The Fifth Parliament of World’s Religions is currently convening in Melbourne, Australia. Every major religion is represented in the name of peace.
How wonderful that the religions which were founded on the patriarchal principles of war, have found their way to allowing more peaceful religions to influence them. May peace prevail in our times!
These faiths are all adhering to the Parliament’s theme, “Making a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing Each Other”. They do this by sharing their own faith, traditions, practices, and culture, and then they actively listen and learn about the other’s faiths. After which, they will discuss ideas and possible solutions to solving the world’s problems.
Parliament of World’s Religions photo by Ray Messner
This Parliament has three Wiccan Pagan leaders, Angie Buchanan, Andras Arthen, and Phyllis Curott, serving on the Board of Trustees of the Council of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Pagans are represented by several panels, presentations, and sharing of rituals. A total of seventeen different teaching slots led by Pagans will be available among the 650 total programs. Other Pagans in attendance are Drake Spaeth, River Higginbotham, Patrick McCollum, Don Lewis, Ed Hubbard and Shel Skau. You can visit their personal websites and Youtube to learn more about their experiences at this Parliament.
This Parliament offers Australia an opportunity to showcase their Aboriginal community, which we also consider part of the Pagan global community. Just visit the Parliament of World’s Religions website for more information on this and other world Pagan religions.
In the meantime, if you want to hear more about what I have to say about world's religions, women and peace in our times ... just visit my Z Budapest blog.
Comments
Thanks for the info. Look forward to your posts.
This interfaith stuff seems just lovely, until you realise that most of these religions are teaching that all of the others are going to hell. And their teachings sound superficially reasonable until you realise that they can't be all right - many must be making claims which are wrong, since they're mostly contradictory - and the most likely explanation is that they're all wrong.
Their talk about tolerance and freedom of religion and inclusion almost makes you forget how religions behave when they have the numbers to control people - think of modern Iran, the Inquisition, ths US religious right, and Catholic influence over law and policy in third world countries. With the numbers, they're an arrogant master...without the numbers, they try to convince us that they're an oppressed minority.
May there be eruptions of Peace and Harmony all over our Mother Earth!
Just saw this and would like to make a gentle but important correction. Of the three of us sitting on the Board of Trustees for the Parliament, only Phyllis Curott, who was elected in 2009 and began her service in 2010, is Wiccan. Neithe Andras or I claim that path or traditon.
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