World's Parliament of Religions

The World's Parliament of Religions was a convention of religious leaders from around the world held in September 1893 in Chicago. The parliament was part of the larger celebrations surrounding the Columbian Exposition, a fair commemorating the 400th anniversary of Columbus arriving in the Americas. The parliament's organizers hoped that the event would bring together religious leaders from around the world in a spirit of mutual learning and brotherhood, to show how the wisdom of the world's faiths could be mustered for the betterment [Page 1389]of society and, ultimately, to affirm the theistic core underlying all the world's religions. While the extent of toleration and pluralism demonstrated at the 1893 parliament is debated by scholars, the event was undoubtedly a watershed moment in the history ...