To
tell the truth, I am jealous as hell. The Parliament
of World’s Religions opened the sessions
Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah. That Mormon
dominated city nestled at the feet of the Wasatch Range on the shores of its namesake, is particularly gorgeous
this time of year in clear golden sunlight.
At least two friends,
probably more, are in attendance. The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison of my Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist
Congregation in McHenry, Illinois is
there where he led a local congregation for some years and where his son and grandchildren still live. Jessica Palys is a recent seminary graduate and candidate for the Lutheran ministry who
I first knew as a young, active local Democratic
activist and who was later a major figure in the drive for Healthcare reform in Illinois. Each of them is already posting excited
comments on social media.
The
Parliament has been hosting a gathering of religious and spiritual leaders from all over the world and reflecting the vast
diversity of beliefs and traditions practiced on this planet every roughly every five years
since 1993. Previous Parliaments have
convened in Chicago, Cape Town (1999),
Barcelona (2004), and Melbourne (2009). Each of these sessions has
fostered inter-faith dialogue
including finding common ground among communities often at violent odds with
one another—Christianity/Islam/Judaism,
Hindu/Islam. They have also raised recognition and respect for traditional
native religions and “Pagan”
traditions. Co-operation on social
justice, peacemaking, and climate change have been fostered. So has respect for the role of women in religion.
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| Parliament of World Religions Women's Assembly. Photo by Jessica Palys |
This
year the inaugural of a new Women’s
Assembly was held yesterday featuring the voices of distinguished. In addition 60% of the session leaders of regular Parliament session will be women.
The
big name draw of the Parliament was
supposed to be His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a long time enthusiastic participant and supporters of the
gatherings, but recent illness has
forced him to cancel all of his North
American appearances. Not to worry,
an impressive array will be on hand any way including two other Nobel Prize Laureates, Óscar Arias Sánchez
the two-time President of Costa Rica noted
for his efforts to bring peace to Central American nations wracked by civil wars and brutally repressive dictatorships and Mairead Maguire who was one of two Northern Irish mothers who
worked to end sectarian violence there went on to international peace activism.
Among
the other stellar speakers will be the famed primatologist and ecological
activist Dr. Jane Goodall; Dr. Karen Armstrong, the former Catholic Nun whose breakthrough
studies like The History of God, The Battle for God, Islam A Short History, and
The
Bible A Biography have been enormously
influential and who has launched the Charter
for Compassion movement; Dr. Tariq
Ramadan, founder and leader of the European
Muslim Network; Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners and a the leading voice
of social justice rooted American Protestantism; Dr. Eboo Patel, an
Islamic leader of the interfaith and
multicultural movements who has
worked with youth in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa,
and the U.S.; Dr. Vandana Shiva, Hindu author and environmental justice activist; Rabbi David Sapersotein, U.S.
Ambassador At-Large for International Religious Freedom and the first non-Christian to hold the post; Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, 19th
Generation Keeper of the Sacred White
Buffalo Calf Pipe and spiritual leader of all three branches of the Sioux; Marianne Williamson, New Age
spiritual author and lecturer and an anti-hunger
activist; Elder L. Whitney Clayton, a
senior leader of the Church of the
Latter Day Saints; The Venerable Dharma Master Hsin Tao, a
Buddhist monk who has combined his religious
practices with political and social activism for peace, inter-faith understanding, and
the environment; Swami Suhitananda, General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, twin organizations
with Hindu roots that are a non-sectarian,
universal spiritual movement; Fatimah
Knight, a young African-American
Muslim who spearheaded a movement to rebuild
Black churches across the South that were burned in the aftermath of the Charleston
Church shooting; Grandmother
Flordemayo-Curandera Espiritu of the Maya
People, one of three Grandmothers—a spiritual movement of aboriginal peoples—from around the
world speaking at the conference; Inija
Trinkuniene, the Krive—highest priestess—of the indigenous Baltic religion community of Romuva
in Lithuania; Medea Benjamin, co-founder
of Code Pink, the direct action anti-war organization; 13 year old Ta’Kaiya Blaney of the Tla’Amin
First Nation in British Columbia
who is already an internationally known speaker,
singer-songwriter, actress, environmental and indigenous people’s
rights activist; and Wándé Abímbólá,
President and Founder of the Ifa Heritage Institute rooted in Yoruba oral tradition in Nigeria as well as a dozen others.
 |
| Sikhs will share Langer--common kitchen--free lunch for thousands of delegates and attendees every day during the World Parliament of Religion in Salt Lake City. Rev, Sean Parker Dennison photo. |
Over
50 faith traditions will be represented at the Parliament, which represents one
of the most significant and far reaching inter-faith forums in the world. Delegates and speakers often tend to
represent the most progressive elements in their traditions and those who are
most willing to reach out to and learn from other traditions, even those with whom
their communities have had strained or even violent histories. The fundamentalists
of all traditions who assert that absolute
truth and righteousness belongs
to them only do not participate in the Parliament and despise those who
do. Many participants face the threat of
violence from within their own faith
traditions as well as persecution by
governments for their stands on human rights, the environment, and peace. This some observers and much of the
establishment press to dismiss the Parliament as peripheral and irrelevant. Others see the seeds of mutual respect, understand, and solidarity among the religious peoples of the world as essential
for the survival of humanity and the planet we all share.
 |
| A session of the 1893 World Parliament of Religion. |
The
modern Parliaments had their roots in a centennial
celebration of a gathering held in conjunction with World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. The
original World’s Parliament of Religions
is now regarded along with guarantees
of Religious Liberty set in motion
by Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute
for Religious Freedom and secured in the Third Amendment to the Constitution, and the Great Awakening as
one of the most significant events in
American religious history. It brought
together for the first time world faith traditions, especially non-Christian
ones on American soil, profoundly shaking an established consensus and opening
a door to a whole new era.
Believe
me, it wasn’t easy.
The
America of the late 19th Century was
very different from the one we recognize today.
Protestant Christianity, especially its Evangelical strain, exercised more cultural and political dominance
over society than ever before despite the recent arrivals of waves of Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish immigrants partly in response to
fear of the new arrivals. The Deism and tolerance of many of the nation’s Founders and the hard fought-for rigid separation of church
and state that had categorized the early years of the republic had crumbled. The light of the New England Renaissance and Transcendentalism
had been swamped in successive waves of revivalism and isolated to an educated
elite who the public was increasingly taught to scorn and despise. Dissenting
sects or movements ranging from the Unitarians
and Universalists to the Mormons and Spiritualists were increasingly isolated. Evangelical style and substance was growing
within non-Evangelical traditions—the Episcopal
Church, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and even some Quakers.
It was influencing the immigrant waves of old Reformation Lutherans. Except in the biggest cities where their
numbers were overwhelming, Jews and Catholics were excluded from political power
and integration into the wider community.
There were flickers
of resistance, of course. The revelations and implications of Darwin and
other scientific advances sowed skepticism of traditional dogma among many.
There was a resurgence of Free Thought
as expounded by the likes of Robert Ingersoll. Every small town could be counted to have
an iconoclast or two among its
citizens. In part of the West a majority of the highly mobile population was unchurched and not unhappy about
it. There may have been restlessness underneath the enforced consensus that
was producing the morality mummery Anthony
Comstock’s Society for the Suppression of Vice or the growing power and
militancy of the prohibition movement, but
few respectable people dared to speak up.
It was in this infertile time that an idea was
hatched for a meeting of the world’s religions to be held during the World
Columbian Exposition which was shaping up to be the largest and most
spectacular of the international gatherings that were coming to be known as World’s Fairs. It was the brainchild of the Swedenborgian layman Judge Charles Carroll
Bonney. The noted jurist had been appointed
President of the World’s Congresses held during the
Exposition. Eventually more than two
hundred of these gatherings were scheduled each bringing together leaders in
their fields including Congresses or Parliaments for anthropology, labor, medicine, temperance, commerce and
finance, literature, history, art, philosophy, and science. Bonney thought that religion should also
be included.
When he pitched the idea to leading Chicago churchmen he received an initial
enthusiastic response until he made clear that the Parliament would include
representatives on non-Christian faiths—heathens
and pagans in many eyes. Others balked when they were told that they
would not be allowed to evangelize or convert the delegates, but would be
required to treat them with dignity and
respect—even those from “inferior races.”
 |
| Rev. John Henry Barrows. |
The Rev. Dr.
John Henry Barrows, minister of
the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago
and the city’s most respected clergyman agreed to be chairman of the
Parliament. Barrows, the minister who
claimed that Abraham Lincoln made a confession of faith to him in 1863—now regarded
by most scholars with the greatest of skepticism—had subsequently become much
more religiously liberal. He was sympathetic to the emerging social gospel movement in support of economic
and social justice and had toured India and
Japan and had a respectful interest
in oriental religion.
In 1891Barrow sent out thousands of invitations to religious leaders across
the globe outlining his vision for a conference that would:
Bring together
representatives of religions from all around the world.
Bring forth the
truths the various religions teach in common.
Promote the
brotherhood among the religious men of diverse faith.
In addition to acceptances, the invitations
unleashed a firestorm of bitter
attacks. Dwight Moody, Chicago’s fiery Evangelical leader led the local
assault. The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote a scathing public denunciation, the European hierarchy of the Catholic Church—American Catholic Bishops were, as was customary in those
days, keeping their heads down to
avoid getting caught in the cross fire—a, and the Ottoman Sultan all attacked the proceedings. Even Barrow’s own Presbyterian Church General
Assembly, firmly in the hands of the denomination’s conservatives, denounced the project. None-the-less Barrows persevered.
 |
| Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones. |
He enlisted as his top assistant and General
Secretary the Rev. Jenkin Lloyd
Jones who was the day-to-day administrator
of the Parliament and in many ways the shaper of the final conference. Jones was a Civil War Veteran and a descendent
of generations of Welsh Dissenters. He was the charismatic minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in Chicago
and the long-time Secretary of the Western Unitarian Conference, the semi-independent Unitarian body which
promoted a radical and non-doctrinal faith. He was a strong supporter of the Social
Gospel movement and through his Unity
Clubs and Unity Magazine promoted dialogue with and respect for Freethinkers
and emerging Humanism. Jones’s theological and political radicalism further
alienated conservatives. But he had
strong connection in the city and quiet support from many wealthy men who were
prevailed upon to financially support the Parliament.
The Parliament finally convened at the Hall of Columbus, now the Art Institute building on Michigan Avenue, on September 11, 1893
with over 4,000 in attendance making it by far the largest of all of the
Congresses. From the beginning the press was enchanted by the colorful pageantry
of the assembled delegations. Although
Protestant Christians still dominated the attendees and slated speakers, it was
the exotics that drew the most
attention.
It was the first time Americans were ever exposed to most non-western religions. There were 12 Buddhist speakers including Soyen
Shaku, the first Japanese Zen master
to come to the U.S. whose translated speech was read to the delegates by
Dr. Barrows and Anagarika Dharmapala,
a leading Sri Lankan monk and representative of the Southern or Theravāda Buddhism.
 |
| Swami Vivekananda, star of the 1893 Parliament. |
Among several Hindus in attendance was the break
out star of the whole conference, Swami
Vivekananda who spoke briefly on the opening day of the sessions. His opening words, “Sisters and brothers of
America!” caused the assembly to break into a wild two minute long standing
ovation. He made two more formal addresses
to the Parliament and spoke dozens of other times to smaller sessions, private
gatherings, and even in the parlors
of wealthy Chicagoans. Although Ralph
Waldo Emerson had been heavily influenced by a translation of the Bhagavad
Gita in his essay The Over-Soul, Americans at the time
were almost entirely ignorant of Hinduism.
But they were greatly taken by Vivekanada’s repeated messages of
religious universality and toleration which summed up the
aspirations of the whole Parliament. His
first short address referenced two quotes from the Shiva Mahimna Stotram:
As the different
streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the
sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different
tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to
Thee!.. Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men
are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me.
Swami Vivekananda remained in North America for two
more years touring and speaking extensively.
A collection of his writings became a best seller. He established
the Vedanta Society as a ministry to
the West which adapted traditional Hindu teaching to Western culture and needs
and which helped introduce the practice of yoga.
Eleven speakers represented Judaism including traditional rabbis
and more secularized Jews. Opposition
from the Sultan hindered a major
participation by Muslims. There were
just two representatives and the main speaker was the American convert Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb.
There were also Parsi, Confucian, Shinto, Tao, and Jain representatives.
The Parliament also recognized and presented the
views of new religious movements of the time, including Spiritualism and Christian Science. Newly emerging Baha’i was referenced in an address by the Rev. Henry Jessup, a Presbyterian minister who was a leading orientalist and founder of the Syrian Protestant College, now known as
the American University of Beirut.
Eleven women including ordained ministers spoke at the Parliament, something that shocked
the sensibilities of even some of its supporters. So did African-American Christians, but no spokesmen
for the traditional religions or Africa. Neither Native American nor any other aboriginal people were invited due to
the Parliament’s express aims of seeking commonality among the “10 Great World
Religions.”
When the Parliament ended after seventeen days, it
was widely hailed as a success. Religious
toleration, an appreciation for certain common threads that were seen to run
through all of the represented religions, and the need to promote study of comparative religion in American colleges and seminaries all got a boost.
So did the more liberal strands of Protestantism, although it also
pushed conservatives to the creation of modern Christian Fundamentalism in the
early 20th Century in reaction. Interest in Eastern religion was sparked and
in coming years a parade of yogis, gurus,
and Buddhist masters would
follow in Swami Vivekananda’s footsteps and establish American followings.
Jews and even Catholics, who had largely boycotted
the Parliament benefited from the encouragement for toleration that the Parliament
promoted and the brotherhood of man movement
in the coming years.
Jenkin Lloyd Jones spent the rest of his life
processing his experiences at the Parliament and writing about them in his
books A Chorus of Faith, Seven Great Religious Teachers, and A Seven
Years Course in Religion. American Unitarianism was profoundly
shaken. The Eastern leadership of the American Unitarian Association and the General Conference of Unitarian had
both been drifting toward brining Unitarian back into the fold of respectable Christian Denominations, but
the Parliament strengthened the independent streak represented by the Western
Conference and encouraged the hand of non-creedalists everywhere.
The Universalists, who were marginally involved,
were even more profoundly moved. The
idea that if God redeemed all souls,
it was not necessary to do so through the agency of Christ or any particular set of religious beliefs took root. Within a couple of generations Universalism
would be even more post-Christian than
the Unitarians. They would come to view
all religions as a path to union with God
or something Greater.
Liberal, or mainstream
protestants would on take a more modified and limited universalism with a
small u. And recently Pope Francis has been echoing similar
sentiments and getting charged with deserting Catholic doctrine for reckless
universalism.
And so it goes…thanks to the first World Parliament
of Religion.
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