Group attempts to re-establish human rights, make them compliment religion
From Sept. 11-15, 2006, McGill students will have the opportunity to see history in the making. McGill's Faculty of Religious Studies will join scholars and important religious figures from around the world in the World's Religions after September 11: A Global Congress, where they will attempt to re-work the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the World's Religions. After the shock and horror of 9/11, many people gave up on religion's potential to do good in the world; the goal of this conference is to turn the current thinking on its head. Says Professor Arvind Sharma of McGill's Faculty of Religious Studies, "We're hoping to change the popular perception of native religion. People have formed the impression after 9/11 that religion is a negative thing, and we want to point out the positive side. We want to emphasize that religion can be a force for good." Though the Congress' steering committees are run by McGill faculty members, "theme chairs," advisers and consultants for the project hail from around the world. In addition, the project has some impressive patrons (touted in a full-page add of a recent edition of the New York Times) backing the cause, including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bishop Belo of Timor Leste and Shirin Ebadi. One of the most supportive backers of the Congress is the Council for a Parliament of World's Religions, which met most recently in 2004 and plans to meet again in 2009. It may seem strange to host such a conference five years after 9/11, but the events may only now be relevant subjects for discussion. "The timing of the project has something to do with the Declaration, as it struck many of us that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 after the Second World War, an event which came to be looked upon as an excess of secular ideas," says Sharma. "The proposed Universal Declaration is an antidote to the ill effects of extremism on the rise now-this is the time to get the document out, before we see the same problems."Indeed, this may be the time. But is it the place? It's a surprise to many that a conference being held in Canada to so explicitly address a US event. But, says Sharma, "Canada is more liberal. The Parliament met in Chicago [in 2004] and some scholars were prevented from speaking in the US. 9/11 happened in America, but it was a global event."Moreover, Professor Gerbern Oegema of the Faculty of Religious Studies believes, Montreal is the ideal setting. "The idea that it will take place in Montreal, where the people are very open and unbiased provides a chance to meet so many people. "Students are often part of many religions and Canada is a mixture of religions," he says, so combining student participation and Canadian location seems close to perfect. Professors Oegema and Sharma have high expectations for the Congress. "We hope," says Sharma, "because it's an international gathering, to have 2,000 people, because it will indicate that religions do not always fight with each other and that the division between religion and the secular is not something that cannot be breached." Updating the Declaration will be a way of garnering more support for human rights and global peace. Moreover, Professor Oegema believes that a turn in ideas is already beginning to show. "We're already in the process of change. That this conference is happening shows that.." Visit www.worldsreligionsafter911.com to find out more.
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