Dawn of Religious Pluralism Voices From the World's Parliament of Religions, 1893

by Seager, Richard; Eck, Diana

• ISBN13: 9780812692235
• ISBN10: 0812692233
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-08
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

On September 11th, 1893, the Columbian Liberty Bell at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago sounded ten times, symbolizing what were then considered the ten great religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. One of the most significant events in American religious and cultural history had begun. The ochre robes of Buddhist ascetics, the vermilion cloaks and turbans of Hindu swamis, the silk vestments of Confucians, Taoists, and Shinto priests, the somber garb of Protestant ministers, all gathered together on the platform around a Roman Catholic cardinal, dressed in scarlet and seated in a high chair of state. The near-ecstatic crowd repeatedly burst into tumultuous applause, waving handkerchiefs, and mingling tears with smiles. Nothing like the World's Parliament of Religions had been seen in the history of the world, and nothing like it was to be seen again for many years: a gathering of representatives of numerous world religions for an exchange of views. It was a turning point in American life, presaging the multiculturalism of a century later. This volume contains a selection of 60 representative and revealing addresses given to the Parliament, with authoritative introductions and notes by Professor Seager. The addresses include contributions by Protestant mainstream ministers, African-Americans, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and representatives of other Asian religions. Also included are various "points of contact and contention, " in which religious leaders attempted to analyze or reach out to their counterparts in other traditions.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. 1
General Introduction	p. 3
Notes	p. 11
Assembling and Welcome	p. 13
Introduction	p. 16
Words of Welcome	p. 17
Words of Welcome	p. 23
Protestant Mainstream Delegation	p. 33
Introduction	p. 35
The Religious Mission of the English-Speaking Nations	p. 37
Religion Essentially Characteristic of Humanity	p. 52
Christianity as A Social Force	p. 62
The Sympathy of Religions	p. 70
Possible Results of the Parliament	p. 75
The Influence of Religion on Women	p. 80
A White Life for Two	p. 88
The Reunion of Christendom	p. 93
Notes	p. 129
African- American Delegation	p. 131
Introduction	p. 134
Impromptu Comments	p. 135
Christianity and the Negro	p. 137
What Can Religion Further Do to Advance the Condition of the American Negro?	p. 142
Roman Catholic Delegation	p. 151
Introduction	p. 154
The Needs of Humanity Supplied by the Catholic Religion	p. 155
Religious Union of the Human Race	p. 165
Future of Religion	p. 172
Eastern Orthodox Delegation	p. 175
Introduction	p. 177
The Greek Church	p. 179
The Armenian Church	p. 189
A Voice from Syria	p. 198
Universal Brotherhood	p. 202
Jewish Delegation	p. 207
Introduction	p. 209
Human Brotherhood as Taught by the Religions Based on the Bible	p. 211
Elements of Universal Religion	p. 220
The Voice of the Mother of Religions on the Social Question	p. 228
The Outlook of Judaism	p. 234
Three Views of Islam	p. 245
Introduction	p. 247
Some Teachings of the Koran	p. 249
The Points of Contact and Contrast Between Christianity and Mohammedanism	p. 251
The Spirit of Islam	p. 270
Two Views on Science and Religion	p. 281
Introduction	p. 283
Evolution and Christianity	p. 285
Science A Religious Revelation	p. 297
Points of Contact and Contention	p. 311
Introduction	p. 315
Christianity as Seen by A Voyage Around the World 31	p. 317
The Invincible Gospel	p. 319
The Attitude of Christianity to Other Religions	p. 321
The Religion of the Future	p. 323
The Bearing of Religious Unity on the Work of the Christian Missions	p. 325
Orthodox or Historical Judaism	p. 328
Criticism and Discussion of Missionary Methods	p. 331
Impromptu Comments	p. 333
Impromptu Comments Vivekananda	p. 336
The Work of Social Reform in India	p. 339
Confucianism	p. 341
Spiritual Forces in Human Progress	p. 345
Idealism the New Religion	p. 348
A Voice from the Young Men of the Orient	p. 349
Arbitration Instead of War Shaku Soyen	p. 352
Delegates from the Religions of Asia	p. 355
Introduction	p. 357
Taoism, A Prize Essay	p. 361
Shintoism	p. 364
The Philosophy and Ethics of the Jains	p. 370
Confucianism	p. 375
The Religious System of the Parsees	p. 383
The Real Position of Japan Toward Christianity	p. 397
The Law of Cause and Effect, as Taught by Buddha	p. 406
The World's Debt to Buddha	p. 410
Hinduism	p. 421
Spiritual Ideas of the Brahmo-Somaj	p. 433
The World's Religious Debt to Asia	p. 440
Close of the Parliament	p. 451
Introduction	p. 454
The World's Parliament	p. 455
The Ultimate Religion	p. 457
Christ the Unifier of Mankind	p. 465
Appendix	p. 477
Index	p. 493
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