Pyeong Hwa Gyeong (045) - Religion and the Creation of World Peace
1. The path pursued by religion
This is the third conference of the Assembly of the World’s Religions. At the first conference, convened in 1985, I founded the Religious Youth Service and announced my plans for the first conference of the Council of the World’s Religions.
These projects, which I support every year, together with the World Scripture that was published last year, have become the front line of the campaign for worldwide interreligious harmony.
In particular, youth leaders of various religious bodies have united in dedicated service activities, providing a stepping-stone for harmony and understanding between religions. In doing this, they have set up a valuable tradition for the future of humanity.
The second Assembly was convened in San Francisco in 1990. There, I announced the founding of the Interreligious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP). In August 1991, the historic founding conference of the IRFWP took place in Seoul. This year the IRFWP and the International Religious Foundation are jointly convening this conference.
As you know, this conference has been organized as part of the first World Culture and Sports Festival. Four years ago, when the Seoul Olympics took place, I formally announced my plan for the World Culture and Sports Festival, which will open a new page of harmony, exchange and cooperation among the peoples of this world village. Although the Olympics play an extremely important role, they lack the vertical values and spiritual dimension that are bestowed by God.
Because religion lies at the heart of culture, the Assembly of the World’s Religions and IRFWP stand at the heart of the World Culture and Sports Festival. Religious ideals, together with the wisdom and values that accompany them, must permeate the education, scholarship, art, physical education, media, politics and economics of the world, and serve as their standard.
The World Culture and Sports Festival seeks to guide the spiritual culture of humankind and pursue genuine values for human happiness. It will also be a historic event that points toward a peaceful, new world culture where God, people and all things merge together. |