The Viena Declaration of the 9th World Assembly, 2013
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The Vienna Declaration Welcoming the Other — A Multi-Religious Vision of
Peace
We — more than six hundred religious leaders and people of faith representing
all historic faith traditions and every region of the world — have convened
in Vienna, Austria as the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace.1 We
have come from the global Religions for Peace family of ninety national
inter-religious councils and groups, five regional councils, one world
council, and international networks of religious women and religious youth.
Our respective religious traditions have called us to work together for
Peace.
Previous World Assemblies of Religions for Peace have discerned positive
elements of Peace, common threats to Peace, and a multi-religious consensus
expressed through shared values for Peace. We commit to common action based
upon these deeply held and widely shared values, as a foundation for affirming
the imperative of “welcoming the other” as the heart of our multi-religious
vision of Peace.
We reaffirm the positive elements of Peace shared by our respective religious
traditions:
Peace is central to our respective religions, and our diverse faiths
compel us to work together to build it;
Love, compassion and honesty are stronger than hate, indifference and
deceit;
All men and women are endowed with human dignity, share common humanity,
must care for one another, and are called to consider the problems faced
by others as their own;
We accept the call to stand on the side of and raise up the most vulnerable,
and to promote just and harmonious societies;
We value women and men as equal partners in our efforts to build peace;
Children are a paramount concern; the special state of childhood deserves
our protection and care, and should receive priority from among our societies’
resources;
Non-violent conflict transformation through dialogue and reconciliation
are central to peacemaking; and
Advancing human development and protecting the earth are part of the
struggle for Peace.
The positive elements of Peace we share are inextricably linked to our
shared calling to confront common threats to Peace. These threats include:
An ongoing spiritual crisis that erodes values that support life;
The misuse of religion in support of all manner of violence, including
violent extremism; Violent conflict and the proliferation of arms;
Nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction;
Extreme and growing inequality, including widespread violations of basic
rights;
Violence against women, abuse of children and weakening support for families;
Extreme poverty, preventable diseases left untreated, and broad scale
lack of opportunity; and
Environmental degradation, natural resource depletion, and climate change,
all of which threaten civic order and human flourishing.
While we confess that some religious believers betray the peace teachings
of their faiths, we continue to commit ourselves — and our communities
— to a culture of Peace that advances shared well-being, grounded in common
healing, common living and shared security.
Rising Hostility
The 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace calls attention to a new
threat to Peace — rising hostility.
We are deeply troubled by this rising hostility, in society and within
and among religious communities. This hostility toward the “other” is an
extension of intolerance, and too often takes the form of violence. Victims
of hostility are often vulnerable populations, including members of ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities; migrants, refugees, asylum seekers,
internally displaced and stateless persons.
Hostilities arise from all sectors of society — governments, individuals,
organizations and social groups. Although freedom of religion or belief
is increasingly valued internationally, a growing number of governments
are placing restrictions on religious beliefs and practices. Often, some
religions are placed in an inferior status in relation to others. Sectarian
and communal violence is dividing societies, fueling conflict, destroying
innocent lives. Social hostility toward individuals and groups, fuelled
by intolerance and fear of the “other,” threatens human dignity, good governance
and shared well-being. More and more, people are persecuted because of
their faith.
Intolerance and violence in all manifestations are obstacles to Peace.
They seriously exacerbate other grave threats to Peace. Religious communities
must confront hostility toward the “other” as both an urgent threat and
also a key to tackling other critical threats to Peace.
“Welcoming the Other” — A Multi-Religious Vision of Peace
Our multi-religious vision of Peace includes the call to all people of
faith to “welcome the other.” Each of our diverse faith traditions calls
for profound active solidarity with, and empathy for, the “other“ rooted
in a spirit of unity, as a deeply held and widely shared value among our
religious communities. “Welcoming the other” means respect and acceptance
of one another.
We support the robust promotion of tolerance, a principle that is fostered
by recognizing universal human rights and is essential for welcoming the
other.
“Welcoming the other” both strengthens and goes beyond tolerance by calling
each religious community to stand in solidarity with the dignity, vulnerability
and well-being of the “other,” with the full force of its respective spiritual
and moral teachings. Such teachings are specific to each religious tradition.
They include: striving for justice, accepting self-sacrifice for the well-being
of others, bearing innocent suffering, returning good for evil, seeking
and extending forgiveness and expressing unrestricted compassion and love.
“Welcoming the other” calls us to work to advance the full flourishing
of human dignity through the holistic development of human beings.
Building on previous Assembly Declarations, we recognize that “welcoming
the other” invites every person into the co-building, co-nurturing and
co-stewarding of our shared well-being, which includes respecting nature
and developing in harmony with it. Stewardship of the earth is a solemn
religious obligation.
Religious communities working together can be powerful actors to prevent
violence before it erupts, diffuse conflict when it occurs, and lead their
communities to rebuild war-torn societies. Excessive resources devoted
to arms are better spent to alleviate poverty, advance education and basic
healthcare for all, and address environmental challenges. “Welcoming the
other” involves seeing ourselves in each other. To facilitate this, we
must teach nonviolence, conflict prevention strategies, and the universal
value of Peace to our children. Our shared positive vision of Peace grounds
for us a human right to Peace.
We can welcome the other by advancing a more robust notion of citizenship
that acknowledges basic human rights, including freedom of religion or
belief.
Religious communities welcome the other when they work together to advance
human development that respects the earth. “Welcoming the other” rejects
complicity in the destruction of the earth, which aggravates disasters
and human distress. The preservation of our air, soil and water is essential
for human survival and well-being. Development should honor the continuity
of life, preserving nature for the benefit of present and future generations.
Our respective religious communities can become centers of religious education
on “welcoming the other.” To do this, we must reclaim our own religious
teachings that call us to welcome the other, widely share them among our
respective faith communities, including our young people, and put them
into practice.
Religious communities can work to reverse the rising tide of hostility
toward the “other” by advancing a multi-religious vision of Peace and through
multi-religious action. Specifically, the Religions for Peace World Assembly
calls on:
1) Religious leaders and people of faith to:
Honor and protect human dignity whenever and wherever it is under attack;
Foster more active collaboration between women and men in exalting the
dignity of women and girls, and work together to prevent violence against
them;
Speak out on behalf of vulnerable individuals and groups, and all people
persecuted, or whose existence is denied, because of their faith;
Recognize that the well-being of immediate and extended families, as
well as of communities, are a prerequisite to the well-being of children;
Address issues of responsibility and accountability for the causes of
climate change;
Acknowledge the value of youth-led, grass-roots initiatives aimed at
welcoming others and promoting sustainable Peace;
Advance spiritual values essential to shared well-being;
Reinforce acceptance of diversity in our communities;
Welcome the other through prayer and service;
Engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships to welcome the other; and
Leverage the power of multi-religious networks to “welcome the other”
by advancing human dignity, shared well-being and citizenship through concrete
multi-religious action.
2) Governments, international organizations and civil society to:
Promote transparent governance that ensures and protects the development
of comprehensive well-being and full enjoyment of universal human rights
for all;
Provide legal remedies for victims of intolerance;
Promote social policies and legal norms that recognize the dignity of
migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless
persons;
Advance citizenship that ensures human dignity while protecting the safety
and well-being of all individuals, including freedom of religion or belief,
and other rights of individuals and groups, whether in the majority or
in the minority;
Ensure the protection of places of worship;
Eliminate nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and stem the
proliferation of small arms;
Promote restorative justice to heal both the victims and the perpetrators
of violent conflict;
Address threats of nuclear exposure and contamination to protect all
living things and future generations; and
Support and partner with people of faith, religious leaders, religious
communities, and religious networks in their efforts to welcome the other.
3) All people of good will to:
Call attention to, and work to eliminate, all forms of intolerance and
discrimination by states, by non-state actors, by civil society, by religious
groups and leaders, and by individuals.
Welcome the other.
We, the Delegates of the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, are
united in our commitment to resist threats to Peace that take the form
of hostility toward the other, and to take positive action to welcome the
other by promoting the true flourishing of all human beings. These dual
commitments and corresponding calls to action express our multi-religious
vision of Peace.
Vienna, Austria
22 November 2013