Religious Diversity

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

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Date RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

On October 27 , 1986 , Pope John Paul II , together with the Dalai Lama next to him , led the first ecumenical World Day of Prayer for Peace held in Assisi , Italy . The Dalai Lama was honored by giving the first speech to 160 religious leaders from 43 faiths , including Catholics , Lutherans Quakers , Baptists , Anglicans , Hindus , Buddhists , Muslims , Jews , Sikhs Shintoists , Animists and many others . A Similar interfaith gathering led by the Pope and the Dalai Lama in St . Peter 's Square on

October 28 1999 was held to unify all religions . In a dramatic turnaround of centuries-old Church policy , the Pope apologized during his reign for all historical Church crimes or sins , and he acknowledged that salvation is no longer exclusive to Christianity through his various interfaith meetings . Indeed , the Dalai Lama 's influence on the Pope is remarkable because it makes sense . Religious diversity should truly be welcomed because it is beneficial to society , it is the essence of religion itself and it allows different strokes for different folks

Exclusive religions historically sparked or influenced many conflicts and wars . Pope John Paul II , for example , had to apologize for more than 100 offenses that the Church perpetrated since it began centuries ago . These offenses include the Crusade attacks torture , burnings and imprisonment during the Inquisition Spanish conquests of the Americas and other foreign lands in the name of the Church forced conversions of ethnic groups involvement in slave trade Protestant religious wars...