global ethic project hans kung

WORLD RELIGIONS

GLOBALFoundation

THIC For inter-cultural and inter-religiousRESEARCHEDUCATIONENCOUNTER

UNIVERSAL PEACEUNIVERSAL PEACEGLOBAL ETHICGLOBAL ETHIC

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Why a Global Ethic?

Imagine a ball game in which all the

players are simply running around

and knocking the ball about aimlessly.

They’ve no idea what game they’re

playing, what is permissible and what

isn’t. Rules are needed if a game is to

be fair and enjoyable. And such rules

are also required wherever people live

together and want to achieve parti-

cular aims.

◗ Even a school class can prosper

only if the pupils have a sense of

fairness, if they can trust one another

and not be afraid of theft, bullying,

discrimination and violence – and if

they feel fairly treated by the teacher.

For this to happen, regulations are

needed which are observed by all

those involved in school life.

◗ Profit is important in a business,

but if the enterprise is to flourish

there is also need for a basis of trust

between employer and staff, among

the staff, and between customers and

firm. Honesty in business practices,

in accounting and financial reporting,

is important, as is reliability and

mutual esteem. Business and employ-

ment regulations are required which

are supported by all concerned.

◗ No community can exist unless

a legal order is affirmed, unless

differences are resolved without

important to discover the common

features in the ethic of the different

religions and philosophies and make

people aware of them:

◗ for the individual as personal

orientation;

◗ for society as the presupposition

for its cohesion;

◗ for nations and religious commu-

nities as a basis for understanding,

collaboration and peace.

On the basis of these common

ethical standards, called a ‘global

ethic’ for short, people of all cultures

and nations can live together and

work together for a more peaceful

and juster world.

What is a global ethic?

As early as 1990, in my book

Global Responsibility, I presented my

reflections on a global ethic to the

public. In it I developed program-

matically the idea that the religions

of the world can make a contribution

to the peace of humankind only

if they reflect on the ethic that they

already have in common: on a fun-

damental consensus concerning

existing binding values, irrevocable

standards, and fundamental personal

attitudes. The decisive step was then

taken by the Parliament of the World’s

Religions, an interreligious gathering

in Chicago in 1993 with more than

6000 participants. At it, more than

200 delegates from every religion and

continent signed a ‘Declaration

Toward A Global Ethic’ which I drafted

in a process of interreligious consul-

tation. Since then it has become the

fundamental document for the

development of the idea of a global

ethic.

violence, unless its members deal

with one another confidently, and

those who hold office exercise it fairly

and honestly. A balance must always

be found between the interests of the

individual and the common good.

So a consensus on some fundamental

rules of social life is indispensable for

holding a community together.

◗ Time and again peoples, nations

and states have different interests,

priorities and rivalries. A just balance

of interests and lasting peace can be

achieved only if relations are not

shaped by force, and if dialogue and

cooperation take the place of aggres-

sion and confrontation. Politics and

diplomacy, in matters great and small,

also need rules of behaviour.

Ever since there have been human

societies, ideas have been developed

of how to achieve a flourishing social

life and a good life for the individual.

Ethical standards – an elementary

ethic – have been developed in all

cultures. Religions and philosophies

above all have spelt out these stan-

dards and systematized them. But in

our present-day pluralistic world no

single religion, philosophy or ideology

can lay down such an ethic for the

whole of society. Yet it is possible and

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The Global Ethic project is based on

four fundamental convictions:

No peace among the nations

without peace among the religions.

No peace among the religions

without dialogue between the

religions.

No dialogue between the religions

without global ethical standards!

No survival of our globe without a

global ethic, supported by both

religious and nonreligious people.

The Chicago Declaration first of all

formulates the common features of

the ethic of the religions in two

principles:

1. The principle of humanity: every

human being must be treated

humanely.

2. In practically all cultures and

religions of humankind there is a

second rule which develops this

formal basic principle – the ‘Golden

Rule’ of reciprocity: ‘What you do

not wish done to yourself, do not do

to others.’

These two principles include concrete

directives for four central spheres of

life which are formulated as

commitments:

◗ Commitment to a culture of non-

violence and respect for life;

◗ Commitment to a culture of

solidarity and a just economic order;

◗ Commitment to a culture of

tolerance and a life of truthfulness;

◗ Commitment to a culture of equal

rights and partnership between men

and women.

Building on the Chicago Declaration,

the idea of a global ethic has been

extended further at various levels. The

following documents are particularly

important:

◗ 1997: The proposal of the

InterAction Council of former heads

of states and governments for a

‘Universal Declaration of Human

Responsibilities’;

◗ 1999: The ‘Call to Our Guiding

Institutions’ by the Third Parliament of

the World’s Religions in Cape Town;

◗ 2001: The manifesto on the dia-

logue among civilizations, ‘Crossing

the Divide’, worked out by the ‘Group

of Eminent Persons’ convened by

the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

for the year 2001, the International

Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

The Chicago Declaration and the

Global Ethic Project seek to stimulate

an individual and collective change of

consciousness in the interest of the

survival of our planet. The Global

Ethic Foundation in Tübingen, Ger-

many, founded in 1995, is working

particularly intensively on furthering

this change of consciousness at

different levels: in intercultural and

interreligious research, education and

encounter, both national and

international.

Visualizing the global ethic:the exhibition‘World Religions – UniversalPeace – Global Ethic’

An educational contribution to this

change of consciousness is being

made by the media developed by the

Global Ethic Foundation: books,

videos, CD-ROMs, the Internet and

above all the exhibition ‘World

Religions – Universal Peace – Global

Ethic’ described in this booklet.

Of course ethical norms do not fall

from heaven, even if at all times in

the various religions they have been

and still are called to mind with the

authority of divine revelation and by

mediators of that revelation. Ethical

norms and values have been deve-

loped by human beings themselves

in an extremely complicated social

and dynamic process during the

course of human evolution. That

means that where urgent human

needs have emerged, regulations for

governing human behaviour have

imposed themselves: priorities,

conventions, laws, commandments,

directives and customs; in short,

specific ethical norms. Thus much that

is proclaimed as God’s commandment

in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testa-

ment and also the Qur’an, in other

words in the cultures of Semitic

origin, can also be found in the reli-

gions of Indian and Chinese origin.

In this exhibition they are all depicted

on the six panels of those religions

which can be called world religions

by virtue of their historical influence

and global dissemination.

The first six panels show:

◗ portraits of the key figures and

founders: Shiva, Confucius, Buddha,

Moses, Christ and Muhammad (the

last only in lettering, as the Prophet

may not be portrayed);

◗ central sacred texts from the

religions, specifically on ethical

aspects;

◗ a text by me on the nature of each

religion;

◗ a brief description and a time

chart;

◗ pictures from the world of the

religions and portraits of modern

representatives of them.

At the same time the fundamental

ethical standards common to all these

religions need to be expressed clearly.

This is done most clearly in the panel

on the Golden Rule. Here one and

the same norm is expressed in

different writings and formulations; it

was formulated by Confucius 500

years before Christ and today should

apply not only between individuals

but also between groups, nations,

races and religions.

The Golden Rule already makes more

precise the still more elementary

fundamental principle of humanity

which has been called for at all

times by the great humanists – from

Immanuel Kant through Henry Dunant,

Rosa Luxembourg and Thomas Mann,

Hannah Arendt and Albert Schweitzer

to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela

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and Yehudi Menuhin: ‘Every human

being, man or woman, white or

coloured, rich or poor, old or young,

should be treated humanely, that is,

not inhumanely or bestially.’ This de-

mand is implicit in what is really com-

mon to all human beings, namely being

human, and the inalienable human

dignity associated with it. This is also

the starting point for human rights.

The last four panels develop and

spell out these two basic ethical

principles; at the same time they

translate them into the present day

with the four great ethical directives

of all religions as formulated in the

Chicago Declaration. It is becoming

clear that they are by no means

fortuitous but are focussed on

decisive spheres of human life and

human society.

The global ethic is what holds our

exhibition together. Those who look

at these twelve panels can see the

ethical heritage of humankind: it

embraces both secular traditions from

the humanist ethic and the traditions

of the religious ethic. World peace can

be furthered only in a coalition of

men and women inspired by ethics on

both a religious and a nonreligious

basis.

Global ethic in practice:The Global Ethic Foundation

The Global Ethic Foundation owes its

origin to Count K.K.von der Groeben,

who in 1995 read Global Responsi-

bility and was so impressed that

he donated a substantial sum towards

the dissemination of the idea of a

global ethic. The interest on the

capital guarantees the long-term

future of the work of a small research

team under my direction in the

service of a global ethic. The program-

matic basis for the work of the

Foundation is the ‘Declaration Toward

A Global Ethic’ of the Parliament of

the World’s Religions.

3. The sponsoring and support of

intercultural and interreligious

encounter necessary for research

and education.

◗ Encouragement and sponsoring

of initiatives in the sphere of society,

politics and culture in the interest

of an understanding between people

(e. g. ‘confidence-building measures’

between the religions);

◗ The encouragement of encounter

between people of different cultures

and religions (colloquia, study trips,

congresses);

◗ The development of the existing

network of intercultural and inter-

religious relations to encourage

a global ethic.

◗ The creation of access to key

documents and literature with the

help of modern communications

technologies (www.global-ethic.org).

Since its establishment in 1995 the

activity of the Foundation has exten-

ded into a great variety of practical

fields and areas of society like

schools, business and politics and has

aroused great interest, extending as

far as the United Nations Organi-

zation. It has been possible to create

further Global Ethic Foundations: in

1996 in Switzerland, in 1999 in the

Czech Republic, in 2000 in the

Netherlands, and in 2001 a ‘Global

Ethic Initiative’ in Austria. The

positive response to the activities

of the Foundation shows that the task

of putting globalization on an ethical

basis is becoming increasingly

necessary.

Hans Küng

The foundation is active in three

fields:

GLOBALFoundation

THIC For inter-cultural and inter-religiousRESEARCHEDUCATIONENCOUNTER

1. The implementation and

encouragement of intercultural and

interreligious research:

◗ Research into the foundation of

religions in theology and religious

studies, especially by the production

and encouragement of scholarly

publications (books, articles) in the

interest of intercultural, interreligious

and interdenominational under-

standing.

2. The stimulation and implemen-

tation of intercultural and inter-

religious education:

◗ Teaching and lectures to dissemi-

nate the results of scholarship, in

particular the ideas of a fundamental

ethic common to all human beings,

a global ethic, in schools, academies,

colleges, associations and interest

groups of all kinds, national and

international;

◗ The education of those interested

by conferences, lectures, seminars

or workshops to deepen the theme

of a global ethic;

◗ Public activity in the service of a

global ethic with the help of the

media (newspaper articles, interviews,

radio and television).

◗ The preparation of media such as

the multimedia project ‘Tracing the

Way. Spiritual Dimensions of the World

Religions’ which consists of seven

video films, a CD-ROM (in german

only) and a book (available also in

english), or the present exhibition.

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Hinduism

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The name Hinduism was invented

by us Europeans for Indian religion.

In reality it does not denote a single

Indian religion but a whole cluster of

religions, a confederation of religions.

Indians themselves usually call their

religion eternal order.

In Sanskrit, the old classical language

of India, this is Sanatana dharma –

a term which was very often used

by Mahatma Gandhi. This central

concept of dharma determines

everything: it means order, the law,

obligation.

Order here is not a legal order but

an all-embracing cosmic order which

governs all life. All men and women,

regardless of the caste or class to

which they belong, are to observe it.

Here we are reminded of something

like the fundamental ethic that can

already be found among the Aboriginal

people in Australia, a fundamental

order which is there from the start,

right from the beginning.

A Hindu’s FOUR CLASSIC AIMS IN LIFEStriving for what is pleasant and the delight

of the senses (kama).Striving for what is useful and attaining

prosperity (artha).Working for justice and virtue (dharma).Striving for liberation and redemption

(moksha) from the cycle of birth, deathand reincarnation.

The seven modernSOCIAL SINS of humankindPolitics without principlesBusiness without moralityWealth without workEducation without characterScience without humanityEnjoyment without conscienceReligion without sacrifice(according to Mahatma Gandhi)

Virtues of the YOGA WAYNon violence, doing no harm (a-himsa)Truthfulness (satya)Not stealing (a-steya)Chastity, purity of life (brahmacharya)Lack of desire (a-parigraha)(according to Patanjali)

But here already it is also clear

that Hinduism is not primarily

a matter of statements of faith,

dogmas, orthodoxy. Hinduism

has no official doctrinal

authority, but is about right

action, the correct rite, morality

– everything that makes up the

practice of religion.

Hinduism is not primarily about

specific rights either. It is about

our great human destiny, the

responsibilities that we have:

responsibilities towards family,

society, God and the gods.

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

AncientIndianWritings(Vedas)

Kandariya Mahadev temple, Khajuraho

Varanasi, the city of Shiva

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Most Hindus believe in one God,an Absolute, but depending on the path theychoose they associate themselves witha quite particular divine revealer figure,like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Krishna or Ram.

Hindus are convinced that the human soulis eternal, that it is identical with the primalground of the world and according to the lawof karma undergoes several earthly existences.

Karma means that all actions have causesfrom earlier life and effects on later existences.

The four Vedas are regarded as classicalsacred scriptures of the Hindus, but theBhagavad-Gita, a book from the Mahabharataepic, is also extremely popular.

There are more than 800 million Hindusworld-wide; most of them live in India.

Truth, self-control, asceticism,

generosity, non-violence,

constancy in virtue – these are

the means of success, and not

caste or family.

(from the Mahabharata)

One should not take what

belongs to others, that is an

eternal duty.

(from the Mahabharata)

◗ The union of hearts and minds and

freedom from hate I will bring you.

◗ Love one another as the cow loves

the calf that she has borne.

◗ Let son be loyal to father and

of one mind with his mother.

◗ Let not a brother hate a brother,

nor a sister hate a sister; unanimous,

united in aims speak your words in

friendliness.

(Atharva Veda 3.30)

◗ One should speak the truth and

speak it pleasingly.

◗ One should not speak the truth

in an unpleasant manner nor should

one speak untruth because

it is pleasing; this is the eternal law.

(Manu Smriti 4, 138)

Mahatma Gandhi

Vivekananda

Shiva

A Vishnavite priest

Temple frieze with tantric scenes

Morning prayer in the Ganges

Sarvapalli Radakrishnan

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It is not authoritarian patriarchalism

that stands at the centre of the

teaching of Confucius, but what

is truly human.

Humanity (ren) in the sense of

loving care, goodness, benevolence,

is the ethical term that is used most

frequently of all in the Analects

of Confucius.

Humanity could very well also be

the basis today for a fundamental

ethic – not only in China, but in

humankind as a whole. According

to Confucius, humanity is to be

understood as mutuality (shu), as

mutual respect, as he explains it in the

Golden Rule: What you do not wish

for yourself, do not do to others.

Good and evil can be distinguished

by the basic norm of true humanity

in a quite elementary way, one that

is valid for all. For the Chinese there

is nothing beyond good and evil.

Confucius is said to have remarked

that there are only two ways:

humanity or inhumanity.

So the Chinese in particular

greatly approve of the statement

that the universal basic criterion

for a global ethic is that what

helps human beings to be truly

human is what is in principle

good for them.

That means that:

◗ Human beings, whether

individuals or societies, should

not behave in an inhuman,

antihuman, bestial way, as so

often happens.

◗ Rather, human beings, as

individuals or in community,

should behave in a truly human

way, a humane way: towards

their fellow men and women,

society, and nature.

The foundations of Confucian ethics areFIVE BASIC RELATIONSHIPSSuperior – subordinateFather – sonOlder brother – younger brotherHusband – wifeFriend – friend

Confucian VIRTUESProper behaviour (li)Humanity (ren)Doing one’s duty (yi)Knowing what is right (shi)Reciprocal care of others (shu)Respect, fulfilling the obligations

of a child (xiao)

The MASTER SAID:At fifteen, I bent my mind on learning;at thirty, I was established;at forty, I was free from delusion;at fifty, I knew the mandate of Heaven;at sixty, my ears became subtly perceptive;at seventy, I was able to follow my heart’s

desire without overstepping the rules

of propriety.

(Confucius, Analects 2.4)

ConfucianWritings

TaoistWritings

Taoist priestess

Yue Hai Qing temple, Singapore

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

ChineseRelig ion

‘Temple of heaven’, Beijing

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Early Chinese culture, around 5,000 years old,is a shamanistic culture with a strong religiousstamp, at the centre of which standsthe veneration of ancestors and rites.

The era of Chinese humanism begins in Chinain the sixth century BC with the emergenceof wisdom teachers – the most famousof them is Confucius. There is a transitionfrom magical religion to a rationality centredon human beings and their ethical decisions.

To some degree as a counter-movementto that, at this time Taoism arose. It is a returnto nature and its harmony, inspired by thewisdom writing Tao te Ching, which isattributed to the legendary wise man Lao-tsu.This is a philosophical-mystical doctrineof the Tao, the way, the primal law and primalfoundation of all being, in which humanbeings are to be embedded and with whichthey are to live in harmony.

Later this became a separate religiousmovement which adopted many elementsof the old Chinese religion.

There are about 1.3 billion Chinese, someof whom – in so far as they are religious at all– are Confucians or Taoists; others areBuddhists, Christians or Muslims.

Carsun Chang

Liang Qichao

Mou Tsung-san

Kang Youwei

If one has sinned against

Heaven, there is no one

to pray to.


If a man is not humane,

what can he do with the rituals?

If a man is not humane,

what can he do with music?


To apply oneself to the duties

of men and, while revering the spirits

and gods, to keep away from them

– this may be called wisdom.


A benevolent man extends his love

for those he loves to those he does

not love.

(Mencius 7B.1)

Treat the aged of your own family

in a manner befitting their venerable

age and extend this treatment

to the aged of other families.

Treat your own young in a manner

befitting their tender age and extend

this to the young of other families.

(Mencius, 1A, 7)

Confucius

Foretelling from the hand

Morning t’ai-chi meditation in Beijing

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Buddhism

It has often been asserted that

Buddhism is not really a religion

but a philosophy.

However, Buddhism is not

a philosophy. It is a religion;

it is a doctrine of liberation and

a way to liberation.

And in fact the Buddha understood

himself as something like a doctor

who wants to help suffering people to

find liberation and redemption.

However, everyone has to try out the

means of healing for themselves.

Here the Buddha is something like

a present-day psychotherapist who

helps people to overcome crises in

life, to understand the causes of

suffering and so cope with it, to be

content with their limitations, finitude

and mortality. But the Buddha is more

than a psychotherapist. He is more

radical. He himself has experienced

in Enlightenment that human beings,

if they see through everything, can

recognize that all that they see is not

The EIGHTFOLD PATHRight viewRight understanding of the origin

of suffering,right understanding of the cessation

of suffering,right understanding of the path leading

to the cessation of suffering.Right intentionsIntentions of renunciation,intentions of goodwill,intentions to do no harm.Right wordTo refrain from lying,to refrain from slander,to refrain from harsh speech,to refrain from chattering.Right actionTo refrain from killing living beings,to refrain from taking what is not given,to refrain from an immoral love life.Right livelihoodTo earn one’s living by legal means and

without violence.Right effortThe effort of the will,not to allow to come into being

unwholesome things which have notcome into being,

to make unwholesome things that havecome into being disappear,

to make wholesome things that havecome into being unfold.

Right mindfulnessDeveloping awareness of the body so that

greed and hatred are reduced.Right concentrationTo enter deep levels of mental calm through

developing one-pointedness of need.(from Mahasatipatthana-Suttanta 21)

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stable, that nothing in the world

is permanent. Everything is

changeable; even the self, to

which we so cling, basically has

no abiding substance, but is just

as transitory.

So the suffering from which

human beings are to be cured is

this illusion of a real self. Human

beings are to learn through the

therapy of the Buddha to free

themselves from their own

selves.

They are to find the way from

a concern with the self and

entanglement in the self to

a selflessness which makes

them free for an all-embracing

compassion.

That is something which really

should not be so remote for

Christians either.

BuddhistPalicanon

Buddhist monks at the autumn feast in Nara

Simplicity and transparency: a zen garden

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

B C

Tibetan sand mandala

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Buddhism has its historical origin in thesixth century BC with Siddharta Gautama.

In the Four Noble Truths he taught insightinto the cause of human suffering and withthe Eightfold Path showed a way towardsovercoming it.

Through this insight Siddharta Gautamabecame the Buddha, the Enlightened One.Buddhists do not understand the UltimateReality, the Absolute, as a personal deityor a creator god.

Buddha’s teachings were gathered togetherover a long period; the most importantare the Theravada canon (the Tripitaka) andthe Mahayana sutras.

There are more than 300 million Buddhistsworld-wide, divided into schools of Theravada(Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos)and Mahayana (Vietnam, China, Korea,Japan, Tibet).

The five precepts

of Buddhism

I vow to abstain from killing

living beings,

I vow to abstain from taking

what is not given,

I vow to abstain from sexual

misconduct,

I vow to abstain from lying,

I vow to abstain from taking

intoxicants.

The avoidance of what is evil;

the undertaking of good;

the cleansing of one’s mind;

this is a teaching of the

awakened ones.

(Dhammapada 183)

◗ Do not be led by reports, nor by

tradition, nor hearsay.

◗ Do not be led by the authority

of religious texts, nor by mere logic or

inference, nor by considering

appearances, nor by the delight in

speculative opinions, nor by seeming

possibilities, nor by the idea ‘this is

your teacher’.

◗ But when you know for yourselves

that certain things are unwholesome

and wrong and bad, then give them

up.

◗ And when you know for yourselves

that certain things are wholesome

and good, then accept and follow

them.

(Vimamsaka Sutta)

Aung San Suu Kyi

Dalai Lama

Nikkyo Niwano

Buddha

Todaiji temple, NaraStone footprint of Buddha, Bodh-Gaya

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HebrewBible

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The Bible portrays the Jews as

a people who have been chosen

by God.

However, for believing Jews this is

not an expression of superiority and

arrogance but an expression of

a particular obligation: an obligation

to God’s covenant, God’s

commandments, God’s teaching – in

Hebrew the Torah.

That certainly does not mean that all

the commandments of the Jewish

sacred law were given from the very

beginning. And of course there were

also elementary commandments

of humanity among the peoples

outside Israel.

What was new was that the

commandments of humanity were

now put under the authority of one

and the same God.

No longer was there the general

statement, ‘You shall not kill, lie,

steal, commit adultery.‘

Now we hear, ‘I am the Lord

your God, you shall not kill, lie,

steal, commit adultery.‘

At a very early stage these

commandments were summa-

rized, the most important

of them in the Ten Words, the

‘Decalogue‘. They were also

taken over by the Christians.

There are parallels to them

in the Qur’an.

They form the basis of a

common fundamental ethic

of the three prophetic

religions. Grounded in belief

in the one God, these Ten Words

of Israel form the great legacy

of the Jews to humankind.

The TEN COMMANDMENTSI am the Lord your God, you shall have

no other gods before me.You shall not make for yourself an idol.You shall not make wrongful use

of the name of the Lord your God.Remember the sabbath day and keep

it holy.Honour your father and your mother.You shall not kill.You shall not commit adultery.You shall not steal.You shall not bear false witness against

your neighbour.You shall not covet your neighbour’s

house, you shall not covet yourneighbour’s wife, or male or femaleslave, or ox, or donkey, or anythingthat belongs to your neighbour.

(Exodus 20.1-21)

You shall love your neighbour as yourself.(Leviticus 19.18)

The stranger who resides with you shall beto you as the citizen among you;you shall love the stranger as yourself.

(Leviticus 19.34)

Which of you desires life,and covets many days to enjoy good?Keep your tongue from evil,and your lips from speaking deceit.Depart from evil, and do good;seek peace and pursue it.(Psalm 34.13-15)

Talmud

Jewish everyday life in New York

‘The tomb of Abraham’, Hebron

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

Judaism

A Jewish family in Nazi Germany

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Judaism is grounded in belief in the OneGod, who liberated the people of Israelfrom slavery in Egypt – under the leadershipof Moses, through whom the Israeliteson Mount Sinai received God’s teaching,the Torah.

The Hebrew Bible – the earliest partsof which go back to the tenth century BC –is called Tanak after the initial consonants of itsthree main divisions (Torah = instruction,Nebi’im = Prophets, Ketubim = Writings).Christians generally call it the Old Testament –as opposed to the New Testament.

A rich body of religious writing developedamong rabbinic scholars from the secondcentury CE onwards, including the Talmud.

World-wide there are about 14 million Jews;the main currents are Orthodox, Conservative,Reform and Liberal. The majority live in Israeland in North America. About 6 million Jewswere killed in the Holocaust.

Theodor Herzl

Martin Buber

Elie Wiesel

Moses

When a man appears before the

throne of Judgment, the first question

he is asked is not,

Have you believed in God?

or, Have you prayed and fulfilled

the precepts?

but, Have you dealt honourably,

faithfully in all your dealings with

your neighbour?

(Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

The world rests on three things:

on justice, truth and peace.

(Talmud, Avot 1.18)

You may modify a statement in the

interests of peace.

(Talmud, Yebamot 65b)

It may not be granted you

to complete the work, but you

are not free to withdraw from it.

(Talmud, Avot 3.21)

The seal of God is truth.

(Talmud, Shabbat 55)

Torah scroll

Orthodox Jews before the Western Wall in Jerusalem

14

NewTestament

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Christianity

It would be wrong to identify Christ-

ianity with ecclesiastical power struct-

ures and bureaucratic institutions.

Christians are those who throughout

their personal lives – and everyone

has his or her own life to live – are

guided by Jesus Christ.

We might think of Oscar Romero,

the Archbishop of El Salvador, who

was shot at the altar during a service;

of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Protestant

theologian and resistance fighter;

of Martin Luther King, the American

Civil Rights activist; or of Jerzy Popie-

luszko, the Polish priest.

Common to them all is that:

◗ They were committed Christians.

◗ They stood up for their fellow men

and women in a non-violent way.

◗ And they were all eliminated with

brute force.

But that also makes them like the

one who was their model in

their life, suffering and

struggles: Jesus of Nazareth.

That takes us right to the heart

of things. What is the real

essence of Christianity?

The essence of Christianity is

not, as some people think, some

great theory, a world-view,

or even an ecclesiastical system.

It is quite simply Jesus Christ.

And basically, no organization,

no institution, no church can

honestly call itself ‘Christian’

if it cannot truly refer to him in

word and deed.

The NEW TESTAMENT

From Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs

is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who mourn, for they

will be comforted.Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit

the earth.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

for righteousness, for they willbe filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they willreceive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for theywill see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for theywill be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecutedfor righteousness’ sake, for theirsis the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5.3-12)

Love your enemies and pray for those

who persecute you.

(Matthew 5.44)

But if anyone strikes you on the right

cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone

wants to sue you and take your coat,

give your cloak as well; and if anyone

forces you to go one mile, go also the

second mile. Give to everyone who begs

from you, and do not refuse anyone

who wants to borrow from you.

(Matthew 5.39-42)

The measure you give will be the

measure you get.

(Matthew 7.2)

Peter and Paul, Rome

Russian monk, Moscow

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

B C

OldTestament

15

Christianity is named after Jesus Christ,a Jewish itinerant preacher, who lived inPalestine in the early part of the first century.During his brief public activity – perhapsonly a few months, at most three years –Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom of Godwith its promises and standards.

He gathered a group of disciples aroundhim, came into conflict with the religious andpolitical establishment, and was crucifiedaround the age of thirty.

Christians believed and still believe thatGod has raised him from the dead to eternallive and exalted him to be the Christ(‘God’s anointed’).

Jesus himself did not write down any sayings.His teachings and his life are handed downin the four Gospels, which with twenty-threeother writings form the New Testament.

There are around 2 billion Christians world-wide: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant,Anglican and others.

Mother Teresa

Pope John XXIII

DietrichBonhoeffer

Alexander Men

Christ

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart, and with all your

soul, and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and first

commandment.

And a second is like it:

You shall love your neighbour as

yourself.

(Matthew 22.37-39)

Whoever wishes to become great

among you must be your servant,

and whoever wishes to be first

among you must be slave of all.

(Mark 10.43-44).

It is more blessed to give than

to receive.

(Acts of the Apostles 20.35)

The shanty-town of La Chacra, San Salvador

St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

Martin Luther

16

Qur’an

I s lam

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The QUR’AN

In the Name of God, Most Merciful,Most Compassionate,

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,Master of the Day of Reckoning.

Thee alone do we worship; and to Theealone do we turn for help.

Guide us in the straight path, the pathof those whom Thou hast blessed,

not of those against whom Thou artwrathful,

not of those who have incurred Thy wrath.(Qur’an, Surah 1)

The Muslim code of duties

In the Name of God, the Merciful,the Compassionate,

Set not up with God another god, or youwill sit condemned and forsaken.

Thy Lord has decreed you shall not serveany but Him,

and be good to parents.And give the kinsman his right, and the

needy, and the traveller.And slay not your children for fear of

poverty. Nor take life, which God hasmade sacred.

And approach not fornication.And do not touch the property of the

orphan.And be true to every promise.And give full measure when you measure,

and weigh with the straight balance.And do not pursue that of which you have

no knowledge.And walk not the earth with insolence.(Qur’an, Surah 17.22-38)

For Muslims, the Word of God

did not become a man but

a book. And it is the Qur’an, the

original version of which lies

with God himself, that forms the

centre of Islam.

So Islam is a religion of the

book par excellence. The Qur’an

completes the Torah of the Jews

and the Gospel of the Christians.

For Muslims it is unsurpassable,

perfect, absolutely reliable.

So it is also solemnly recited

and above all learnt by heart by

the experts.

Yet Muslim theologians, too,

have discussed the question

whether as the word of God the

Qur’an is not also a human

word, the word of the Prophet

Muhammad.

Believers recite the Qur’an

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Qayrawan

Muhammad

Jesus

ConfuciusBuddha

B C

There is no doubt that through

the prophet Muhammad the Arabs

were raised to the level of an ethical

high religion, grounded in belief in

the one God and in a basic ethic

of humanity, with clear imperatives

for more humanity and more justice.

From its origins onwards, Islam was

a religion not so much of the law

as of an ethic. And there is also some-

thing like the Ten Commandments,

the basis of a common ethic of

humanity.

Muslims see Muhammad as the

seal of the prophets, the messenger

of God who brought God’s final

revelation to humankind. However,

Muslims attach the greatest

importance to the fact that the

Prophet Muhammad does not stand

at the centre of Islam, as Jesus Christ

stands at the centre of Christianity.

17

Islam means submission to the will of God.It is the message of the Prophet Muhammad,which was gradually revealed to him in thesixth century by an angel and was later writtendown in the Qur’an by Muhammad’s compan-ions and followers.

The five pillars of Islam are:◗ belief in God and Muhammad ashis messenger,◗ daily ritual prayer,◗ obligatory contribution for the poor,◗ Ramadan, the annual month of fasting,◗ to go on pilgrimage to Mecca if possibleonce in a lifetime.

There are around 1.2 billion Muslims;the most important movements are the Sunniand the Shi’ites.

Most Muslims today live in South-East Asiaand India, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle Eastand Turkey.

Let there be no compulsion

in religion.

(Qur’an, Surah 2.256)

Let there be one community

(of believers), calling to good,

and bidding to honour,

and forbidding dishonour;

those are the prosperers.


O believers, be you securers

of justice, witnesses for God.

Let not detestation for a people

move you to deviate from

justice.


And if they incline to peace, you

should also incline to it and place

your trust in God.


And avoid the abomination of idols,

and avoid the speaking of falsehood.

(Quran, Surah 22.30)

Do you see him who calls the

Reckoning a lie?

He is the one who casts the orphan

away,

who fails to urge the feeding of one in

need.

So woe to those that pray and are

heedless of their prayers, to those who

make display and refuse charity.

(Qur’an, Surah 107.1-7)

Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Abduh

Gamaladdin al-Afghani

‘Muhammad’

Daily ritual prayer

The Ka’ba, Mecca

18

Immanuel Kant,

philosopher

Act in such a way

that you always

use humankind,

both in your person

and in the person

of anyone else,

at the same time

as an end, never as

a means.

Henry Dunant,

founder

of the Red Cross

In an age in which

people talk so much

about progress and

civilization, is there not

an urgent need,

since unfortunately

wars cannot always be

avoided, to insist that

with a sense of true

humanity and

civilization a way be

sought at least to

diminish their terrors

to some degree?

Rosa Luxemburg,

politician

Freedom only

for the supporters of

a government,

only for the members

of one party – however

numerous they may be

– is no freedom.

Freedom is always only

freedom of the one

who thinks otherwise.

Thomas Mann,

writer

The tendency towards

some form of world

organization is

unmistakably present,

and nothing of this kind

is possible without

a strong dose of

secularized Christianity,

without a new

Bill of Rights, a basic

law of human rights

and human decency

binding on all,

which universally

guarantees …

a minimum of respect

for man made

in God’s image.

In the face

of all inhumanity

our religious

and ethical convictions

demand that every

human being

must be treated

humanely.

This means that every

human being

without distinction

of age, sex, race,

skin colour, physical

or mental ability,

language, religion,

political view,

or national or social

origin

possesses

an inalienable and

untouchable dignity.

And everyone,

the individual as well

as the state,

is therefore obliged

to honour this dignity

and protect it.

DECLARATION

TOWARD

A GLOBAL ETHIC,

THE PARLIAMENT

OF THE WORLD’S

RELIGIONS,

Chicago 1993

Every human beingmust be treated

humanely

19

Martin Luther King,

Nobel Peace Prize

1964

I have a dream …

that one day the sons

of former slaves

and the sons of former

slave owners

will be able to sit down

together at the table

of brotherhood …

I have a dream

that my four children

will one day live

in a nation where

they will not be judged

by the colour

of their skin but by the

content of their

character.

Yehudi Menuhin,

musician

The will and the

capacity to exterminate

whole peoples are more

widespread today

than ever.

My aim, which I seek

to achieve with

music and in my

educational projects,

has long been

to work against this evil

by encouraging

understanding between

peoples, by

strengthening the

feeling that we are

all human beings

and are dependent

on one another.

Hannah Arendt,

philosopher

Regardless

of whether it appears

in a religious or

a humanist form,

the idea of humanity

contains a duty

to a shared

responsibility.

Nelson Mandela,

Nobel Peace Prize

1993

No one is born

to hating another

person because

of the colour of his skin,

or his background,

or his religion.

People must learn

to hate, and if they can

learn to hate,

they can be taught

to love, for love comes

more naturally

to the human heart

than its opposite.

Even in the grimmest

times in prison …

I would see a glimmer

of humanity in one

of the guards.

Albert Schweitzer,

Nobel Peace Prize

1952

If we are disposed

towards humanity we

are true to ourselves,

in that we are capable

of being creative.

If we are disposed

towards inhumanity

we are untrue to

ourselves, and thus

exposed to all error.

Human dignity is unassailable.

To respect it and to protect it is the responsibility

of every state authority.

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 1 (1949)

All human beings are born free and equal

in dignity and rights.

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act

towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1 (1948)

20

CHINESE RELIGION

Do not do

to others

what you

do not want them

to do to you.

Confucius, Analects 15.23

HINDUISM

This is

the sum of duty:

do nothing

to others

which would cause

you pain

if done to you.

Mahabharata XIII.114.8

JAINISM

A person

should

treat

all creatures

as he himself

would

be treated.

Sutrakritanga I.11.33

The ‘Golden Rule’in the world rel ig ions

21

CHRISTIANITY

In everything

do to others

as you

would have them

do to you.

Matthew 7.12; Luke 6.31

BUDDHISM

A state

that is not pleasant

or delightful

to me

must be so

for him also;

and a state

which is not pleasant

or delightful

for me,

how could I inflict that

on another?

Samyutta Nikaya V,353.35-354.2

JUDAISM

Do not do

to others

what you would

not want them

to do to you.

Rabbi Hillel, Shabbat 31a

ISLAM

No one

of you is a believer

until

he desires

for his brother that

which he desires

for himself.

40 Hadith(sayings of Muhammad)of an-Nawawi 13

22

Haverespect

forl ife!

kil l ?

tor ture ?

torm

ent ?

wound

?

23

Violence may not bea means of settl ing differenceswith others.

In the great ancient religious and

ethical traditions of humankind we find

the directive:

You shall not kill! Or in positive terms:

Have respect for life!

Let us reflect anew on the consequences

of this ancient directive:

◗ All people have a right to life, safety

and the free development of personality

in so far as they do not injure the rights

of others.

◗ No one has the right physically or

psychically to torture, injure, much less

kill, any other human being.

◗ And no people, no state, no race,

no religion has the right to hate,

to discriminate against, to ’cleanse‘,

to exile, much less to liquidate a ’foreign‘

minority which is different.

Let no one be deceived:

There is no survival for humanity

without global peace!

Young people must learn at home and

in school that violence may

not be a means of settling differences

with others.

Only thus can a culture of non-violence

be created.

From the ‘Declaration Toward a Global Ethic’ of the

Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago 1993.

Grim reality of e-stalking.

Internet intimidation is coming

to a home near you.

Glasgow Herald

Violence rising

at football grounds.

Affray, missile throwing

and violent disorder were all up.

Daily Telegraph

Jailed for Life at 12.

A 12 year old boy has been given

life for beating a girl of 6 to death.

Daily Mirror

Fuelling Africa’s Wars.

War is spreading from Sierra Leone

to Ghana. Traders, profiting

in arms, diamonds and oil, help

to keep West African wars going.

Economist

Tide of cruelty sweeps

through our care homes.

They should be safe havens, but

one in ten hide stories of violence.

Observer

Sharp rise in attacks

on hospital staff.

Shocking figures show that

there has been a 217 %

average increase.

Glasgow Herald

Concern over huge rise

in classroom violence.

Attacks on teachers rose by more

than 50 per cent last year.

Scotsman

Apocalypse soon

for half of wildlife.

Global warming will destroy

almost a third of plant

and animal habitats by the end

of this century.

Glasgow Herald

Violence at home is worst peril

for women.

Up to 5.7 million incidents

of domestic violence occur

every year.

Times

The railway children

who dice with death.

Vandalism and trespass

are biggest threat

to rail safety.

Guardian

24

steal ?

exploit ?

brib

e ?

corru

pt ?

Dealhonestly

andfair ly!

25

Greedy peoplelose their ‘souls’ –what makes them human.



the directive:

You shall not steal!

Or in positive terms: Deal honestly and

fairly!



◗ No one has the right to rob or

dispossess in any way whatsoever any

other person or the commonweal.

◗ Further, no one has the right to use her

or his possessions without concern for the

needs of society and Earth.

Let no one be deceived:

There is no global peace without global

justice!

Young people must learn at home and in

school that property, limited though it

may be, carries with it an obligation, and

that its uses should at the same time

serve the common good.

Only thus can a just economic order

be built up.



Fat cats still creaming pay.

A close-knit highly paid elite in

Britain’s top companies are awarding

each other massive pay rises.

Glasgow Herald

Three found guilty of selling

meat condemned as pet food

to humans.

Independent

Bribery scandal threatens

President.

Times

Sleaze unites all the parties

in French election.

Daily Telegraph

You go out thieving to buy

your drugs.

There’s nothing else to do.

Independent

Corruption brings fear for safety

of China’s Three Gorges Dam.

Daily Telegraph

Slavery ‘worse now than

under Roman empire’.

Slaves are cheaper and more plentiful

than ever.

Independent

Not worth a shrug.

If you think that corruption is

a victimless crime, try Tanzania.

Guardian

Greed is good again.

The stock market has become

the vehicle for a mass pursuit

of instant riches.

Guardian

Corruption halts relief

convoys in Albania.

Dozens of lorries have been

trapped for days.

Daily Telegraph

26

l ie ?

deceive ?

forg

e ?

manip

ulat

e ?

Speakand act

truthfully!

27

Every human beinghas a right to truth andtruthfulness.



the directive:

You shall not lie!

Or in positive terms: Speak and act

truthfully!

Let us reflect on the consequences of this

ancient directive:

No woman or man, no institution,

no state or church or religious community,

has the right to speak lies to other

humans.

Let no one be deceived, There is no

global justice without truthfulness and

humaneness.

Young people must learn at home and in

school to think, speak, and act truthfully.

Without an ethical formation young

people will hardly be able to distinguish

the important from the unimportant.

In the daily flood of information, ethical

standards will help them discern when

opinions are portrayed as facts, interests

veiled, tendencies exaggerated and facts

twisted.



Fraud over drug firms costs NHS

up to £ 60 m.

Daily Telegraph

Why so many politicians are liars.

Daily Mail

E crime and net raiders

cost US $ 10 bn.

Computer fraud and theft is double

that of the previous year.

Guardian

And now you can’t even trust

the wine.

Ten people arrested in what may

be one of the biggest wine scandals

of recent years.

Guardian

Hospitals sold living tissue

of children.

Times

Forgers ready to cash in over Euro.

Independent

Downfall of a firm built

on deceit.

False passports, the dead buying

shares …

Guardian

Lies as printed.

Three on $ 800 m forgery charges.

Daily Telegraph

Fake deaths

abroad are a growing problem for

insurers.

New York Times

Fraud in Europe hits £ 45 bn a year.

Daily Telegraph

28

Respect andlove

one another !

cheat ?

abuse ?

hum

iliat

e ?

dish

onou

r ?

29

Responsibi l i tyfor your par tner ’shappiness.



the directive:

You shall not commit sexual immorality!

Or in positive terms:

Respect and love one another!



No one has the right to degrade others

to mere sex objects, to lead them into

or hold them in sexual dependency.

Let no one be deceived: There is no

authentic humaneness without a living

together in partnership.

Young people must learn at home and

in school that sexuality is not a negative,

destructive or exploitative force, but

creative and affirmative.

The relationship between women

and men should be characterized not

by patronizing behaviour or exploitation,

but by love, partnership, and

trustworthiness.



They took my body from me

and used it.

Drugged and raped in her hotel room.

Guardian

Paedophile network abused

200 children.

Independent

Call girls to be questioned in cricket

scandal.

Observer

Britons face jail over Internet

paedophile club.

The Times

Sierra Leone Rebels practised

systematic sexual terror.

Washington Post

Women ‘sold into sexual slavery’.

Irish Times

Sex trade enslaves East Europeans.

Washington Post

South Africa new centre for

child sex.

The Times

I million children are ‘abused

every year’.

Daily Telegraph

Domestic Violence Explodes.

An epidemic of domestic violence

is sweeping Britain’s homes.

Guardian

30

Basic Documents

DECLARATION TOWARD A GLOBAL ETHICParliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago 1993 (extract)

We women and men of various

religions and regions of Earth there-

fore address all people, religious and

non-religious. We wish to express the

following convictions which we hold

in common:

◗ We all have a responsibility for

a better global order.

◗ Our involvement for the sake of

human rights, freedom, justice, peace,

and the preservation of Earth is ab-

solutely necessary.

◗ Our different religious and cultural

traditions must not prevent our

common involvement in opposing all

forms of inhumanity and working for

greater humaneness.

◗ The principles expressed in this

Global Ethic can be affirmed by

all persons with ethical convictions,

whether religiously grounded or not.

◗ As religious and spiritual persons

we base our lives on an Ultimate

Reality, and draw spiritual power and

hope therefrom, in trust, in prayer or

meditation, in word or silence. We

have a special responsibility for the

welfare of all humanity and care for

the planet Earth. We do not consider

ourselves better than other women

and men, but we trust that the

ancient wisdom of our religions can

point the way for the future.

After two world wars and the end of

the cold war, the collapse of fascism

and nazism, the shaking to the foun-

dations of communism and colonia-

lism, humanity has entered a new

phase of its history. Today we possess

sufficient economic, cultural, and

spiritual resources to introduce a

better global order. But old and new

ethnic, national, social, economic,

and religious tensions threaten the

peaceful building of a better world.

We have experienced greater

technological progress than ever

before, yet we see that world-wide

poverty, hunger, death of children,

unemployment, misery, and the

destruction of nature have not

diminished but rather have increased.

Many peoples are threatened with

economic ruin, social disarray,

political marginalization, ecological

catastrophe, and national collapse.

In such a dramatic global situation

humanity needs a vision of peoples

living peacefully together, of ethnic

and ethical groupings and of religions

sharing responsibility for the care of

Earth. A vision rests on hopes, goals,

ideals, standards. But all over the

world these have slipped from our

hands. Yet we are convinced that,

despite their frequent abuses and

failures, it is the communities of faith

who bear a responsibility to demon-

strate that such hopes, ideals, and

standards can be guarded, grounded,

and lived. This is especially true in

the modern state. Guarantees of

freedom of conscience and religion

are necessary but they do not

substitute for binding values,

convictions, and norms which are

valid for all humans regardless of

their social origin, sex, skin color,

language, or religion.

We are convinced of the fundamental

unity of the human family on Earth.

We recall the 1948 Universal Decla-

ration of Human Rights of the United

Nations. What it formally proclaimed

on the level of rights we wish to

confirm and deepen here from

the perspective of an ethic: The full

realization of the intrinsic dignity

of the human person, the inalienable

freedom and equality in principle

of all humans, and the necessary

solidarity and interdependence of all

humans with each other.

On the basis of personal experiences

and the burdensome history of our

planet we have learned

◗ that a better global order cannot

be created or enforced by laws, pre-

scriptions, and conventions alone;

◗ that the realization of peace,

justice, and the protection of Earth

depends on the insight and readiness

of men and women to act justly;

◗ that action in favor of rights and

freedoms presumes a consciousness

of responsibility and duty, and that

therefore both the minds and hearts

of women and men must be

addressed;

◗ that rights without morality cannot

long endure, and that there will be no

better global order without a global

ethic.

By a global ethic we do not mean

a global ideology or a single unified

religion beyond all existing religions,

and certainly not the domination

of one religion over all others. By a

global ethic we mean a fundamental

consensus on binding values, irre-

vocable standards, and personal

attitudes. Without such a fundamental

consensus on an ethic, sooner or later

every community will be threatened

by chaos or dictatorship, and indivi-

duals will despair.

31

CHARTER OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITIESInterAction Council, 1997 (extract)

Article 1: Every person, regardless ofgender, ethnic origin, social status,

political opinion, language, age, natio-

nality, or religion, has a responsibility

to treat all people in a humane way.

Article 2: No person should lend

support to any form of inhumane

behavior, but all people have a

responsibility to strive for the dignity

and self-esteem of all others.

Article 3: No person, no group

or organization, no state, no army or

police stands above good and evil;

all are subject to ethical standards.

Everyone has a responsibility to

promote good and to avoid evil in all

things.

Article 4: All people, endowed with

reason and conscience, must accept

a responsibility to each and all, to

families and communities, to races,

nations, and religions in a spirit of

solidarity: What you do not wish to be

done to yourself, do not do to others.

Article 5: Every person has a res-

ponsibility to respect life. No one has

the right to injure, to torture or to

kill another human person. This does

not exclude the right of justified self-

defense of individuals or commu-

nities.

Article 12: Every person has a

responsibility to speak and act

truthfully. No one, however high or

mighty, should speak lies. The right to

privacy and to personal and pro-

fessional confidentiality is to be

respected. No one is obliged to tell all

the truth to everyone all the time.

Article 16: All men and all women

have a responsibility to show respect

to one another and understanding

in their partnership. No one should

subject another person to sexual

exploitation or dependence. Rather,

sexual partners should accept the

responsibility of caring for each

other’s well-being.

A CALL TO OUR GUIDING INSTITUTIONSParliament of the World’s Religions, Cape Town 1999 (extract)

Building Community in DiversityDiversity is a hallmark of our con-

temporary experience. Today every

metropolitan center is home to a

striking variety of cultures, ethnic and

national groups, and religions. Never

before has the encounter between

people from different paths and

perspectives been so widespread,

touching individuals and communities

everywhere, enriching the tapestry of

our lives together, and recasting the

dynamics of our world. When such

encounters take place in an atmo-

sphere of respect and mutuality, then

new understanding and cooperation

can emerge. More evident at present,

however, are the tensions, hostilities,

and even violence that arise from

misunderstanding, fear, and hatred of

those who are different. The urgent

task is to embrace human diversity in

such a way that we no longer erect

barriers out of differences but, by

understanding and appreciating them,

build bridges to harmonious, vibrant

community.

Commitment to SustainabilityThe issue of sustainability addresses

the relationship of basic human needs

to the continued viability of the Earth.

Today the human family numbers

nearly six billion. If our present rate of

population growth and resource

consumption continues, we are likely

to approach and then exceed the

limits of the Earth’s ability to support

us. Economic analysis suggests that to

meet even the basic needs of so many

would require a huge increase in

agriculture and industry, prompting

thoughtful persons to ask whether the

Earth can possibly sustain such

demands. For example: levels of

atmospheric carbon dioxide have risen

dramatically; one-half of all land has

already been transformed for human

32

CROSSING THE DIVIDEDialogue among Civilizations. A Manifesto for the United Nations, 2001 (extract)

use; and one-half of all accessible

fresh water has been claimed to meet

current human needs. As a result, one

of every eight plant varieties and

evergreater numbers of animal species

are at risk of extinction, a prospect

that further imperils the planet and its

human community. The challenge is to

find sustainable ways to peacefully

meet the needs of all people while

preserving the integrity of the whole

community of life on Earth.

Striving for JusticeCurrently, four-fifths of the world’s

people live on one dollar (U. S.), five

rand (South Africa), or fifty rupees

(India) per day or less. Wrenching

poverty, exacerbated by systemic

injustice and inequitable distribution

of resources, gives rise to disease,

crime, violence, and hopelessness.

Current trends toward globalization

and modern models of ‘development,‘

which are rarely community oriented,

have often increased hardship

and privation for millions of people.

Injustice of this kind and scope

poisons the familial, social, and

spiritual life of us all. It is imperative,

from both an idealistic and a prag-

matic point of view, that the sufferings

of a majority of the human community

be alleviated through urgent eco-

nomic, political, and social reform.

of us, no matter how this recon-

ciliation process is achieved, to

discover and to establish a global

ethic. A global ethic for institutions

and civil society, for leaders and for

followers, requires a longing and

striving for peace, longing and striving

for justice, longing and striving for

partnerships, longing and striving for

truth. These might be the four pillars

of a system of a global ethic that

reconciliation, as the new answer

to the vicious circle of endless hatred,

is going to provide us.

•••

Whether we are moving towards

a clash of civilizations, or towards

greater human solidarity against those

who murder innocents only because

they are different, is really up to each

of us. The choice is neither pre-

determined nor unavoidable; that is

why each of us individually chooses

and takes personal responsibility.

‘Crossing the divide’, whatever that

divide seems to be, is the first step in

the process of learning how to

manage and appreciate diversity. It is

a quality that new generations may

find indispensable. Have we, the older

generation, committed the sin of

passing on the fear of diversity? We

may well have. If that is so, it is

equally important that the youth of

our societies be aware of our mistake

and find the courage to go a step

farther, to learn what we have not, to

see what we did not see and to extend

a hand where we failed to do so. The

young generation can and does aspire

to do more and do a better job than

we have done, to build a more just

society than we have. No ‘lesson’

from the past can dampen the dreams

and aspirations, the visions and

expectations, of the generation that is

taking over. For most of us, the fact

that something was not done before

does not mean it cannot ever be

done. This, if anything, is an incentive

to strive for more.

If we have failed to cross the divide,

to realize that diversity is not a

synonym of ‘enemy’, and in so doing

we have built walls rather than tearing

them down, it does not mean that the

new generation cannot transform

those walls into bridges and walk

across them. A new generation can

expect no less from itself than to do

what previous generations have not

done or have done poorly.

•••

Reconciliation is the highest form of

dialogue. It includes the capacity to

listen, the capacity not only to

convince but also to be convinced and

most of all, the capacity to extend

forgiveness. In essence, it is dialogue

as a basis for the future, not dialogue

as a recrimination for the past. …

It is reconciliation that may lead all

33

Tracing the Way

A fascinating topic

What do we know of men and women of other faiths

and their religions?

Why do we so often unthinkingly reject what is alien

and unknown?

All religions have a dark side and a bright side;

they contain traditions and visions; they are

fascinating, and indeed beautiful. Hans Küng now

makes it possible to experience this by examining the

four-thousand-year history of the world religions for

traces which help us to understand one another and

bring us together more closely.

A unique project

Hans Küng, one of the outstanding theologians of

our days, has set out to describe the spiritual

substance of the world religions in an authoritative

and vivid way, explaining them in a way which

everyone can understand. He invites us to an

exciting search for traces through every age and

every continent.

Hans Küng describes, narrates and explains the

whole spectrum of the religions. He divides the

enormous amount of material into seven sections:

◗ Indigenous Religions

◗ Hinduism

◗ Chinese Religion

◗ Buddhism

◗ Judaism

◗ Christianity

◗ Islam

In each of the seven parts Hans Küng describes the

development of the religion, points out connections

with other religions and works out what divides the

religions and what they have in common.

Tracing the WaySpiritual Dimensions of the World Religions

Published in October 2001 by Continuum UK and

USA. ISBN 0-826-45683-9. Published Price £ 20.

Seven part video series

Hans Küng’s ‘Tracing the Way‘ is available as seven

part video series ‘On the Trails of World Religions‘:

www.films.com

34

Posters

Li terature

The exhibition in poster size

The exhibition is also available in twelve posters:especially useful for schools and training institutions.The posters show all exhibition panels in the originallayout but downsized to 84.1 x 59.4 cm.

Please order them from the Global Ethic Foundationby e-mail, fax or mail (for contact see page 35).The posters are only available as the entire set oftwelve.

BASIC LITERATURE

Hans Küng, Global Responsibility. In Search of a New

World Ethic (SCM Press, London 1991 / Wipf & Stock,

Eugene, Oregon 2004).

Hans Küng – Karl-Josef Kuschel (Eds.), A Global Ethic.

The Declaration of the Parliament of the World’s

Religions (SCM Press, London / Continuum, New York

1993).

THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION OF OUR TIME

Hans Küng, Judaism (SCM Press, London / Crossroad, New

York 1992).

Hans Küng, Christianity. Its Essence and History (SCM

Press, London / Continuum, New York 1995).

Hans Küng, Islam. Its History, Present and Future

(Oneworld, Oxford 2005).

FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION

Karl-Josef Kuschel, Abraham. A Symbol of Hope for Jews,

Christians and Muslims (SCM Press, London / Con-

tinuum, New York 1995).

Hans Küng (Ed.), Yes to a Global Ethic (SCM Press,

London / Continuum, New York 1996).

Hans Küng, A Global Ethic for Global Politics and

Economics (SCM Press, London 1997; Oxford University

Press, New York 1998).

Hans Küng (Ed.), A Global Ethic and Global

Responsibilities. Two Declarations, with H. Schmidt

(SCM Press, London 1998).

Giandomenico Picco and others, Crossing the Divide.

Dialogue among Civilizations (Seton Hall University,

South Orange / NJ 2001).

Hans Küng, Tracing the Way. Spiritual Dimensions of the

World Religions (Continuum, London, New York 2002;

7 Video films ‘On the Trails of World Religions’:

www.films.com).

35

FounderBoard President

Vice-President

Secretary GeneralSenior Advisor

Address

PhoneFax

E-mailInternet

Bank

Page 3Stephan Schlensog, Global Ethic FoundationPages 6, 7 / Table 1(Hinduism)Title: Stephan Schlensog, Global Ethic FoundationPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationContemporary representatives: Süddeutscher Verlag;Ullstein BilderdienstPages 8, 9 / Table 2(Chinese Religion)Title: Stephan Schlensog, Global Ethic FoundationPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationPages 10, 11 / Table 3(Buddhism)Title: Stephan Schlensog, Global Ethic FoundationPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationContemporary representatives: Süddeutscher Verlag;Richard Vogel, Süddeutscher VerlagPages 12, 13 / Table 4(Judaism)Title: Stephan Schlensog, Global Ethic FoundationPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationContemporary representatives: dpa, SüddeutscherVerlag; dpa, Süddeutscher Verlag; dpa, SüddeutscherVerlagPages 14, 15 / Table 5(Christianity)Title: Depiction of Christ, Viktring/Kärnten,fourteenth century, Buch-Kunstverlag EttalPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationContemporary representatives: SüddeutscherBilderdienst; UPI, Süddeutscher Verlag; AP,Süddeutscher Verlag;S. Bessmertnyj

Organizat ion

WORLD RELIGIONS – UNIVERSAL PEACE – GLOBALETHIC

© 2000, Global Ethic Foundation, Tübingen(June 2005)

Graphic and educational conception and realization:Christoph Lang, Rottenburg a. N.

Printing: Gulde, Tübingen.

English translation by John Bowden.

Impressum Credits

Pages 16, 17 / Table 6(Islam)Title: Kufi writing of the name Muhammad on a mosaictile, Tabriz, Iran, thirteenth century, LindenmuseumStuttgartPicture frieze bottom: Stephan Schlensog, Global EthicFoundationContemporary representatives: UllsteinPages 18, 19 / Table 7(Every human being must be treated humanely)Picture frieze bottom: Süddeutscher Verlag; LotharKucharz, Süddeutscher Verlag; epd, SüddeutscherVerlag; R. Schwerin, Süddeutscher Verlag; Ingrid v. Kruse,Süddeutscher Verlag; IP, Süddeutscher Verlag; UP,Süddeutscher Verlag; dpa, Süddeutscher Verlag; Scherl,Süddeutscher VerlagPages 20, 21 / Table 8(The ’Golden Rule‘)Picture frieze bottom: all KNA-BildPages 22, 23 / Table 9(Have respect for life!)Title: Regina Recht, plus 49Picture frieze bottom: Gary Knight, VISUM;SABA / Haviv, VISUM; Jérôme Brunet, Picture Press;KNA-Bild; KNA-Bild;Christoph LangPages 24, 25 / Table 10(Deal honestly and fairly!)Title: Regina Recht, plus 49;Picture frieze bottom: KNA-Bild; KNA-Bild; GregorSchläger, VISUM; KNA-Bild; KNA-Bild; S. Attal, plus 49Pages 26, 27 / Table 11(Speak and act truthfully!)Title: Regina Recht, plus 49;Picture frieze bottom: Stefan Borgius, plus 49; KNA-Bild;Andre Gelpke, VISUM; KNA-Bild; Christian Bruch, plus49; Michael Wolf, VISUMPages 28, 29 / Table 12(Respect and love one another!)Title: Regina Recht, plus 49;Picture frieze bottom: KNA-Bild; Gebhard Krewitt,VISUM; Katrina Dickson, VISUM; KNA-Bild; KNA-Bild

Count K. K. von der GroebenProf. Dr. Hans KüngProf. Dr. Karl-Josef KuschelDr. Hans-Henning Pistor

Dr. Stephan SchlensogDr. Günther Gebhardt

Waldhäuser Strasse 23D-72076 TübingenGermany

0049 7071 626460049 7071 610140

[email protected]

Deutsche Bank TübingenBLZ 640 700 85Account 12 12 620

Board FounderPresidentVice-President

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Address

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Bank

Martita Jöhr-RohrProf. Dr. Hans KüngHeinz MüllerDr. Josef Studinka

Lic. phil. Guido Baumann

[email protected]/schweiz.htm

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Global Ethic Foundation Tübingen Global Ethic Foundation Switzerland

No peace among the nationswithout peace among the religions.

No peace among the religionswithout dialogue between the religions.

No dialogue between the religionswithout global ethical standards.

No survival of our globe without a global ethic.

Hans Küng