Baháʼí Faith Interfaith and multi-faith interactivity is integral to the teachings of the
Baháʼí Faith. Its founder
Bahá'u'lláh enjoined his followers to "consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship". Through the
Baháʼí International Community agency, an official United Nations (UN) NGO, the Baháʼís also participate at a global level in inter-religious dialogue both through and outside of the
United Nations processes. In 2002, the
Universal House of Justice, the global governing body of the Baháʼís, issued a letter to the religious leadership of all faiths in which it identified religious prejudice as one of the last remaining "isms" to be overcome, enjoining such leaders to unite in an effort to root out extreme and divisive religious intolerance.
Buddhism Buddhism has historically been open to other religions.
Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda stated: The
14th Dalai Lama believes that the "common aim of all religions, an aim that everyone must try to find, is to foster tolerance, altruism and love". He met with
Pope Paul VI at the
Vatican in 1973. He met with
Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 2003. In 2006, he met privately with
Pope Benedict XVI. In 1990, he met in
Dharamsala with a delegation of Jewish teachers for an extensive interfaith dialogue. He has since visited Israel three times and met in 2006 with the Chief Rabbi of Israel. He has also met the late
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr.
Robert Runcie, and other leaders of the Anglican Church in London,
Gordon B. Hinckley, late President of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), as well as senior
Eastern Orthodox Church,
Muslim,
Hindu,
Jewish, and
Sikh officials. In 2010, the Dalai Lama was joined by Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, and Islamic scholar Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr of George Washington University when
Emory University's Center for the Study of Law and Religion hosted a "Summit on Happiness".
Christianity In 2013,
Pope Francis became the first Catholic leader to call for "sincere and rigorous" interbelief dialogue with atheists, both to counter the assertion that Christianity is necessarily an "expression of darkness of superstition that is opposed to the light of reason", and to assert that "dialogue is not a secondary accessory of the existence of the believer" but instead is a "profound and indispensable expression ... [of] faith [that] is not intransigent, but grows in coexistence that respects the other."
Hinduism Hinduism has a strong principle for interfaith dialogue as the
Upanishads state, "
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" which means "the world is one family." Hinduism encourages harmony and cooperation among religious communities. Historically, scholars like
Shankaracharya engaged with Buddhist and Jain philosophers refining his school of thought. The Bhakti movement's emphasis on devotion versus theological distinction allowed interactions between Hindu and Islamic traditions—which is seen in the works of Kabir and Guru Nanak.
Swami Vivekanand emphasized religious harmony and universal acceptance during his speech at the
World's Parliament of Religions in 1893. This speech helped shape contemporary Hindu approach to interfaith dialogue.
Islam Muslim theologians have advocated inter-faith dialogue on a large scale, something which is new in a political sense. Dialogue is particularly encouraged amongst the People of the Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims). The principles found in the Islamic and Christian scriptures present the opportunity for both religions to meet at a common moral ground. This common ground was stated as "part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour". The declaration asserted that "these principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity". Amir Hussain writes that "Islam would not have developed if it had not been for interfaith dialogue". From his "first revelation" for the rest of his life, Muhammad was "engaged in interfaith dialogue" and "pluralism and interfaith dialogue" have always been important to Islam. For example, when some of Muhammad's followers suffered "physical persecution" in
Mecca, he sent them to
Abyssinia, a Christian nation, where they were "welcomed and accepted" by the Christian king. Another example is
Córdoba, Andalusia, in Muslim Spain, in the ninth and tenth centuries. Córdoba was "one of the most important cities in the history of the world". In it, "Christians and Jews were involved in the Royal Court and the intellectual life of the city". Thus, there is "a history of Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other religious traditions living together in a pluralistic society". Turning to the present, Hussain writes that in spite of Islam's history of "pluralism and interfaith dialogue", Muslims now face the challenge of conflicting passages in the Qur'an some of which support interfaith "bridge-building", but others can be used to "justify mutual exclusion". In October 2010, as a representative of
Shia Islam, Ayatollah
Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, professor at the
Shahid Beheshti University of
Tehran, addressed the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Catholic Bishops stating, "the rapport between Islam and Christianity" that has existed throughout the history of Islam as one of "friendship, respect and mutual understanding". According to the
Ahmadiyya understanding, interfaith dialogues are an integral part of developing inter-religious peace and establishing peace.
Judaism The Modern Orthodox movement allows narrow exchanges on social issues, while warning to be cautious in the discussion of doctrine.
Reform Judaism,
Reconstructionist Judaism and
Conservative Judaism encourage interfaith dialogue. Building positive relationships between Jews and members of other religious communities has been an integral component of Reform Judaism. Interests in interfaith relations require an awareness of the range of Jewish views on such subjects as mission and the holy land. == Initiatives ==