Tidbits, 11/2005
UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS
Joan Lund, November 2005
By the time you read this column I will have returned from the October Trustees meeting but in keeping with newsletter deadlines I am not able to write about the meeting now. Thus another subject that has interested me for some time: The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF). The IARF is the oldest international religious foundation, and it now has more than 100 member groups. It is a 105 year old association with an interesting history. Founded in 1900 as an organization to bring together people ?striving to unite ?Pure Religion and Perfect Liberty??, today the IRAFs purpose is to work for freedom of religion and belief because it is a precious human right that potentially enables the best within our religious lives and/or our search for truth or enlightenment.
Originally the IARF was called the International Council of Unitarian and Other Liberal Religious Thinkers and Workers (quite a title). The Council evolved in many steps from a mostly Unitarian, North American organization to one with global and interfaith representation. One ?turning point? occurred near the end of the 1960s when, spurred in part by shifts in Roman Catholic teaching, there was a growth in the institutional representation in inter-religious activity around the world. One outgrowth of this was the founding of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP). Today, the IARF and the WCRP work together in a collegial relationship. Another turning point was in 1993, with the centennial observance of the 1893 Parliament of World?s Religions, which showed great interest in interfaith organizations. There has been concern expressed about the ease in which organizations like the IRAF to become a marketplace where religious conviction and spiritual wisdom become commodities. This is why the UUA remains strongly supportive of the IARF and the WCRP, but maintains cautiously apart from other interfaith organization that are not of an international nature. For interfaith cooperation to be genuine, it needs to contain the liberal spirit, which has always encouraged tolerance and critical thinking about religion, often not found in what today is being promoted as ?interfaith?.
I remember at General Assembly in June, the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, minister in Clearwater, introducing the guests from the IARF, including the Rev. Dr. Daryl Balia, General Secretary of the IARF who, with the IARF Council, is planning a March, 2006 IARF Congress. If my information is correct UUA President Rev. Bill Sinkford will be in Taiwan for this important meeting. The Congress will focus on the role of religion in family, community life, and politics.
Thanks again for your support and comments each month. I always enjoy hearing from Florida District UUs, and can be reached at jlund@uua.org or (813) 931-9727.
Joan Lund, November 2005
By the time you read this column I will have returned from the October Trustees meeting but in keeping with newsletter deadlines I am not able to write about the meeting now. Thus another subject that has interested me for some time: The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF). The IARF is the oldest international religious foundation, and it now has more than 100 member groups. It is a 105 year old association with an interesting history. Founded in 1900 as an organization to bring together people ?striving to unite ?Pure Religion and Perfect Liberty??, today the IRAFs purpose is to work for freedom of religion and belief because it is a precious human right that potentially enables the best within our religious lives and/or our search for truth or enlightenment.
Originally the IARF was called the International Council of Unitarian and Other Liberal Religious Thinkers and Workers (quite a title). The Council evolved in many steps from a mostly Unitarian, North American organization to one with global and interfaith representation. One ?turning point? occurred near the end of the 1960s when, spurred in part by shifts in Roman Catholic teaching, there was a growth in the institutional representation in inter-religious activity around the world. One outgrowth of this was the founding of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP). Today, the IARF and the WCRP work together in a collegial relationship. Another turning point was in 1993, with the centennial observance of the 1893 Parliament of World?s Religions, which showed great interest in interfaith organizations. There has been concern expressed about the ease in which organizations like the IRAF to become a marketplace where religious conviction and spiritual wisdom become commodities. This is why the UUA remains strongly supportive of the IARF and the WCRP, but maintains cautiously apart from other interfaith organization that are not of an international nature. For interfaith cooperation to be genuine, it needs to contain the liberal spirit, which has always encouraged tolerance and critical thinking about religion, often not found in what today is being promoted as ?interfaith?.
I remember at General Assembly in June, the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, minister in Clearwater, introducing the guests from the IARF, including the Rev. Dr. Daryl Balia, General Secretary of the IARF who, with the IARF Council, is planning a March, 2006 IARF Congress. If my information is correct UUA President Rev. Bill Sinkford will be in Taiwan for this important meeting. The Congress will focus on the role of religion in family, community life, and politics.
Thanks again for your support and comments each month. I always enjoy hearing from Florida District UUs, and can be reached at jlund@uua.org or (813) 931-9727.
