We live in an interconnected world, bound together by common risks, hopes and fears.
At the turn of the 21st century, multi-faith initiatives have been extensively implemented as strategies to counter global risks—such as terrorism and climate change—and advance common security. The global multi-faith movement, usually seen as emerging from the first Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) in Chicago in 1893, has since its inception promoted understanding between faiths and recognition of human interdependence. It has also provided a platform for religious leaders and community members to challenge cultures of violence and exclusion propagated by religions themselves, by states, ideologies, and market forces. Drawing on the wisdom of multiple faith traditions, through common action to address social problems, the multi-faith movement has always embraced a peace-building imperative.
Multi-faith activities range from community meetings to promote religious tolerance in major American and European cities to projects bringing together Israeli and Palestinian youths, to promoting corporate responsibility, to raising awareness of the dangers of cluster bombs in the Cambodian countryside.
