| The United Religions
Initiative (URI) is a growing global community
of individuals, organizations,
and associations working to build cultures of peace
and justice for the benefit of the entire Earth
Community. Care for the Earth is central to URI’s
vision and values, which are clearly expressed
in its Charter, the foundation and guide for all
URI activities. Among other stated commitments
to diversity, inclusivity, and nonviolence are
the following: “We unite to heal and protect
the earth” (Preamble); “The purpose
of [URI] is . . . to create cultures of peace,
justice and healing for the Earth and all living
beings” (Purpose); and “We act from
sound ecological practices to protect and preserve
the Earth for both present and future generations” (Principles).
Members from different traditions and locations
around the world are continuously creating the
URI through their shared vision, partnerships,
and projects. Although its global coordinating
office is located in San Francisco, URI is a decentralized,
non-hierarchical, and inclusive organization with
regional staffing in seven geographic areas (Africa,
Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean,
the Middle East, North America, and the Pacific).
Self-organizing Cooperation Circles, which operate
locally and are connected globally, form the core
of URI. To qualify as a Cooperation Circle, a group
must have at least seven members from at least
three different religious, spiritual, or indigenous
traditions. Through locally initiated actions,
people from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds
draw upon their resourcefulness, creativity, and
religious values to deepen their understanding
of other faiths and contribute to positive change
in their communities. Circles take on cooperative
projects of various kinds, some of which focus
specifically on environmental concerns. In India,
for example, Cooperation Circle initiatives include
tree planting, water and waste management, environmental
programs for youth, and restoration of cremation
grounds. Circles in the United States, such as
Spiritual Alliance for the Earth (SAFE) in the
San Francisco Bay Area and Faith in Place in Chicago,
also focus on environmental issues. In addition
to the Cooperation Circles, which form the heart
of the Initiative, URI is supported by its Affiliates:
individuals and organizations that share its values
and participate in some of its global projects.
At present, there are more than 200 Cooperation
Circles with more than 15,000 members in fourty-seven
different countries.
Together, they represent more than eighty-eight
religious, spiritual, and indigenous traditions
and consist
of women
and men, elders, youth, and people from different
cultures and nations who share a common vision
and commitment to the URI Charter. |
| Inter-religious: Buddhism |
| International |
| 1993–Present |
| The origins of the United
Religions Initiative date back to an inter-religious
service
commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of
the United Nations in San Francisco held in 1995.
When first asked to host the event in 1993, Bishop
William Swing of the Episcopal Diocese of California
decided to launch a worldwide initiative to build
an enduring global organization dedicated to creating
cultures of peace and justice for the entire Earth
Community. URI held the first of five Global Summits
in 1996, the last of which was the URI Charter
Signing in 2000. In addition to its global summits,
URI has sponsored numerous regional summits and
gatherings around the world. Since its founding,
more than a million people have participated in
URI events. The Initiative has organized inter-religious
projects in more than sixty countries and generated
a global, inter-religious community of Cooperation
Circles
and Affiliates. |
| “The purpose of the United
Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily
interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated
violence and to create cultures of peace, justice
and healing for the Earth and all living beings.” |
The Chaordic Alliance
Council
for the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Habitat
for Humanity
International Interfaith Organization
Social Innovations
in Global Management
United Nations
World Peace
Prayer Society |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
The
United Religions Initiative
P.O. Box 29242
San Francisco, CA 94129
Ph: 415.561.2300
Fax: 415.561.2313
Email: office@uri.org |
