The World's Parliament of Religions
Subtitle: the East/West encounter, Chicago, 1893
By: Richard Hughes Seager.
Series: Religion in North America
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Bloomington
Language: eng
Number of pages: 208
Subjects: Religions -- Relations; East and West -- History -- 19th century; Liberalism (Religion) -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Liberalism (Religion) -- Protestant churches -- History -- 19th century; United States -- Religion -- 19th century
Description: The 1893 World's Parliament of Religions was much more than a religious assembly. It was conceived as a presentation of the major religious forces at work in the late nineteenth century. The goal of the Parliament was "to unite all religion against irreligion," and many observers celebrated that spirit. Some saw the Parliament as a sign of the coming fulfillment of missionaries' hope to evangelize the world, but others saw it as a disaster for missionaries.

Some thought it proved the superiority of Christianity; others saw a victory for the religions of the East. Some thought the Parliament pointed toward the coming unity of all Christians, while for others it seemed a revelation of the forces dividing Christendom.

. Seager's beautifully fashioned narrative explores this fascinating event in all its complexities and establishes it as truly a watershed event in the emergence of a more pluralistic religious culture in America.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-202) and index.