The World Parliament of Religions: Montserrat - 4th-7th July 2004 and Barcelona 7th-13th July 2004
Whirling Dervishes at the Closing Plenary, July 13, 2004
What is the Parliament?
The first meeting termed a "Parliament of the World Religions" was held in Chicago in 1893, as part of the Columbian Exposition. This historic event is widely regarded as the beginning of the worldwide inter-religious movement. One hundred years later in 1993, some 8,000 people from around the world congregated again in Chicago for a centennial Parliament celebration. The main focus of this event was discussion of a common Global Ethic (with Hans Kung in a leading role). The aim was to foster harmony among religious and spiritual communities and to explore their responses to the critical issues facing the global community. Six years later in Cape Town, another Parliament convened to further promote inter-religious dialogue and cooperation and to call the world's attention to the powerful role that religious and spiritual communities played in the struggle against apartheid. This time a leading theme was what was termed a "call to guiding institutions" - those which set global agendas, and which include the World Bank. This year, five years on, the Parliament came together in Barcelona. As it had in earlier incarnations, the Parliament itself was preceded by a much smaller, "invitation only", Assembly, held at the ancient monastery site at Montserrat, followed by the more open and much larger Parliament event in Barcelona,
The Parliament and Assembly focus on what the CPWR terms a "community" level engagement of religions and spiritual movements, with no pretense to be formally representative of religions or in any sense proportional to beliefs and organizations at the global level. The result is a wide diversity in those who participate, with some fairly obvious gaps and imbalances. To a significant extent it is self-selecting, and one effect of the rather eclectic style is that women and young people are far more represented than in some of the more formal interfaith events and organizations. Overall, the tone and feel is of a quite open and dynamic organization, quite American in character, which is guided by a Board of Trustees headed by a delightful leader, Rev. Bill Lesher.
Montserrat Assembly
The Montserrat Assembly setting
The Montserrat Assembly took place at the spectacular monastery at Montserrat, near Barcelona. It was organized around four themes, with discussions over two days among some 350 invited participants, orchestrated by a large team of facilitators (some 110), including graphic artists as well as organizational specialists. Their presence and the heavy investment in process follows from the organizational philosophy of the Parliament organizers, to seek to build commitment essentially at the community, local level. The four substantive themes were "eliminating the international debt burden on developing countries", "supporting refugees worldwide", "overcoming religiously motivated violence", and "increasing access to clean water". Those who attended reflected a wide range of people, largely active within religious organizations, with probably over half from the US, and a significant contingent from Spain. The meeting was held largely in English, with some sessions translated into Spanish and Catalan. The Assembly had been preceded by run up events, including discussions on debt and refugees in Kericho, Kenya and on other topics in New Delhi (December, 2003), Birmingham, UK (October 2003) and Chicago (October 2003).
I participated in the debt discussions (I was alone from the multilateral organizations there, as no-one from the IMF, regional Banks, or our debt team were able to participate). The "experts" here were Michael Taylor (WFDD, but essentially there in his capacity as a UK Jubilee campaign leader) and Marie Brill Clarke, from Jubilee USA. The background write-ups were all taken directly from Jubilee literature. The facilitators were keen to ensure a balanced discussion that brought out the complexities of the issue, and to a significant degree they were successful (though when I first stood to speak someone asked me not very kindly if I had bodyguards with me). The discussions took place largely in small groups, with considerable mixing and changes in circle composition. Overall, I tried to set the debt discussions in the context of the broader international poverty issues, including the MDGs. The two days thus involved many productive and useful individual exchanges, and I was impressed by the good will and, generally, openness of most participants. The difficulty which the Jubilee Campaign faces now in redefining its objectives with the Jubilee year well behind us was quite apparent throughout, and it was frustrating that many participants came and left with only limited appreciation of what can and needs to be done. The structure of the Assembly process was designed to culminate in articulated commitments of each participant to "simple but profound acts"; this proved to be somewhat difficult for many on the debt topic.
Apart from the meetings and discussions on the four leading topics, there were opening and closing plenary sessions (with music, and with a range of interfaith rituals and events). There was, during this event, considerable room for networking and discussions, including a fascinating exchange with the monks of the Montserrat monastery. The final session focused on statements of individual commitment to action (which the CPWR plans to use as its basis for follow up in the coming years).
Barcelona Parliament
The Parliament was held at the site of the Barcelona's Universal Forum of Cultures between 7th-13th July 2004. Under the general theme "Pathways to Peace: The Wisdom of Listening, the Power of Commitment", approximately 8,000 people attended the Parliament over the course of the week. By coming together to listen and to commit, the Parliament highlighted strategies to help faith communities, religious people and other lay participants transform the world through real actions back at home.
There was a full and extensive program of activities throughout the week, offering participants a wide range of activities to engage in. These included evening plenary sessions and special gatherings; engagement exercises, intra and inter-religious programs; a variety of symposia; music, dance and theater performances, exhibits, morning observances, film-focused programs, and open space programs. What was termed the "Assembly" process on the four core themes discussed at Montserrat was repeated for those who signed up as part of the Parliament meeting itself. In sum, the event was a blend of an academic style conference, carefully and creatively staged plenary sessions, cultural events of many kinds, side organizational happenings, and so on.
There were some 800 session organizers and speakers (the program can be seen on the Parliament website, together with pictures, video clips etc). The Dalai Lama was to open the Parliament and participate but withdrew at the last moment because of illness. To mention just a few of the speakers: Shirin Ebadi, Raimon Panikkar, Federico Mayer, Hans Kung, Karen Armstrong, Michael Lerner, Tariq Ramadan, and Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (also known as Amma).
The Parliament's priorities over the next five years, until the next meeting, are to focus on a process of following up on and supporting religious communities in meeting their commitments. The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions has established a network of inter-religious movements in partner cities around the world and participants also engaged in strong grassroots partnerships, alliances and friendships.
Millennium Development Goals
Rather late in the organizing process, we were invited to organize a session in the large auditorium on the Millennium Development Goals, jointly with the UN. Evelyn Herfkens was the major speaker, but at the very last moment was unable to come because of illness; Marina Ponti from the UN stood in for her, and I chaired the session. Other participants were Rabbi Soetendorp and Sulak Sivaraksa (replacing Kamla Chowdry, who had suggested the session but was unable to be at the Parliament). The session drew quite a small audience but those who were there engaged effectively, and the themes of the MDGs and importance of faith partnerships carried over into the final plenary sessions.
Faith and Economics? Â Â Â  Â Katherine Marshall presenting the work of HDNDE, July 11th, 2004
A second major session that we led was organized around the World Faiths Development Dialogue, and involved presentations by Michael Taylor (WFDD director until end July), Sulak Sivaraksa and myself. It was also in the large auditorium. Michael addressed the issues of faith and development, with an emphasis on the need for faiths to be "economically literate". An acceptable "bottom economic line" is a subject for dialogue to approach more agreement on the outlines. He highlighted tensions on development issues among religions: as an illustration, his former organization, Christian Aid, would never have considered funding a mosque or temple, although he understands them to be an essential part of development. My presentation focused on the history of our dialogue with faiths on development issues and some of the questions and lessons that have emerged. Sulak spoke from a Buddhist perspective, stressing that social change happens only when we stop thinking and actually do something. He stressed how much positive change he had seen in the World Bank's approach to development and in its style of operation (less arrogant). The Voices of the Poor work was mentioned several times.
The event was an opportunity to outline the work of WFDD and our work in the Development Dialogue program in the Bank. There will be DVDs of both this and the MDG sessions.
Religion and Government; One Principle, Many Perspectives 
Panel on Religion and Government, July 13th, 2004
I also participated in a program on July 13 at the request of WPR Trustee Rev. Gwynne Guibord. It proved to be a probing highly substantive discussion of relationships between religions and public authorities in the US, Hungary, India, and Israel, with comments on the United Nations system by John Taylor. There was considerable focus on religious tensions and conflicts, but also on important achievements in working towards more cooperation in the several countries discussed, with fascinating insights into how problems should be and have been either aggravated, tackled or resolved by governments. My presentation focused on the complex course of discussions on the links between religion and development, and on issues that linked and divided the two worlds.
Symposium on Religion and International Organizations
This day-long Symposium took place on July 9 (third day of the Parliament), organized by the Department of Theology at Birmingham University, UK and co-sponsored by the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (Sikh community in Birmingham, UK), the Temple of Understanding (New York) and the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace. Although this meeting was the initial basis for my participation in the Parliament overall, I was unable to participate at the last minute because I was in Rome for a meeting at the Vatican, so Olivia Donnelly took my place (these are her notes).
The Symposium's aim was to increase understanding and cooperation between religious communities and/or organizations and international institutions, such as the United Nations and World Bank and thus to raise awareness in the mainstream of academic work and public policy about the related issues between religions, politics and economics, and contribute to improved relations between international institutions, religious communities/organizations, inter-religious organizations and indigenous communities. Several speakers were from the United Nations to strengthen the engagement with the UN system as a partner for inter-cultural and inter-religious encounters and projects.
The first session was an historical overview and an introduction into the issues chaired by Dr Martin Stringer (Head of Theology, Birmingham). The speakers were Dr Josef Boehle (Moderator of the Symposium and Fellow at University of Birmingham), Reverend Marcus Braybooke (President of the World Congress of Faiths) and a member of Worldwide Services of the World Conference on Religions and Peace in Reverend Kyoichi Sugino's place. Following this was a panel on Religions and International Institutions chaired by Dr Josef Boehle and presented by Dr Felix Marti (President of the Institute Linguapax and Former Director of the Centre UNESCO de Catalunya), Dr Azza Karam (President of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN) and Sister Joan Kirby (Temple of Understanding, New York). After lunch, Religions, Civil Society and International Institutions were discussed and chaired by Reverend Marcus Braybooke. Olly Donnelly (Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank) took Katherine Marshall's place in presenting the World Bank's history and engagement with faith based and religious organizations and Professor Patrice Brodeur (Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Connecticut College, New London, USA) discussed a theoretical approach towards religious communities, transnational NGOs and the Development of a Global Civil Society. Dr John Taylor (now UN representative of International Association for Religious Freedom) also spoke on this panel about the critical issues in working with international institutions. The day concluded with a panel representing and giving examples of organizations, initiatives and research into the issues addressed in the Symposium. It was chaired by Dr Pal Ahluwalia (Professor of Politics at Goldsmith College, University of London) and the panel comprised Sister Joan Kirby and Diane Williams (Temple of Understanding, New York), Reverend Charles Gibbs (Executive Director of United Religions Initiative), Dr Gerardo Gonzales (currently trustee of URI and Director of a project aimed at creating a permanent Spiritual Forum within the UN), Dr Kamran Mofid (founder of "An Interfaith Perspective on Globalization" conference series) and Dr Martin Stringer (UNESCO Chair for Interfaith Studies).
Speakers throughout the day touched on a variety of issues and perspectives around the theme of religion and international organizations. In the context of the Parliament, we are obliged to work with the words "religion/religions" but they create many ambiguities and confusions. It is preferable to give priority to thinking in terms of faith and people: the founders and prophets of the traditions with their pure vision and challenge. It is the living communities of "faithful" people and the integrity of each "person of faith" which constitute the dynamic, cumulative reality of each religious tradition. Any inter-religious dialogue must therefore be a living dialogue among people rather than an abstract dialogue between traditions or a comparison of institutional practices or failings.
This idea of inter-religious dialogue and a global ethic to solve the world's problems was ingrained in the participants at the first Parliament in Chicago in 1893 - this event is widely acknowledged as a turning point for the beginning of the worldwide inter-religious movement. The hopes of the 1893 Parliament were all too soon shattered by the two world wars and a century of blood shed. Voices of exclusion drowned those of co-operation held at the Parliament. However, in 1960, The Temple of Understanding was founded as a pioneering member of the interfaith movement and is dedicated to creating environments in which people of different faith and religious traditions can learn from and about each other. Following that, in 1970 the World Conference on Religion and Peace first met in Kyoto with the hopes that world religionists would join the congress to share their goals and contribute to world peace in the spirit of inter-religious cooperation. By the 1980s, those involved in inter-religious dialogue moved beyond meeting to discuss their own individual religions to what can we do to work together to overcome conflict in the fight for peace. The United Religions Initiative, for example, has developed since 1996 where thousands of people have shared their visions and worked together for "global good" rooted in shared spiritual values. The concept of working together also became the focus of the Parliaments in Chicago (1993), Cape Town (1999) and Barcelona (2004). Inter-faith work has grown hugely at all levels - local, national and international and events such as September 11th 2001 did something to popular consciousness where religion has to be the next issue around which development revolves, even if the event also means it is now seen as problem which has to be dealt with. Religion is therefore a window of opportunity as well as a problem.
In relationships with international institutions, the majority of which have a secular definition or composition, religious people and religious institutions seek to bring a spiritual and ethical contribution or critique. These may reinforce values already present in the secular body or may radically challenge what is being done or not being done. Religious communities and individuals cannot claim a monopoly of ethical values or effective humanitarian channels, but they can offer initiatives, partnerships and support and there can often be a common agenda between the "religious" and the "non-religious". However, there are some critical issues to be faced on both sides in proposing or entering into co-operation between religious bodies and international institutions.
There is generally a climate of skepticism or disappointment about the failings on either side, be it about the religious contribution or about the achievement of the international institution. The United Nations and the World Bank, for example, have faced much criticism but both are increasingly recognizing the need for partnerships with civil society and faith based organizations. This is partly due to the criticism the institutions have received but also due to other factors - in the case of the World Bank, engagement with faith based groups is largely due to the personal leadership and commitment of the President, Jim Wolfensohn. Both organizations have also been motivated by surveys which show that many poor communities place a lot of trust in religious institutions and their leaders, and up to 70% of social services are delivered by religious and faith based groups. Dr Azza Karam pointed out that in Latin America, 70% of hospitals are provided by religious organizations and 90% of those who are engaged in services are women of faith. We also live in a complicated world full of complex challenges where there are many moral issues, trade offs and choices but religious groups have thousands of years of experience and knowledge from which international institutions can learn from. In the case of the United Nations, many religiously motivated organizations are already numerous among accredited bodies and the commitments and values exemplified by these bodies can enhance the quality of implementation for a given program, Similarly religious bodies are recognizing the expertise and truly international prioritizing capacities of bodies like the United Nations and its agencies. However, religious groups need to approach the UN in the "right" way - specifically targeting people rather than creating secular trends already found in the organization.
Within the United Nations, there is need for a permanent space for the religious and spiritual movements to be represented and to be actively involved in building world peace - some concrete proposals are surfacing and circulating with a view to recognizing (rather than establishing) the existence of a spiritual forum. The idea of having such a forum is however an old one. For example, Juliet Hollister, founder of Temple of Understanding, proposed a Spiritual United Nations over forty years ago. The present initiative finds its roots in the proposal made by Lama Gangchen in 1995, calling for the creation of a "United Nations Spiritual Forum for World Peace". Such a forum would provide the space and channels for facilitating dialogue among people of all faiths for a better understanding of the beliefs, ethical codes, practices and mutual respect. By encouraging and widening the practice of dialogue within and among its members a forum could contribute to non-violent conflict resolution. There is already a working relationship among many religiously and ethically based organizations which have consultative status with the United Nations. Dr Felix Marti suggested five interesting propositions for the United Nations:
1) A permanent committee to establish relations between the UN system and religious leaders and really serve the needs of people not states, in accordance with The Charter.
2) To sign a multi-lateral/bi-lateral agreement between the UN and different religious institutions to fight poverty
3) UNESCO cannot deal with cultural issues if religion is ignored. They need to respect and include all but up to now they have ignored the religious aspect of human beings. They too need a committee of experts to establish the reality of religions and traditions in a global perspective.
4) UNESCO and UN should support publications on the subject of religions to promote the important role of faith based groups.
5) UNESCO should establish a global international jurisdiction to create, recognize and/or protect religious and sacred places in agreement with communities.
The World Bank, on the other hand, has its relatively new department - Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics, headed by Katherine Marshall. Jim Wolfensohn and Lord Carey (the former Archbishop of Canterbury) also started an informal initiative in 1998 called the World Faith's Development Dialogue. It has brought together leaders and networks of faith and development institutions through three important and productive meetings and a forth meeting is being planned at present.
The Symposium was therefore a full and interesting day touching on theoretical and practical issues, as well as highlighting the absolute necessity of international institutions and religions to work together to real tackle and fight the issues of poverty we face today.
Youth Focus and Events
Young people (under the age of 30) have been meeting at the Parliament since its modern inception at Chicago in 1993. Many are undergraduates and graduate students, seminarians, and student activists from over thirty different schools who have incorporated the Parliament into their school's ongoing religious education course work. Some are young people from different religious and inter-religious groups looking to gain the essential skills needed to engage with other religious and spiritual communities when they return from the Parliament. Others come as either individuals or as part of a group to share their personal and country experiences with other participants and to raise awareness of the problems facing youth today, especially in developing countries.
Young people played an important role at the Parliament. They engaged in gatherings, concerts, discussions and programs and brought a sense of compassion, energy and leadership from different religions, traditions, backgrounds and beliefs. This helped to build relationships and gain strategies for continuing co-operative based social action projects back in their own communities.
There were a range of programs over the course of the week directly and indirectly involving youth. Michael Taylor (Director of World Faiths Development Dialogue) organized a "conversation" with Sulak Sivaraksa (Nobel Prize nominee and prominent Buddhist social and environmental activist in Thailand) and eight young people from different countries including India, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, Tanzania and Israel. Olly Donnelly (Junior Professional Associate) also participated in this conversation, held on the last day of the Parliament. Each participant spoke of their personal concerns and visions of development and then the conversation was opened up to the floor to either share their experiences or to ask the presenters about their situations.
Another well attended event targeted at young people was a conversation held with Jane Goodall from "Roots and Shoots" - a program designed to inspire youth of all ages to make a difference by becoming involved in their local communities. Dr Goodall spoke about the organization and areas where young people can become involved in action both to protect the environment and to promote peace. Jane Goodall attracted considerable attention throughout her stay in Barcelona and gave a well-attended plenary talk.
At the final plenary session on July 13th, a group of young people shared their Parliament experiences and commitments to "simple but profound acts" back at home. A large group performed a song and dance on stage and two young girls ended their participation by singing a touching song about "the language of love".
The involvement of youth in the CPW philosophy and approach is thus central, and the need to reach out to the younger generations was stressed at virtually every turn. Youth numbers and vulnerabilities were mentioned time and time again. Following Barcelona, the intent is to encourage participants to take their energies and commitments to home communities so that others will be better informed about the issues young people around the world are confronted with.
Partnering with Guiding Institutions:
Olly Donnelly (Junior Professional Associate) and Kirk Boyd (International Bill of Rights Project) presented at this session, under the general theme of "How to Organize and Operate after Barcelona". This was a series of five programs, one held each day, moderated by Richard Weingarten. Olly presented on an NGO called Samerth and its partners, working in Gujarat following the earthquake and Kirk presented on partners involved in creating and formulating the International Bill of Rights. The audience had opportunities to ask questions such as definitions of "guiding institutions", how to identify them at home, how to contact them, how to build relationships with them and how to raise money from them. Both Olly and Kirk spoke from personal experiences and Richard offered advice for the audience to take home with them.
Langar
Dr Isaac celebrating langar
Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha is a Sikh organization located in Birmingham, UK. Over 300 sikhs from the community came to Barcelona to demonstrate to the world how the Sikh faith exemplifies universal interfaith principles. These core universal principles of Sikhism - dya, sath, santokh, nimrta and pyar: compassion, truth, contentment, humility and love - certainly shone through in the generous act of serving "langar" to over 10,000 people over the course of the week. The "gurdwara" (tent) was pitched outside the forum to enable participants of the Parliament as well as others to attend the daily free vegetarian lunch, stemming from the Sikh word "langar", meaning hospitality. The community drove the food from Birmingham in three large trucks and each day prepared it between 7-11am, ready to serve it between 12-3pm. Most participants took advantage on a daily basis and were overwhelmed by the hospitality. Inside the gurdwara there was also a museum outlining the history of Sikhism, a relatively new religion founded in 1469 by Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Learning about the Sikh faith through such a gesture was a definite highlight of the week.
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