Ecumenism – also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any non-denominational or inter-denominational initiative which encourages greater cooperation and union among Christian denominations and churches. Ecumenical dialogue is a central feature of contemporary ecumenism.
Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993. This led to a new series of conferences under the official title Parliament of the World's Religions with the same goal of trying to create a global dialogue of faiths.
Michael Ingham is a retired bishop, theologian in the Anglican Church of Canada. From January 9, 1994 to August 31, 2013, he was the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster of the Anglican Church of Canada, located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
The Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, is the see church of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. On March 30, 1983, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Episcopal Church of the Advent.
David Shlomo Rosen KSG CBE is an English-Israeli rabbi and interfaith peacemaker. He was Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1979–1985) before relocating permanently to Israel in 1985. He has taken leave from his position as AJC’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs in order to serve as Special Advisor to the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi.<https://www.rabbidavidrosen.net/></ref>"David Rosen". AJC. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2020.</ref> From 2005 until 2009 he headed the International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), the broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations and denominations that represents World Jewry in its relations with other world religions.
The Catholic Church has engaged in the modern ecumenical movement especially since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) and the issuing of the decree Unitatis redintegratio and the declaration Dignitatis humanae. It was at the Council that the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was created. Those outside of the Catholic Church were categorised as heretics or schismatics, but in many contexts today, to avoid offence, the euphemism "separated brethren" is used.
Anglican doctrine is the body of Christian teachings used to guide the religious and moral practices of Anglicanism.
Shaunaka Rishi Das is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS), a position he has held since the centre's foundation in 1997. He is a lecturer, a broadcaster, and Hindu Chaplain to Oxford University. His interests include education, comparative theology, communication, and leadership. He is a member of The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, convened in 2013 by the Woolf Institute, Cambridge. In 2013 the Indian government appointed him to sit on the International Advisory Council of the Auroville Foundation. Keshava, Rishi Das's wife of 27 years, died in December 2013.
Yehuda Stolov, an Israeli, is a founder and the executive director of the Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA). He currently resides in Jerusalem with his wife, Lia and his three kids.
C1 World Dialogue is an initiative, whose stated mission is to "support and promote, propagate and preserve, peace harmony and friendship between the Western and Islamic Worlds". The initiative has its origins in the Council of One Hundred Leaders (C-100) West-Islamic Dialogue originally launched by the World Economic Forum in response to the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the USA. Since then, the group has evolved into an autonomous body with an institutional base as a Swiss foundation, based in Basel. The president of the General Conference of the organization is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center is a non-governmental organization for promoting peaceful religious coexistence based out of Amman, Jordan. It focuses on fostering interfaith dialogue on a grassroots level and creating interreligious harmony. The JICRC is currently run by its founder and director, Father Nabil Haddad.
Shih Hsin Tao is a Buddhist monk from Linji School, based in Taiwan and the founder of the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM). He also founded the Museum of World Religions (MWR) and the NGO initiative ‘Global Family for Love & Peace’ (GFLP).
Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa is a Saudi Arabian religious leader, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, President of the International Islamic Halal Organization, and former Saudi Minister of Justice.
The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, mostly referred to as "The International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID" and globally known by its abbreviation, KAICIID, is an inter-governmental organization that promotes interreligious and intercultural dialogue to prevent and resolve conflict. It was established in Vienna, Austria, but relocated to Lisbon, Portugal on 1 July 2022.
The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is a faith-based civic organization founded in 2010 by members of a Detroit-based interfaith group known then as the Interfaith Partners. Its headquarters are in Oak Park, Michigan.
Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Muaammar is the founding Secretary General of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue. He is also notable as Supervisor General of the King Abdulaziz Public Library.
The Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom was a registered charity in the United Kingdom which had the objects "to advance public knowledge and mutual understanding of the teachings, traditions and practices of the different faith communities in Britain including an awareness both of their distinctive features and their common ground and to promote good relations between persons of different faiths". Since 2001, the Inter Faith Network was funded in several millions of pounds by the British government.
The Millennium Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders was held in New York City between August 28–31, 2000. The meeting recognized the importance of religion to world peace and faith leaders’ commitment to peacekeeping, poverty relief, and environmental conservation. It preceded the Millennium Summit, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Nations (UN).
