Different faiths, shared goals

This year’s sixth annual World Religions Summit took place in Winnipeg ahead of Canada’s hosting of the G8 and G20 summits, producing a document entitled “A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action.”

The document, which was presented to leaders of G8 and G20 nations, focuses on three key issues: Addressing poverty, investing in peace and caring for the Earth.

The summit featured 80 senior leaders representing world religions and faith-based organizations along with 13 youth delegates from over 20 countries. This very powerful event was attended by people from Aboriginal, Bahá’í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, and Sikh religious traditions; all working together to encourage world leaders to fight for the betterment of humanity and the planet.

The summit’s Canadian Jewish representative, there on behalf of Canadian Jewish Congress, was Rabbi Adam Scheier of Montreal’s Congregation Shaar Hashomayim. Scheier, the only Canadian rabbi in attendance, was at the summit for the first time and said that the initiative went extraordinarily well. It was unlike anything he had every experienced.

“It was an eclectic gathering with many different faiths and countries and continents and backgrounds,” he told Shalom Life. “Just to be able to interact with leaders from countries as diverse as Germany, Spain, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Japan and many others was an extraordinary opportunity of sharing the values and sharing support.”

The document points out that by September, the world will be at the two-thirds point of the Millennium Goals, eight goals that if successful will bring hope to millions. They acknowledge the common humanity of people from all faiths and affirm that all people are equal. They also urge world leaders to work jointly to solve the “dehumanizing scourge of poverty and injustice, and practice and promote care for our common environment, the Earth.”

They state, “In our diverse faith traditions we have rich histories and powerful dreams for ending poverty, caring for the Earth and being peace-builders. We acknowledge our own shortcomings and inadequacies, we commit to continuing these life-giving actions in the service of the common good. While recognizing efforts already made to address many of these challenges, we expect government representatives to set aside short-term agendas and work together for a future that allows all people on this planet to thrive.”

They add that while “military power and economic dominance are the basis for inclusion in a G8 and G20 global leaders’ summit,” the other 172 UN member states do not have a voice and that “in our faith traditions, we strive to listen to the weak and the vulnerable.” They ask leaders to recognize the need to ensure the well-being of the majority of the world’s population by meeting the needs of the world’s needy. This can be accomplished by closing the gap between rich and poor; making battling climate change a top priority; and working for peace and an end to the underlying causes that create cycles of violence.

“It was very powerful for my community and I certainly will bring that message of potential and the broad embrace of the faith traditions which I found personally very powerful,” noted Scheier. “One of the objectives of the conference was to really identify the shared moral values and underpinnings of those values so we could then turn to the leaders of the G8 with our recommendations.”

However, there was also a great deal of informal networking going on between members of different world faiths. He found this camaraderie to be just as powerful as the final document itself.

“If you ask any of these people who are connected so deeply to the faith traditions, the belief is that faith is that which guides the moral voice in the world,” he said. “Even though many of us don’t share the same faiths, we recognize we share the same fate when it comes to so many of these issues of global importance.”

'Hopeful and optimistic'

Many people, especially Canadians, are cynical about politics. With the astronomical price tag for security for the G20 and G8 summits, it’s logical for many to write off the conferences as nothing more than an excuse for world leaders to practice their rhetorical skills.

Luckily, the participants in the World Religions Summit are an optimistic bunch and truly believe that the cynics are just that: cynics. They feel that leaders at the G8 and G20 summits are truly willing to listen to what they have to say and to work together to make the world a better place.

“We believe in the partnership between the political realities and the faith traditions, and that the faiths represented the moral underpinnings that have driven and guided the G8 and G20 countries to do the good they have done up until this point,” said Scheier. “The document is not a critique of their work, but rather should be read as encouragement and guidance based on our shared values and as well as an effort to represent in many ways the other 172 UN countries who are not represented by either the G8 or the G20.”

To that end, the World Religions Summit is confident that world leaders will stay true to their commitments to programs such as the global development project and the Millennium Goals, which are set to come due in five years.

Scheier also believes that the document that they produced has the ability to affect change at many different levels. “In addition to the document that was produced, an even more powerful impact will be the message that the leaders bring home to their communities.”

While only time will tell if “A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action” will be able to make an impact on the world, Scheier said that “in terms of the very local objective of networking and reinforcing bonds between communities of different faiths, it was a resounding success.”

“We’re very hopeful and optimistic,” he said. “It’s that optimism that led the organizers to put the summit together in the first place and we’ll encourage those in France next year to convene another summit."

As the document states, “If we fail in these goals, we fail our children who look to us to secure a viable future for them. Our prayers and wishes for wisdom and compassion are with our political leaders at this critical moment."

Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life