Parliament of Worlds Religion 1999 Capetown SA

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 5

A CALL TO OUR GUIDING INSTITUTIONS
DECEMBER
9
9
Continuing the Parliament Tradition
The 1999 Parliament of the World's Religions and its keynote document, A Call to Our Guiding Institutions, continue a tradition born in Chicago in 1893. At the first Parliament of Religions, several hundred leaders, scholars, theologians, and other representatives of the world's religions came together to ponder the place of faith and spirituality in the modern world. As the deliberate formal encounter of many religions, East and West, this unprecedented gathering marked the beginning of modern interreligious dialogue.
This tradition was reborn in 1993 as more than seven thousand people from a wide spectrum of the world's religious and spiritual communities gathered again in Chicago. Throughout the 1993 Parliament, participants were challenged to think critically and holistically about the role of religious and spiritual communities in the pursuit of creative solutions to the world's most pressing problems. They explored issues of religious and spiritual identity, engaged in thoughtful dialogue with persons of other traditions and cultures, and searched for effective ways of bringing the attention, energy, and influence of religion and spirituality to bear on the critical issues confronting the planetary community.
In order to provide a context for these reflections, the 1993 Parliament offered a thoughtful and provocative statement of fundamental ethical principles shared by the world's religious and spiritual traditions. That statement took form in a groundbreaking document, Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration, which was signed by nearly two hundred religious and spiritual leaders from around the world. It set forth four fundamental commitments that remain powerfully relevant in the face of the issues that the 1993 Parliament addressed non-violence and respect for life, solidarity and a just economic order, tolerance and a life of truthfulness, and equal rights and partnership between men and women.
The Next Step
On the occasion of the 1999 Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions urges continuing reflection on the commitments at the heart of the Global Ethic and renewed efforts to apply them. Essential to such efforts is the acknowledgment that we live in a world in which powerful institutions exercise a significant and inescapable influence on our collective future. Woven through the core documents and practices of these institutions are values, perspectives, and assumptions that can be examined in the light of the principles of the Global Ethic. Asking them to examine their roles for a new century, the Call will make it clear that the principles and commitments of the Global Ethic relate directly and immediately to their functioning. It will also
1999 PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS
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