Works that Shaped the World: Declarations of the multifaith movement

In 2022, the HRC's Works that Shaped the World public lecture series focuses on religion.

In 1993, the Parliament of the World's Religions ratified a pivotal multifaith statement, Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration, consolidated by Hans Küng in collaboration with scholars and religious leaders. Beginning with the words 'the world is in agony,' this declaration established the shared global responsibility amongst religious actors to address the suffering of the world.

This presentation unpacks the cosmopolitan ideals present in the text, as well as how its ideals were manifested in practice. I also compare it to a more recent multifaith declaration, namely the Sydney Statement, which aims to re-articulate the goals of the multifaith movement to reconcile the experiences, goals, and concerns of the next generation of leaders. I show how these declarations reflect the shifting contexts of those who create them and illustrate how the emerging generation of leaders are re-imagining the multifaith vision to address the global challenges we face today.

Presenter

Geraldine Smith has recently completed a PhD at the University of Tasmania on the multifaith movement in Australia. Her PhD was part of the Australian Research Council (ARC)-funded project Religious Diversity in Australia: Strategies to Maintain Social Cohesion. She is currently involved in research on Religious Freedom and LGBT+ Discrimination, and the international Nonreligion in Complex Future Project.