World Religion Day
World Religion Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in January every year, and is a reminder of the need for harmony and understanding between religions and faith systems. On this day, communities of different faiths have the opportunity to get together and listen to each other, as well as celebrate the differences and commonalities that the delicate intermingling of culture and religion brings. There are approximately 4,200 religions around the world. While many people live their lives without religion, faith in a higher being or power works for the majority of people. Whatever the reasons, we are all for the idea of people being unified despite differences, and celebrating them.
History of World Religion Day
The first official observance of World Religion Day (as it is known today), was in 1950, but the concept began a few years prior to that. In Portland, Maine, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í Faith hosted a talk in Eastland Park Hotel in October 1947, culminating in the decision to observe an annual event, then known as World Peace Through World Religion. By 1949, the event began to be observed in other parts of the U.S. and grew more popular. By 1950, it came to be known as World Religion Day. On this day, at various different locations, many authors, educators, and philosophers are invited to speak on world religions and the importance of establishing and maintaining harmony between them. It’s a great forum for learning more about other religions and cultures too, and a chance to intermingle socially with people of different faiths and worldviews.
Since this concept was the brainchild of people from the Bahá’í Faith, it is worth exploring what this faith is and tracing its historical roots. As a religion, Bahá’í first emerged in Persia (modern-day Iran), in the 1800s. There are three core principles of this faith — unity of God, unity of religion, and unity of all mankind. It is a monotheistic faith, believing in a single god, and that the spiritual aspects of all religions in this world stem from this single god. Another central tenet is the belief in the innate equality of all human beings. Thus, all humans have the same rights and responsibilities. If you look at it, the Bahá’í Faith is an all-encompassing one that recognizes the commonalities between all religions, so Baháʼí believes that all faiths have common spiritual goals too, especially since religions are ever-evolving.