Buddhism

World Congress of Faiths

Date:

03 Jul 1936

End date:

18 Jul 1936

Event location:

University College, London

About:

The World Congress of Faiths was a descendent of the Parliament of Religions Congress held in 1893 in Chicago (attended by Swami Vivekananda). A Second Parliament of Religions was held in 1933 in Chicago, organized by Kedar Nath Das Gupta and Charles Weller. Francis Younghusband attended this Congress and through discussions the idea arose to have a Congress in London in 1936.

A number of international speakers were invited to the Congress, which sought to discuss spiritual matters. The committee for the Congress was headed by the international president, the Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda, but the British National Chairman was Sir Francis Younghusband. After the success of the Congress, the World Fellowship of Faiths based in the UK decided to break away from the American parent organization and ran annual congresses such as in Oxford in 1937, Cambridge in 1938, and Paris in 1939.

People involved:

Albion Banerji, Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda, Kedar Nath Das Gupta, Khalifa-Tul Masih, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Denison Ross, Ranjee Shahani, Charles Weller, Francis Younghusband, Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

Published works:

Millard, A. Douglas (ed.), Faiths and Fellowship: Proceedings of the World Congress of Faiths held in London, foreword by Sir Francis Younghusband (London: J. M. Watkins, 1936)

Reviews:

Reportage in newspapers such as The Times

Secondary works:

Braybrooke, Marcus, A Wider Vision: A History of the World Congress of Faiths 1936-1996 (Oxford: One World, 1996)

Archive source:

Sir Francis Younghusband papers, Asian and African Studies Reading Room, British Library, St Pancras

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World Congress of Faiths