Thursday October 27, 2011, there was a gathering of 300 prominent leaders from a myriad of religions. Among these were Chinese monks, Hindu, Shinto, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Rabbis, Muslims, and many others. Agnostics were also invited to this meeting to show support for peace. This meeting was held in Assisi, Italy, where there had been three previous meetings similar in nature, these were in 1986, 1993, and 2002. Items on the agenda included praying for the peace of our world, and to show that religion should never be a reason for war. Pope Benedict XVI spoke and said that this congregating was important "in the struggle against the foolishness of a world still obsessed with fear and suspicion, still in love with the idea of a security based on active hostility, and still capable of tolerating or ignoring massive loss of life among the poorest through war and disease." These are harsh, but true words that are needed to bring people out of their self centeredness. The coming together of so many different faiths is a picture of how even with so much diversity, there can be a sense of community and peacefulness.
This article shows the societal pull that religion has in all societies around the world. Even though it is separate from government in many countries globally, it has a very strong impression on the emotions and decisions of people. I think that it is very important for these people who do have such influential status to stand up for the good of the global society.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/10/27/world/europe/AP-EU-Vatican-Peace-Meeting.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=war+conflicts&st=nyt
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