The Vienna Declaration
Welcoming the Other — A Multi-Religious Vision of Peace
Religions for Peace 9th World Assembly
22 November 2013
Vienna, Austria
We — more than six hundred religious leaders and people of faith representing all historicfaith traditions and every region of the world — have convened in Vienna, Austria as the 9thWorld Assembly of Religions for Peace.1 We have come from the global Religions for Peacefamily of ninety national inter-religious councils and groups, five regional councils, one
world council, and international networks of religious women and religious youth. Our
respective religious traditions have called us to work together for Peace.
Previous World Assemblies of Religions for Peace have discerned positive elements ofPeace, common threats to Peace, and a multi-religious consensus expressed throughshared values for Peace. We commit to common action based upon these deeply held
and widely shared values, as a foundation for affirming the imperative of “welcoming
the other” as the heart of our multi-religious vision of Peace.
We reaffirm the positive elements of Peace shared by our respective religious
traditions:
Peace is central to our respective religions, and our diverse faiths compel us towork together to build it;
Love, compassion and honesty are stronger than hate, indifference and deceit;
All men and women are endowed with human dignity, share common humanity,
must care for one another, and are called to consider the problems faced byothers as their own;
We accept the call to stand on the side of and raise up the most vulnerable, andto promote just and harmonious societies;
We value women and men as equal partners in our efforts to build peace;Children are a paramount concern; the special state of childhood deserves ourprotection and care, and should receive priority from among our societies’resources;
Non-violent conflict transformation through dialogue and reconciliation are
central to peacemaking; andAdvancing human development and protecting the earth are part of the struggle
for Peace.

The positive elements of Peace we share are inextricably linked to our shared calling toconfront common threats to Peace. These threats include:

An ongoing spiritual crisis that erodes values that support life;
The misuse of religion in support of all manner of violence, including violent
extremism;

1 Religions for Peace, the world’s largest multi-religious organization, includes Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian,Hindu, Indigenous, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Taoist and Zoroastrian religious leaders.

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Violent conflict and the proliferation of arms;
Nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction;
Extreme and growing inequality, including widespread violations of basic rights;
Violence against women, abuse of children and weakening support for families;
Extreme poverty, preventable diseases left untreated, and broad scale lack ofopportunity; andEnvironmental degradation, natural resource depletion, and climate change, allof which threaten civic order and human flourishing.

While we confess that some religious believers betray the peace teachings of theirfaiths, we continue to commit ourselves — and our communities — to a culture of Peacethat advances shared well-being, grounded in common healing, common living andshared security.
Rising Hostility
The 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace calls attention to a new threat to Peace —rising hostility.
We are deeply troubled by this rising hostility, in society and within and among
religious communities. This hostility toward the “other” is an extension of intolerance,
and too often takes the form of violence. Victims of hostility are often vulnerable
populations, including members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; migrants,refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons.
Hostilities arise from all sectors of society — governments, individuals, organizations
and social groups. Although freedom of religion or belief is increasingly valued
internationally, a growing number of governments are placing restrictions on religious
beliefs and practices. Often, some religions are placed in an inferior status in relation toothers. Sectarian and communal violence is dividing societies, fueling conflict,destroying innocent lives. Social hostility toward individuals and groups, fuelled byintolerance and fear of the “other,” threatens human dignity, good governance andshared well-being. More and more, people are persecuted because of their faith.
Intolerance and violence in all manifestations are obstacles to Peace. They seriously
exacerbate other grave threats to Peace. Religious communities must confront hostility
toward the “other” as both an urgent threat and also a key to tackling other criticalthreats to Peace.
“Welcoming the Other” — A Multi-Religious Vision of Peace
Our multi-religious vision of Peace includes the call to all people of faith to “welcomethe other.” Each of our diverse faith traditions calls for profound active solidarity with,and empathy for, the “other“ rooted in a spirit of unity, as a deeply held and widely
shared value among our religious communities. “Welcoming the other” means respect
and acceptance of one another.
We support the robust promotion of tolerance, a principle that is fostered byrecognizing universal human rights and is essential for welcoming the other.
“Welcoming the other” both strengthens and goes beyond tolerance by calling eachreligious community to stand in solidarity with the dignity, vulnerability and well-being

Page 3of the “other,” with the full force of its respective spiritual and moral teachings. Suchteachings are specific to each religious tradition. They include: striving for justice,accepting self-sacrifice for the well-being of others, bearing innocent suffering,
returning good for evil, seeking and extending forgiveness and expressing unrestrictedcompassion and love.
“Welcoming the other” calls us to work to advance the full flourishing of human dignity
through the holistic development of human beings.
Building on previous Assembly Declarations, we recognize that “welcoming the other”
invites every person into the co-building, co-nurturing and co-stewarding of our sharedwell-being, which includes respecting nature and developing in harmony with it.
Stewardship of the earth is a solemn religious obligation.
Religious communities working together can be powerful actors to prevent violence
before it erupts, diffuse conflict when it occurs, and lead their communities to rebuild
war-torn societies. Excessive resources devoted to arms are better spent to alleviate
poverty, advance education and basic healthcare for all, and address environmental
challenges. “Welcoming the other” involves seeing ourselves in each other. To facilitate
this, we must teach nonviolence, conflict prevention strategies, and the universal valueof Peace to our children. Our shared positive vision of Peace grounds for us a humanright to Peace.
We can welcome the other by advancing a more robust notion of citizenship that
acknowledges basic human rights, including freedom of religion or belief.
Religious communities welcome the other when they work together to advance humandevelopment that respects the earth. “Welcoming the other” rejects complicity in thedestruction of the earth, which aggravates disasters and human distress. The
preservation of our air, soil and water is essential for human survival and well-being.
Development should honor the continuity of life, preserving nature for the benefit ofpresent and future generations.
Our respective religious communities can become centers of religious education on“welcoming the other.” To do this, we must reclaim our own religious teachings that call
us to welcome the other, widely share them among our respective faith communities,
including our young people, and put them into practice.
Religious communities can work to reverse the rising tide of hostility toward the “other”
by advancing a multi-religious vision of Peace and through multi-religious action.
Specifically, the Religions for Peace World Assembly calls on:
1) Religious leaders and people of faith to:

Honor and protect human dignity whenever and wherever it is under attack;
Foster more active collaboration between women and men in exalting thedignity of women and girls, and work together to prevent violence against them;
Speak out on behalf of vulnerable individuals and groups, and all people
persecuted, or whose existence is denied, because of their faith;
Recognize that the well-being of immediate and extended families, as well as ofcommunities, are a prerequisite to the well-being of children;Page 4Address issues of responsibility and accountability for the causes of climatechange;Acknowledge the value of youth-led, grass-roots initiatives aimed at welcoming
others and promoting sustainable Peace;
Advance spiritual values essential to shared well-being;
Reinforce acceptance of diversity in our communities;
Welcome the other through prayer and service;Engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships to welcome the other; andLeverage the power of multi-religious networks to “welcome the other” byadvancing human dignity, shared well-being and citizenship through concrete
multi-religious action.

2) Governments, international organizations and civil society to:
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Promote transparent governance that ensures and protects the development ofcomprehensive well-being and full enjoyment of universal human rights for all;
Provide legal remedies for victims of intolerance;
Promote social policies and legal norms that recognize the dignity of migrants,refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons;
Advance citizenship that ensures human dignity while protecting the safety andwell-being of all individuals, including freedom of religion or belief, and otherrights of individuals and groups, whether in the majority or in the minority;
Ensure the protection of places of worship;
Eliminate nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and stem theproliferation of small arms;
Promote restorative justice to heal both the victims and the perpetrators ofviolent conflict;
Address threats of nuclear exposure and contamination to protect all living
things and future generations; andSupport and partner with people of faith, religious leaders, religious
communities, and religious networks in their efforts to welcome the other.

3) All people of good will to:Call attention to, and work to eliminate, all forms of intolerance anddiscrimination by states, by non-state actors, by civil society, by religious groups
and leaders, and by individuals.
Welcome the other.

We, the Delegates of the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, are united in ourcommitment to resist threats to Peace that take the form of hostility toward the other,and to take positive action to welcome the other by promoting the true flourishing of all
human beings. These dual commitments and corresponding calls to action express ourmulti-religious vision of Peace.
Vienna, Austria
22 November 2013