekananda

The eloquence of Swami Vivekananda and his introduction of Hindu thought to the United States are particularly remembered. The speech has been identified by many to mark the beginning of western interest in Hinduism not as merely an exotic eastern oddity, but as a vital religious and philosophical tradition that might actually have something important to teach the West.^[3]^[4] The opening line, "Sisters and Brothers of America...", was greeted by a three minute standing ovation from the audience of 7000.^[5] Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Swami Vivekananda (Sanskrit: , SvÄmi VivekÄnanda) (January 12, 1863 â€“ July 4, 1902), whose pre-monastic name was Narendranath Dutta (Bengali: , NÃ´rendrÃ´nath DÃ´t-tÃ´), was one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga. ...

"Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful Earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now." Sectarianism refers (usually pejoratively) to a rigid adherence to a particular sect or party or religious denomination. ... For people named Bigot and other meanings, see Bigot (disambiguation). ... Fanaticism is an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby. ... â€œFiendâ€ redirects here. ...

1993 Parliament

The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR), host organization for the Parliaments of the last two decades, officially dates from 1988 when two monks from the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago suggested organizing a centennial celebration of the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions. The Vedanta Society is a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission. ...

In 1993, the Parliament convened at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago. Over 8,000 people from all over the world, from many diverse religions, gathered to celebrate and dialog and explore how religious traditions can work together on the critical issues which confront us all. Dr. Gerald Barney of the Millennium Institute gave the keynote address on the state of the environment. This keynote and the introduction of the document, Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration, mainly drafted by Hans 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. Hans KÃ¼ng (born March 19, 1928 in Sursee, Canton of Lucerne), is a Catholic priest, a Swiss theologian, and a prolific author. ...

Also created for the 1993 Parliament was a book, A Sourcebook for the Community of Religions by the late Joel Belvarluis 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. The text of the revised Sourcebook is available online at Sourcebook Common

1999 Parliament

More than 7,000 individuals from over 80 countries attended 1999 Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa. The Parliament began with a showing of the International AIDS Quilt to highlight the epidemic of AIDS 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. Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Nickname: Motto: Spes Bona (Latin for Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Coordinates: , Country Province Municipality City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality Founded 1652 Government [1] - Type City council - Mayor Helen Zille - City manager Achmat Ebrahim Area [2] - Total 2,454. ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ...

The Parliament Assembly considered a document called A 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.

In addition to the Call, the Parliament staff had created a book Gifts of Service to the World showcasing over 300 projects making a difference in the world. Assembly attendees also deliberated about Gifts of Service which they could offer or could pledge to support among those gathered in the Gifts document.

2004 Parliament

It was celebrated in the Universal Forum of Cultures.^[6] More than 8,900 individuals attended the 2004 Parliament in Barcelona, Spain. Having created the declaration Towards a Global Ethic[1] 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. Attendees were asked to make a commitment to a "simple and profound act" to work on one of these issues. ^[7] Universal Forum of Cultures logo The Universal Forum of Cultures is an international cultural event intended to take place every four years (except for the 2007 Forum). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001â€“08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Over the next five to six years people around the world will implement their commitments. Then this vibrant embodiment of the international interfaith community will again come together to strive to, in the words of the CPWR mission statement, "cultivate harmony between the world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its other guiding institutions in order to achieve a peaceful, just, and sustainable world".

2007 Monterrey Forum of Cultures

According to the CPWR ^[8], plans are underway for Forum Monterrey 2007, which will include Parliament-style events and dialogues. The Universal Forum of Cultures Monterrey 2007 is an international civil-society event that will take place in the city of Monterrey, Mexico, starting September and ending in December. ...

2009 Parliament

Melbourne, Australia has been awarded the bid for the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions, according to The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, [2].

The 2009 Parliament will take place December 3 through December 9. Based on attendance at previous events, the Melbourne Parliament is expected to bring together 8,000 to 12,000 people. is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Melbourne Parliament will address issues of aboriginal reconciliation. The issues of sustainability and global climate change will be explored through the lens of indigenous spiritualities.

Environmental issues and the spirituality of youth will also be key areas of dialogue.

The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, [3], suggests that the Melbourne Parliament will "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 suggests it will support "strengthening religious and spiritual communities" by providing a special focus on indigenous and Aboriginal spiritualities; facilitating cooperation between Pagan, Jewish, Christian, Bahai, Jain, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu communities; crafting new responses to religious extremism; and confronting homegrown terrorism and violence. [4]

References

^ First Public Mentions of the Bahá'í Faith
^ Baha'is participate in interfaith parliament
^ "Beginning of western interest in Hinduism," www.rkmath.org
^ "Beginning of western interest in Hinduism," sify.com
^ Swami Vivekananda speech at the World Congress of Religions September 11, 1893," www.swamij.com
^ 2004 Barcelona July 7-13 Websites
^ Commitments
^ 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures, Monterrey, Mexico.

External links

Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
Swami Vivekananda's speech at the Parliament of World Religions, Chicago, 1893
Das Weltparlament der Religionen in Chicago 1893 (in German)
A Sourcebook for the Community
What is God?: Interview with 2004's Speakers by Robert Wright
Report on the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions

Robert Wright is the name of: Bob Wright (baseball) (1891), early 20th century baseball pitcher Robert Wright (politician) (1752â€“1826), early 19th century governor and congressman from Maryland Robert Wright, Baron Wright (1869â€“1964), British law lord Robert Wright (Medal of Honor), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor...

Publication

The World's Congress of Religions - The addresses and papers delivered before the Parliament, and the Abstract of the Congresses, held in Chicago, August 1893 to October 1893, under the Auspices of The World's Columbian Exposition, in 2 vols., Tokyo: Edition Synapse, ISBN 978-4-901481-98-4 [5]

Contents

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