Alliance of Religions
Religion is the cradle of human civilization and will always be a core influence in determining the trends, outlooks and progression of our society, which inevitably confronts questions and issues with religious undertones.
As the world becomes more multi-religious and multi-ethnic, however, there is a seemingly diminished respect for the diverse existence of faiths and ethnicities, and more concerns rise towards this new threat to peace, which can be seen in the form of religious hatred, persecution, and conflicts often involving physical violence. This rising hostility, which has become a prolonged, unstable social factor, in all manifestations is an obstacle to peace.
Seeing the current status of the religious world, HWPL recognizes that the diverse principles and values in each religious scripture play an important role in people’s search for peace because these scriptures represent the accumulation of not only the spiritual and moral teachings of the respective faiths, but also a fundamental standard of human conduct.
Although the common objective that all religious scriptures pursue is the realization of peace and justice, conflict resolution, human dignity, and valuing diversity, these pure, overarching messages are often overlooked by people, leading to peace becoming an elusive concept. Thus, along with the diverse backgrounds and various factors that cause conflicts, we approach towards the root cause of this hostility between faiths, which we define as the misunderstandings that arise from the misinterpretation of these scriptures.
It began from the HWPL World Peace Summit in 2014 where representative leaders from 12 religions, along with 950 participants, signed the Unity of Religion Agreement.
At that time, the WARP Office Meeting was established and it has been actively practiced worldwide since then.
Strong cooperation and a network of religious communities formed by the commitment of those at the WARP Summit 2014 has been integrated with a deeper understanding of the core principles and values of each scripture. Built upon this objective standard, regardless of differences in religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, the resulting network is closely contributing to the leading of mediation, reconciliation consultations and other activities in times of disputes.
Thus, within its Alliance of Religions Initiative, in remembrance of the promised agreement for the unity of religions, HWPL has promoted interfaith communication among religious leaders, who play an integral role in educating their congregations about differences in religious beliefs in a way that should not hinder the progress of establishing world peace.
WARP OFFICE
The World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office Meetings are HWPL’s worldwide peace dialogue series on interfaith relations and scriptural texts. These meetings aim to prevent the conflicts caused by religious misunderstandings and bring forth peace through gaining a deeper understanding of the standards and teachings of each religion, as well as the concept of peace spoken about in each scripture.
The Peace Office Meetings have become a global movement, and an increasing number of influential religious leaders are now going beyond their traditional roles and work as messengers of peace. This innovative initiative has stirred up discussions among leaders of various faiths and has increased peaceful interactions between them. It has shown itself to be an effective tool for breaking down the walls between religions and achieving our common goal: peace.
The Peace Office Meetings are becoming a way to create a bridge between religions in all areas of the globe.
Religious Youth Peace Camp
The aim of the HWPL Religious Youth Peace Camp is to engage youth and youth organizations in dialogue and conflict transformation activities based on inter-religious and inter-cultural learning.
Camp participants learn about the general history of world religions, find the root cause of and plausible resolutions to religious conflicts and disputes, examine the religious community's roles for peace, and experience cultural exchanges.
