NEWS
FROM PAGAN FEDERATION INTERNATIONAL
2004
Parliament of the World’s Religions, Barcelona July 7-13
The theme
of this year’s Parliament was “Pathways to Peace: the
Wisdom of Listening, the Power of Commitment”.
I was
extremely privileged to be able to attend the parliament for 3 days
as representative of Pagan Federation International. Together with
John Belham-Payne I joined a 50-strong Pagan delegation in the
capital of Catalan, Barcelona in Spain.
But first
a little bit of background information. What is the Parliament of the
World's Religions? How did it come into being? Who is behind it? What
is it’s significance and what role can it play specifically in
the pagan community?
The first
Parliament of the World's Religions took place in 1893 as part of the
Columbian Exposition in Chicago, USA. Many see this inaugural event
as being the beginning of the interreligious movement
One
hundred years later in 1993, and again in Chicago the second
Parliament was held. The aims then (and still are) were “to
foster harmony among religious and spiritual community and to explore
their responses to the critical issues facing the global community”.
The 3rd
parliament was held in 1999 and this time in Cape Town, South Africa.
There the focus was on the issues raised by apartheid and racial
discrimination in general.
The
Parliament this year was supported by many different religious and
spiritual organisations but perhaps the most important support comes
from UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization). A local advisory committee was appointed in Spain for
this year’s Parliament, which was also a part of the Barcelona
Forum 2004 program.
Today the
Parliament of the World's Religions has an ongoing Council, which is
based in Chicago. According to the CPWR website the mission statement
is as follows:
Looking
to the Future
In
2001, Board of Trustees adopted a five-year strategic plan to
integrate the local and global dimensions of its work. In short, the
Council is committed to:
Convening
periodic international Parliaments of the World's Religions roughly
every five years
Fostering
an international network of religious and spiritual leaders and
members of the world's other sectors, such as media, government,
medicine, and education, to address issues of peace, justice, and
sustainability at the global level
Create
a network of grassroots-based Partner Cities around the world whose
actions in the interreligious movement affect positive change both
locally and globally
Nurture
and broaden the interreligious movement in Chicago
Principles
1.
CPWR will seek to promote interreligious harmony, rather than unity.
Key
to the conceptual framework of CPWR is the understanding that seeking
unity among religions risks the loss of the unique and precious
character of each individual religious and spiritual tradition.
Interreligious
harmony, on the other hand, is an attainable and highly desirable
goal. Such an approach respects, and is enriched by, the
particularities of each tradition. Moreover, within each tradition
are the resources (philosophical, theological and spiritual teachings
and perspectives) that enable each to enter into respectful,
appreciative and cooperative relationships with persons and
communities of other traditions.
2.
CPWR's work is based on convergence rather than consensus.
Consensus
between religious and spiritual communities on matters of beliefs,
practices and engagement with the world cannot be attained. There
are, however, significant areas in which key convictions,
commitments, aims and purposes of various groupings of communities
converge. The Council has identified several of the most common areas
of convergence. They are:
Respect
for religious and spiritual identity
Awareness
and appreciation of religious and spiritual diversity
Interreligious
dialogue for the purpose of mutual understanding and personal
growth;
Collaborative
service - rooted in faith and spirituality - in response to pressing
human needs
Community-capacity
building through advocacy, community development and public policy
Conflict
resolution between religious and spiritual communities and other
types of communities, especially when rooted in racism and religious
intolerance
Bringing
the voice of religion and spirituality to bear on matters of
ethical, moral, social and civic concern
3.
CPWR works according to a methodology of facilitation rather than
through the creation of organizational structures.
In
a facilitation model, individual religious and spiritual communities
are not required to join an organization. Instead, facilitation
emphasizes relationships and cooperative projects. In this way, each
community enjoys the freedom to choose its own partners for encounter
and dialogue, the activities in which it wants to engage, and the
issues it wishes to address.
An
official membership structure for CPWR would embroil it in complex
and irresolvable issues. Nearly every community is cautious about
joining an interreligious organization with "everyone else
religious and spiritual" in the world. In all probability, such
an organization would either cater to the more established
communities, or become principally constituted by the smaller
communities that now find themselves on the fringe.
Working
within this facilitation framework allows CPWR to relate to each
religious and spiritual community at its own level of comfort and
interest, while promoting the positive and potentially transformative
impact of religion and spirituality on the world.
It is
interesting to note that the Council is seeking harmony rather than
unity between religious and spiritual communities. And convergence of
ideology above consensus of ideology. These two aspects and ideals
were perhaps the most notable present at the parliament in Barcelona.
It was not a convention where groups were striving to convert or even
discuss theological points-of-view but it was the pastoral, social
issues which were at the heart of the Parliament.
The big
question remains though of whether there is a genuine desire amongst
the World’s Religions towards harmony and convergence. It is
certainly a tall order to right the wrongs of centuries of religious
intolerance and discrimination. And we could argue that it is well
nigh impossible. We can however try and take a different course of
action in the future, knowing that hatred and violence based on
religious differences is not conducive to world peace and harmony. By
sending out signals to our politicians we may just make a difference.
So where
do we stand as Pagans? It was only at the 3rd Parliament
in South Africa where Pagans were actively present. There, 4 major
groups were present: Covenant of the Goddess, Circle
Sanctuary, EarthSpirit Community and the Fellowship of Isis.
At the
2004 Parliament there was once again a booth headed by the “Pagans
from the USA”. There many groups had their flyers on show, plus
the wonderful Interfaith Banner made by the folks at “Interfaith
marketplace” from Seattle. The main groups present were –
again - Covenant of the Goddess, Circle Sanctuary, EarthSpirit
Community – but this year with the addition of Pagan Federation
International. John & I were received with open arms.
In
retrospect I think we from the PF should have spent much more time
preparing for the Parliament. And taken it much more seriously. When
we realise how difficult it has been for people like Selena Fox from
Circle and Angie Buchanan from Gaia’s Womb, and many others, to
get recognition for the Pagan Community, I was almost ashamed that we
had come up with so little support from the European Pagan Community.
And this when the Parliament was held in Europe!
So perhaps
we should make more effort to keep abreast of the activities of the
Council. I will certainly try and keep in touch with the various
groups and people like Jerrie Hildebrand from Lady Liberty League.
Prior to attending the Parliament of the World's Religions an email
list was formed called “Pagans at Parliament” and I am
hoping this will remain active. Although the PFI may be small we do
have representation at local level in a number of countries. This
makes us a good liaison organisation for global interreligious
issues.
So how did
we get on in practice?
The Forum
itself was HUGE – I believe there were something like 7000
delegates from many diverse religious and spiritual groups. It
started with a pre-conference Assembly in Montserrat, not far from
Barcelona, but the official opening was on July 7 with an opening
word by the Dalai Lama.
The first
of three assemblies took place in Montserrat prior to the Parliament.
There numerous religious and spiritual leaders, interreligious
organizers, representatives from other guiding institutions, people
affected by the issues considered, and young people met “to
consider the role and contribution of
religion and spirituality in the world.”
Two more
Assemblies were held during the week of the Parliament, in the
Convention Centre. These Parliament Assemblies were open to all
registered Parliament participants and included
Supporting refugees worldwide;
Eliminating the international debt burden on developing
countries;
Overcoming religiously-motivated violence; and
Increasing access to clean water.
Angie
Buchanan wrote a supporting article to the 3rd theme
called “Overcoming Religious Violence: a Pagan Perspective.”**
During the
next few days there were several symposia, which included topics such
“Religion and Conflict Resolution”, "Exploring the
Face of AIDS” and “Religion and Human Rights –
towards a Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World’s
Religions”.
Each
morning there were numerous morning observances in a variety of
different locations in and around Barcelona, which included
meditations, song dance and prayers.
The
program for each day was similar, with 2 morning Interreligious
sessions after the morning observances. During the lunch break there
were films and musical intermezzos.
The
afternoon meetings were called “Engagement Sessions” and
dealt with more practical issues of Fair Trade, Crisis relief,
Interspiritual Dialogue and so on. In the evenings there were special
events such as the “Music of Peace” concert held outside
the Sagrada Familia. (This is the famous unfinished church
in Barcelona designed by Antonio Gaudí.)
From the pagan Community
there were several contributions, although far, far less than the
numerous submissions Selena had originally made. In the
Interreligious Sessions there were two panels of a pagan character.
On Friday morning July 9:
“Pagan Dialogue Inside and Outside the Circle” with Angie
Buchanan, Jerrie Hildebrand, Drake Spaeth (from Circle and engaged in
work as Military Chaplains), Phyllis Currott (Wiccan author) and
Patrick Mc Cullum (liases between 33 Departments of Correction in the
US and also as a Wiccan Chaplain).
On Friday evening we were
invited to an informal gathering with Pagans from Barcelona. This was
their first public meeting and they were highly delighted to have us
at their inaugural event. We shared food and drink, and Mother Tongue
presented music for dancing and singing. It was good to meet local
people and talk.
On
Saturday morning July 10, I took part in the panel discussion
“Circles in the Greenwood: Pagan Religion Around the World”.
Selena Fox headed the panel which also included Michael York (author
and Professor at Bath Spa University College, UK, in the faculty
“Study of Religions”) After short talk from Selena,
Michael and myself Selena introduced more panel members from around
the world including Dale (South Africa) John Belham-Payne (PF UK)
Fred Lamond (Austria) Phyllis Currott (USA) Miko (Finland). We all
talked about the ease and the difficulties of being a pagan
throughout the world. Many countries still have (Church) laws that
are anti-pagan, whilst other countries like the Netherlands are
tolerant towards other religions. The audience was most receptive and
listened eagerly.
Chris from
Mother Tongue played harp at the beginning of the session and
translated the talks into Spanish. (Most talks were in Spanish and
translated simultaneously into English or vice versa)
And
talking of Mother Tongue: on Friday afternoon “Mother Tongue”
from EarthSpirit gave a superb performance of music and songs
entitled “One with the Soul of the Earth”. They were
wonderful. Typically though, they were cast out to the far reaches of
the Forum site – where they were extremely difficult to find.
This seemed to be symptomatic of the Forum in general. In interfaith
discussions all the World Religions were included except the
Pagan Religions. Many interfaith symbols were seen but few
pentagrams..
The
networking John and I were able to accomplish is, I think, of
invaluable worth and should be seen in the light of solidarity, not
only with the neo-pagan community but also with the indigenous people
of the world. At a dialogue on Sunday morning “The Natural
World and the Political Lives of Indigenous People” there were
various representatives from indigenous people. It was obvious that
they too are not taken seriously. Many of their problems stem from
the economic greed of multinationals desecrating their homelands. But
they too are becoming more verbal and voicing their concern to the
world.
On the
fringe of the Forum various other activities were organised including
one which I attended, called the “Interfaith Dialogue with Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People of Faith”. Here as in
the Indigenous panel discussion it was obvious that minority groups
are not always being catered for – or even being made welcome
by the established religions even when they are preaching “love
and goodwill, to all..”. It was good to note however that the
women in smaller church communities are making headway and that
bigotry towards the Gay community seems to be considerable less in
those communities.
On a very
local level we were invited to spend an evening with Pagans from
Barcelona. It is always difficult to say how much influence such a
meeting will have but in any event links have been forged.
And this
is possibly the greatest strength of such a Parliament. That we can
meet each other and talk and share ideas, share fears and hopes.
Minority groups can have a say and can make themselves visible. And
although the World Parliament is only organised once every few years
many of us have become aware of the ongoing efforts of numerous
people working quietly for a more harmonious world.
I would
like to thank Selena Fox and Angie Buchanan in particular for their
efforts at the parliament, but also to all the people who worked very
hard to make the Pagan presence in Barcelona a success. I am hoping
to keep in contact with many of the “Pagans at Parliament”
and to continue to fight for human and pagan rights at an
international level. And let’s hope for even greater
participation at the next Parliament of the World's Religions from
the PF.
Morgana,
PF International Coordinator, July 2004
For more
information see
Council
for the Parliament of the World's Religions http://www.cpwr.org
and
http://www.cpwr.org/2004Parliament/parliament/assemblies.htm
Covenant
of the Goddess http://www.cog.org/pwr/pwr.html
Circle
Network http://www.circlesanctuary.org
an in particular the Lady Liberty League
Gaia’s
Womb http://www.gaiaswomb.com/
EarthSpirit
and Mother Tongue http://www.earthspirit.org
PFI
www.paganfederation.org
PF
http://www.paganfed.org/
PF
Scotland http://Www.Paganfed.Vscotland.Org.Uk/
** It is
hoped that this article will also appear in “Pagan Dawn”.
