The Parliament of the World's Religions

The mission of the Parliament of the World’s Religions is to...
● Promote understanding and cooperation among the world’s religious and spiritual
communities, their affiliated groups and institutions;
● Cultivate a spirit of harmony and celebrate, with openness and mutual respect, the rich
diversity of the world’s religious and spiritual communities and their traditions;
● Encourage the world’s religious and spiritual communities that assess and renew their
role of the world’s religious and spiritual communities and their traditions in relation to
personal spiritual growth and the challenges facing the global community;
● Promote and sponsor periodic parliaments, conferences, events, programs, projects, and
other appropriate activities that further the mission of the Parliament;
● Through interfaith dialogue, cooperation and solidarity: encourage the ending of war,
hate and violence; the elimination of poverty and reduction of inequality; and the reversal
of climate change and environmental degradation.

In terms of our “measures of success,” the Parliament is fulfilling its mission...
● When diverse religious and spiritual communities are actively engaged with each other
through encounter, dialogue, and cooperation;
● When there are safe and effective vehicles by which diverse communities come to mutual
understanding, identify common values and aspirations, negotiate differences and
disagreements, and pursue healing and reconciliation;
● When strangers become neighbors, acquaintances become friends, and enemies choose to
co-exist peacefully;
● When the unique contributions of religion and spirituality are recognized by and available to
the broader society;
● When the wisdom, effort, social capital and resources of religious and spiritual communities
are brought to bear on critical issues facing the global community;
● When religious and spiritual communities partner with guiding institutions in working for a
more just, peaceful and sustainable world.

The methodology of the Parliament’s work begins with this concrete understanding of the aims
of our mission. The Parliament seeks to meet these aims by...
● Serving the global interfaith movement, wherever the work of individuals, communities,
organizations and institutions involves religion and spirituality in seeking a more just,
peaceful and sustainable world;
● Providing multiple avenues of access to the interfaith movement, through the sharing of
religious, spiritual and cultural identity, enrichment and community building through
dialogue, and engagement in addressing the critical issue facing the global community;
● Fostering positive relationships between diverse religious and spiritual communities, and
productive partnerships between these communities and guiding institutions;
● Uncovering and leveraging the shared convictions, interests, aspirations and resources of all
parties;
● As often as possible, in deepening its methodology and developing its programmatic agenda,
the Parliament seeks to move from the practical and concrete working out of active
relationships, partnership and projects, to formulating the more general elements of creating
its practical strategies, resources and policies; and
● Supporting the advocacy and engagement of religious and spiritual communities in
addressing the critical issues facing the global community, in partnership with guiding
institutions

The Parliament of the World's Religions has a well-established Board of Trustees which is comprised of leaders in the interfaith movement. The Parliament is known to be the largest and most diverse and inclusive convening organization in the interfaith movement. The Parliament prides itself on its commitment to inclusivity. Convening attendees come from over 80 different countries, with over 200 spiritual and religious traditions represented.

The Parliament’s role as a facilitator of interfaith encounter, dialogue, and cooperative common action puts it in a unique position to encourage and enable the religious and spiritual communities themselves to address the critical issues in meaningful and powerful ways.

The Parliament 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, held in Chicago in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. There have since been six modern-day Parliament Convenings:

1993, Chicago, USA
1999, Cape Town, South Africa
2004, Barcelona, Spain,
2009, Melbourne, Australia
2015, Salt Lake City, USA
2018, Toronto, Canada

Throughout its history, the Parliament has published official reports on each Convening. At the 1993 Parliament, an assembly of religious and spiritual leaders gave its assent to a groundbreaking document, "Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration", a powerful statement of the ethical common ground shared by the world's religious and spiritual traditions. This Declaration was amended in 2018 to include a Directive on Care for Earth. In 1999 it released "A Call to Our Guiding Institutions", addressed to religion, government, business, education, and media, to invite these institutions to reflect on and transform their roles at the threshold of the next century. In 2020, the Parliament's Climate Action Task Force published "FBO Action on the SDGs: Progress and Outlook", a report assessing faith progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in conjunction with UN Environment, Bhumi Global, and the United Religions Initiative. Also in 2020, the Parliament's Climate Action Task Force published "Faith for Earth: A Call for Action" in partnership with UN Environment Faith for Earth Initiative.