GLOBAL MOVEMENTS THAT CALL FOR CARE FOR ALL
These international movements promote care for all people and the earth as a common value across faith traditions and humanity, and inspire action
Parliament of the World's Religions is the world’s premiere interfaith convening organization. The first World Parliament of Religions was held in 1893 in Chicago, to create a global dialogue of faiths. Another Parliament was held to mark the centenary in 1993 in Chicago, and they have been held every 3 – 6 years since then, in South Africa, Spain, Australia, the United States and Canada, and the 2021 Parliament will be held virtually in 10/21. The goal of the Parliaments is to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities, and to foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions to address the critical issues of our time, towards a vision of a world of peace, justice and sustainability.
The Global Ethic is a landmark declaration of the Parliament of the World's Religions stating the universal values and principles shared by the world's religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions. It became an official document of the Parliament of World's Religions in 1993 after being drafted by Professor Hans Küng in consultation with several hundred leaders and scholars, and has been updated since. It is meant to be a statement of basic ethical commitments shared by people throughout the globe, religious or not. It has five principles – commitment to a culture of non-violence and respect for life, of solidarity and a just economic order, of tolerance and a life of truthfulness, of equal rights and partnership between men and women and of sustainability and care for the earth.
United Religions Initiative (URI) is a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world. They implement this mission through grassroots groups called Cooperation Circles (CC) which bring diverse people together to jointly engage in community actions - and there are now over 1000 cooperation circles in 111 countries in every part of the world. The URI was launched in 2000 by Episcopal Bishop William Swing, who had organized an interfaith gathering for the 50th anniversary of the UN, and was inspired to bring the world’s religions together to work for peace (as nations come together in the UN).
There is an CC in Maine – The Abbey Of HOPE (Hands of Peace Extended) with a mission to gather people of diverse faiths, beliefs and spiritualities to promote dialogue, encourage cooperation and facilitate compassionate action. It offers a blog, Reflectionary, and started in the fall of 2020 hosting an annual online One Planet Peace Forum to promote interfaith dialogue and action (which will be held virtually in 9/21). It has also organized Compassionate Cafes and Dialogue Dinners, hosted by various faith communities in the Portland area, and book reads.
The URI promotes the UN's annual World Interfaith Harmony Week during the first week of February, focusing on “Love of the Good, and Love of the Neighbor”, to include people of all faiths, and all people of goodwill. It provides a platform for interfaith groups to become aware of each other and strengthen the movement to recognize common values and promote peace and harmony. It also promotes the UN's International Day of Peace observed annually on 9/21.
Charter for Compassion is an organization based on an international document that states the urgent need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. The charter states that the principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, and calls on all people to restore compassion to the center of our moral, religious and civic life. Over 2 million people in over 50 countries have affirmed the charter, and hundreds of communities have launched Compassionate Communities Campaigns to bring the charter to life. The Charter for Compassion also offers an education institute with courses, global book reads, and a conversation collective. Karen Armstrong won a TED prize in 2008 for a talk proposing the Charter, which was then developed by thousands of people and launched in 2009. In Maine, the city council of Portland has voted to support the Charter as a Compassionate Community.
The Earth Charter is a document of 16 principles powering a global movement towards a more just, sustainable and peaceful world. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future. It is a vision of hope and a call to action. The Charter lays out four pillars: respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and democracy, nonviolence and peace.
The Earth Charter was created by the independent Earth Charter Commission, which was convened as a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in order to produce a global consensus statement of values and principles for a sustainable future. The document was developed over nearly a decade through an extensive process of international consultation, to which over five thousand people contributed. There are now over 50,000 endorsers in 89 countries generations.