In cooperation with
SUMMIT on Religious Diplomacy for New world order 3-4-5th of july 2021 Sofia Bulgaria
Our Member Dr Asif Iqbal and His Holiness Dalai Lamma
About the Parliament of the World’s Religions
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the world’s largest, oldest, most diverse and inclusive convening organization of the global interfaith movement. The Parliament of the World's Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.
Vision: To globalize and change the Political natüre of conflict and limits of conventional Diplomacy
Mission: Understand the Challanges facing Global Diplomacy through interfaith dialogue Religious diplomacy is a vital necessity, on which the future of humanity depends. It continues to be an important political phenomenon throughout the world. And, at its best it can reinforce the core values necessary for people from different cultures to live, to some degree, in harmony.
Introduction
Globalization and the changing nature of conflict have shown the limits of conventional diplomacy in resolving these new conflicts in a global era and this has opened up opportunities for religious partner to be involved in World diplomacy. One of the challenges facing global diplomacy is to fully understand and engage the great impact that a wide range of religions have on foreign affairs as there is far more to the religion and diplomacy agenda than just Islam and security.
The World community as of today have become less religious in cultural context , and probably , even less spiritual in some ways, governments have become less attentive to religion. Sometimes deliberately so. Religion was not taken into account in a sensitive way as it should have been and was not a priority in terms of Diplomacy and international relations.
Political observers nowdays stress that Modern diplomacy’s dismissal of religion as a factor in world affairs was a huge mistake. So We also believe that Understanding of our contemporary world politics is not possible without including the religious element. an interaction of diplomacy and religion exists . Hence, this interplay of religion and diplomacy has not always been a story with a happy end. The lack of sensibility for the religious dimension of people often makes diplomatic efforts unsuccessful. In the ongoing discussions on constructing the world order many new approaches are being developed. One of the most discussed and controversial issue is the recognition of a religious dimension in international relations.
We need to understand religion as a backbone for cultural identity, social engagement and human development. Religious inspired claims can redefine identities to promote reconciliation opponents to a better vision. religion isnecessary to identity as we cannot understand human beings and human behavior in purely economic and political terms.
In the current dynamic the politisation of religion in today’s environment means that religion increasingly plays a role in diplomacy both as an opportunity for engagement and as a way to inspire a variety of partners. In faith-based diplomacy, faith played, and is playing, a growing role in human affairs. Human nature matters in general as do the vision and leadership of certain persons and at the same time it’s also recognizes the evil in the human soul.
In diplomacy today we should move towards a more syncretism stance that acknowledges the possibilities of religious diplomatic cooperation because of realization that religion is a large part of what motivates people and shapes their views. Religion informs the world views of both allies and adversaries. Do foreign policy makers undervalue or fail to understand the strategic importance of religion? Yes. If religion can be the missing dimension of statecraft, it is the most underestimated tool in creative diplomacy. In order to be able to lead internationally policy makers should learn as much as possible about the basics of religious history and incorporate that knowledge in their strategies.This means, there is no universal rule about diplomatic religious cooperation across the dynamically changing world. Policy makers need to institutionalize religion in order to be part of mainstream diplomacy and so to be able, to move away from the usual thinking that religion is relevant to certain specialized functions such as the advancement of international religious freedom.
Goals
As we all are aware tthat Pope John Paul II launched one of the most important diplomatic initiatives of his long papacy during his tenure of papacy when he called for a new international order to replace the one that emerged from the second world war.
Pope John Paul II did not offer a detailed plan, his words appeared to show he wanted the UN replaced in light of its failure to block the use of force by America in Iraq.
So as a principle goal :
Reformization of world institutions need new voice in Political and social and cultural context of today We all therefore know that "More than ever, we need a new international order that draws on the experience and results that can be achieved in these years of conflict faced by by the United Nations,"
New World Order We know importance that the new world order we want today "would be able to provide solutions to the problems of today ... based on the dignity of human beings, an integrated development of society, solidarity between rich and poor nations, and on the sharing of resources and the extraordinary results of scientific and technological progress."
On this occasions these goals are not being achieved with the present system of international organisations that emerged in the late 40s, including the UN, the IMF and the World Bank.
Interfaith: We are aware that "Peace and international law are closely linked to each other: law favours peace". We all observe that that "democratic governments know well that the use of force against terrorists cannot justify a renunciation of the principles of the rule of law".
Faith-based diplomacy draws upon secular expertise in conflict resolution analysis, political science and philosophy, experience in national security and diplomacy. The objective of faith based diplomacy is not only conflict resolution but also the restoration of the political order that has suffered from war and injustice and the reconciliation of individuals and socialgroups. The Pope acknowledged that current international law was ill-suited to dealing with rebels or terrorists and called for new treaties and reform of the UN.
Dialogue: We continue to face financial challenges but, unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall. We want our journalism to remain accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
As World Parliament of Religions we can foster inclusivity, diversity, make space for debate, inspire conversation – so more people have access to accurate information with integrity at its heart.
Participants: His Honorable President Of Bulgaria
EU Plenipotentiary Ambassadors to Sofia
Indian Ambassador to Sofia
Religious community leaders (Local and International )
Venue: The conference is expected to take on first week of July 2019
Conference isuues
Countering War, Hate & Violence
One of the major focal points of the Parliament’s work has long been the opposition or people of faith and spirituality to hate and its offspring, violence and war. We will discuss
Countering War , Hate and Volance
Global Ethics
Towards a Global Ethic: Initial Declaration, also known as the Global Ethic, expresses a shared set of core values found in the teachings of the world's religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions. The Global Ethic, mostly drafted by Professor Hans Küng in consultation with several hundred leaders and scholars, became an official declaration of the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993. For the first time in history, representatives of all the world's religions agreed that there are common ethical commitments foundational to each of their traditions:
Participants will discuss following commitments
• Human beings should be treated humanely
• The Golden Rule of reciprocity
• A commitment to peace and justice
These commitments can be affirmed by all persons with ethical convictions, whether they are people of faith or not. While this ethic provides no direct solution for all the problems of the world, it does supply the moral foundation for a better individual and global order.
Since it was ratified, the Global Ethic has given rise to several organizations. These include the Global Ethic Foundation, the Institute for Global Ethics, and the United Religions Initiative. Themes advanced in the Global Ethic have inspired documents such as the Earth Charter, the Charter of Compassion, a Charter of Forgiveness, A Common Word Between Us and You, and campaigns have also been launched to promote the Golden Rule.
The Spiritual Evolution of Humanity and HEaling our Mother Earth
The Parliament of the World’s Religions, through its International Indigenous Task Force and the Toronto Indigenous Working Group, has invited Indigenous leaders, faith keepers, traditional knowledge holders and others an opportunity to offer workshops, panel discussions, to be a speaker or feature a presentation that will share their Indigenous knowledge and spiritual teachings.
We will offer Indigenous music, dance, art, and performance from across Sofia and around the world.
The Next Generation at the Parliament of the World's Religions
In keeping with the mission of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the Next Generation Task Force in this conference will be focused on engaging spiritually and geographically diverse young changemakers that are tackling critical issues and working towards interfaith cooperation in their communities.
Parliament Women's Task Force
Participants will talk about
• Developing an International Declaration Against Sexual Violence that all religious dignitaries at the 2018 Parliament will be asked to sign (Co-sponsored with the FaithTrust Institute).
• Adding 1,000 biographies of women religious and spiritual leaders to Wikipedia to bring attention to women’s religious and spiritual leadership world-wide (co-sponsored with the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature Women’s Caucus)
• Creating a poster highlighting teachings about the dignity of women across the world’s wisdom traditions, as well as launching a Dignity of Women scholar initiative to bring the best religious teachings to the public in accessible and easily understandable formats
Religious Diplomacy for New world order Interfaith Dialogue
All Participants will also talk on
Dialogue Principles
Dr. Leonard Swidler is a highly respected American scholar in the field of interfaith dialogue. Dr. Swidler has published this set of ten inter-religious principles which have become a classic. Below please find this “dialogue decalogue” in both Short and Long versions.
SHORT VERSION
FIRST PRINCIPLE
The primary purpose of dialogue is to learn; that is, to change and grow in the perception and understanding of reality, and then to act accordingly.
SECOND PRINCIPLE
Inter-religious, inter-ideological dialogue must be a two-sided project within each religious or ideological community and between religious or ideological communities.
THIRD PRINCIPLE
Each participant must come to the dialogue with complete honesty and sincerity.
FOURTH PRINCIPLE
In inter-religious, inter-ideological dialogue we must not compare our ideals with our partner’s practice, but rather our ideals with our partner’s ideals, our practice with our partner’s practice.
FIFTH PRINCIPLE
Each participant must define himself… Conversely, the interpreted must be able to recognize herself in the interpretation.
SIXTH PRINCIPLE
Each participant must come to the dialogue with no hard-ançl-fast assumptions as to where the points of disagreement are.
SEVENTH PRINCIPLE
Dialogue can take place only between equals… Both must come to learn from each other.
EIGHTH PRINCIPLE
Dialogue can take place only on the basis of mutual trust.
NINTH PRINCIPLE
Persons entering into inter-religious, inter-ideological dialogue must be at least minimally self-critical of both themselves and their own religious or ideological traditions.
TENTH PRINCIPLE
Each participant eventually must attempt to experience the partner’s religion or ideology ‘from within’; for a religion or ideology is not merely something of the head, but also of the spirit, heart, and ‘whole being,’ individual and communal.
Principles towards Better Interfaith Relations
1. We confess our failures and lack of love, respect and sensitivity to people of other faiths in the past. We intend to forgive one another, seek the forgiveness of others and commit ourselves to a new beginning.
2. We affirm that good interfaith relations can open the way to better interethnic relations and peace throughout the world.
3. We recognise building true community (koinonia) , both among persons and various ethnic and religious communities, as our primary objective. We need to develop a global theology that will be appropriate for the unfolding sense of a globalised world.
4. We affirm the importance of promoting a culture of dialogue within and among all religious communities and indigenous traditions.
5. We condemn violence and terrorism as being against the spirit of all true religion and we pledge ourselves to removing their causes.
6. We shall respect the integrity of all religions and ensure that they have the freedom to follow their own beliefs and practices.
7. We believe that the different religions are enriched by identifying agendas in which they can collaborate, such as making peace, protecting the environment, eradicating poverty and ensuring the human dignity of all.
8. We affirm that it is important for us all to listen to and learn from other religions so that we can value religious plurality as a factor that enriches our communities.
9. We endeavour to live out and explain the truths of our own religion in a manner that is intelligible and friendly to people of other faiths.
10. Cultural diversity as well as religious diversity in our communities will be affirmed as a source of enrichment and challeng
Why Interfaith Dialogue Doesn’t Work — And What We Can Do About It uidelines for Interreligious Understanding
Fr. Thomas Keating is a Roman Catholic priest and Trappist Monk who has made a major contribution to the centering prayer movement and to Interfaith spirituality. He is convener of the Snowmass Conference and a member of the international monastic inter-religious movement. He authored the following report:
A report on an experience of on-going inter-religious dialogue might be helpful at this point. In 1984, I invited a group of spiritual teachers from a variety of the world religions — Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Islamic, Native American, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic — to gather at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, to meditate together in silence and to share our personal spiritual journeys, especially those elements in our respective traditions that have proved most helpful to us along the way.
We kept no record and published no papers. As our trust and friendship grew, we felt moved to investigate various points that we seemed to agree on. The original points of agreement were worked over during the course of subsequent meetings as we continued to meet, for a week or so each year. Our most recent list consists of the following eight points:
1. The world religions bear witness to the experience of Ultimate Reality to which they give various names: Brahman, Allah, Absolute, God, Great Spirit.
2. Ultimate Reality cannot be limited by any name or concept.
3. Ultimate Reality is the ground of infinite potentiality and actualization.
4. Faith is opening, accepting and responding to Ultimate Reality. Faith in this sense precedes every belief system.
5. The potential for human wholeness (or in other frames of reference) — enlightenment, salvation, transformation, blessedness, “nirvana” — is present in every human person.
6. Ultimate Reality may be experienced not only through religious practices but also through nature, art, human relationships, and service of others.
7. As long as the human condition is experienced as separate from Ultimate Reality, it is subject to ignorance and illusion, weakness and suffering.
8. Disciplined practice is essential to the spiritual life; yet spiritual attainment is not the result of one’s own efforts, but the result of the experience of oneness with Ultimate Reality.
Points of Agreement or Similarity
At the annual Snowmass conference in May 1986, we came up with additional points of agreement of a practical nature:
A. Some examples of disciplined practice, common to us all:
1.
A. Practice of compassion
B. Service to others
C. Practicing moral precepts and virtues
D. Training in meditation techniques and regularity of practice
E. Attention to diet and exercise
F. Fasting and abstinence
G. The use of music and chanting and sacred symbols
H. Practice in awareness (recollection, mindfulness) and living in the present moment
I. Pilgrimage
J. Study of scriptural texts and scriptures
And in some traditions:
1. Relationship with a qualified teacher
2. Repetition of sacred words (mantra, japa)
3. Observance of periods of silence and solitude
4. Movement and dance
5. Formation of community
B. It is essential to extend our formal practice of awareness into all aspects of our life.
C. Humility, gratitude, and a sense of humor are indispensable in the spiritual life.
D. Prayer is communion with Ultimate Reality, whether it is regarded as personal, impersonal, or beyond them both.
We were surprised and delighted to find so many points of similarity and convergence in our respective paths. Like most people of our time, we originally expected that we would find practically nothing in common. In the years that followed, we spontaneously and somewhat hesitatingly began to take a closer look at certain points of disagreement until these became our main focus of attention. We found that discussing our points of disagreement increased the bonding of the group even more than discovering our points of agreement. We became more honest in stating frankly what we believed and why, without at the same time making any effort to convince others of our own position. We simply presented our understanding as a gift to the group.
How can we refresh Declaration of Interdependence
On a planet-wide scale we are now witnessing the convergence of two international movements – interfaith dialogue and social justice. People active in both movements are realizing that they can create a better world by cooperating with one another. In 1997, an extraordinary document linking social justice to interfaith dialogue was produced and signed by 22 faith communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Declaration of Interdependence
WE, as faith group representatives, declare our interdependence with those who are living in poverty in our local community as well as in the world community.
WE DECLARE that we are all united in the spirit of one God, and that we are called to uphold the spirit of universal interdependence with our sisters and brothers of all faiths.
WE DECLARE that it is an offense to our faith that some enjoy an abundance of this world.s goods while the quality of life of others is restricted by hunger, by lack of proper shelter and by inability to fulfill their places in society because of poverty.
WE DECLARE that it is the role of governments to care for those who are unable to care for themselves, and that the provision of a compassionate social system is an absolute requirement.
WE DECLARE our concern that governments today are failing to provide adequately for those suffering from poverty in our society, and we call upon those whom we have elected to treat all people in their care with dignity and respect, providing sufficient financial resources so that all may have adequate food, clothing, and shelter, and access to education and health care.
WE DECLARE our deep concern about the growing gap between rich and poor in our society and our anger at the lack of action to redress this social injustice.
WE DECLARE our conviction that the failure of governments to provide adequately for persons in poverty, especially children, has drastic consequences for the future in unemployment, lack of self-fulfillment, violence, abuse, crime and illness. Investment in proper social services today will result in a higher quality of life and reduce social costs in the future.
