This paper presents the experience of the organization "Religions for Peace", and especially it refers to Milan’s branch of the organization, as an experience of inter-religious dialogue and of cooperation between religions, which I consider one of the most valuable experiences in the development of an inter-cultural competency.

The World Conference on Religion and Peace was founded in 1970 to provide leaders of the world’s many religions with a forum in which they can share common concerns, address collective challenges, and express their hopes for the future. Since then, WCRP has done just that, bringing together hundreds of key religious leaders every five years—most recently in Amman, Jordan, in 1999—for World Assemblies in which people of many faiths discuss the great issues of our time and affirm their shared commitment to multi-religious cooperation and common living.

At the same time, working on an international, regional, and national basis, Religions for Peace creates multi-religious partnerships that mobilize the moral and social resources of religious people to address their shared problems. WCRP is active in more than 40 countries, working with national affiliates and regional organizations, as that of Milano, to find and implement local solutions to local challenges. In the world’s great capitals and in remote rural villages, WCRP affiliates with and empowers religious communities to improve lives and promote peace.

As globalization is one of the most widely used, but complex concepts in social sciences, I am convinced that globalization is not a global matter at all. It has been incorporated into journalistic, political, academic and intellectual discourses to encapsulate various trends that are shaping the political, economic and cultural dimensions of the way we live and think. Therefore, it means different things to different people.

If globalization has led to homogenization in many fields, it has also increased cultural assertivity and awareness of cultural differences and distinctiveness. It is a phenomenon that globally concerns the World, but that belong to the so-called "western model of society". Globalization does not cause the emergence of a global idea of community. On the contrary, it has demonstrated that a society with a single cultural project is not viable. Historical experience confirms that it is impossible to convince millions of people to adhere to a single cultural standard of civilization, especially if it means adhering to standards other than one’s own.

Religions, and the belonging to a religious community, have become one of the most important matters of distinctiveness. More than nationalism, which refers to the concept of Nation as principle and inspiration of policy making, communalism is emerging as factor of identification and element of political commitment. Since religion is used as matter of political distinctiveness, values inspired by it become just secondary factors. It becomes clear why communalism is in close relationship to most of the recent conflicts and why religion may be easily exploited through hatred and warfare.

Many people today clearly see that the peaceful future of humanity largely depends on its ability to bring the existing models of civilization into harmonious cooperation within the context of globalization. As the largest and best-organized component of civil society, religious communities are uniquely placed to undertake this task. Together, they claim the allegiance of the overwhelming majority of the worlds’ population—men, women and children on all continents—often organized at local, national and international levels. But religious communities offer more than a significant channel for communication. The teachings of all of the worlds’ religions share a common set of core values which form the basis for a global ethic—a fundamental consensus on binding values, irrevocable standards and personal attitudes for all of humanity, regardless of social origin, sex, skin color, language—or faith. Religious communities bear the responsibility to demonstrate that such values, standards and attitudes can be lived in order to ameliorate conflict and create the conditions for peace.

If globalization is not a global matter, then interdependence means a global and globalized attitude whereby one can look at the world. Interdependence requires the acceptance of the idea of a global connection between my action and its results on others. Interdependence requires a shared responsibility for a common and global living. This is not just a religious matter. It is a matter that religion is rightly playing but can be played also by other social actors.

As a result of a mature sense of responsibility and of interdependence, people are spontaneously moving from a passive acceptance of the situation, to an active policymaking. Moving from the acceptance of our new multicultural identity, to an active regeneration of that identity with an intercultural approach.

Convincing men to talk to each other is as much as one can do for peace. However, several, equally necessary, conditions need to be met:

One is that a spirit of equality should preside over the talks and that no one should come to the table with the aim of gaining an advantage over the other. Another condition is that they should speak about the same thing. And a third is that they should all be seeking their joint interest.

I would add one more condition: they should understand each other. In other words: they should be willing to meet, putting aside their mutual prejudices and stereotypes.

An interdependent consideration of the world, intercultural dialogue, and enhancement of diversities, are characteristics of a mature society. They could be a contribution to a mature cultural identity that multi-religious cooperation can support and even improve.

There seems to be a lack of importance based on traditional elements of distinctiveness such as nationality, language, color of skin and so on. A person is mostly identified through his connection and belonging to a community or a group.

We said that religions share common values. We well know that one of the basic principles of every religion is not only acceptance of others but also love and respect for the neighbor. We all know that this value is shared by every religion and is called in the West the "Golden Rule". It is not a matter of compassion. Just through the feeling of love that belongs to the religious faith, one can find the meaning, the spur, the miracle, enabling one to move from the self to the others, from selfishness to solidarity.

In this deeply religious value, the individual is able to transcend himself/herself and open up to others. The individual acquires a global and interdependent vision that he applies to his/her local and daily life. This could rightly be considered a good example of ‘glocalism’. This glocalism is the first and very step to peace. If we do not just consider peace as the place where there is no war, but, as religions say, the condition of fulfillment of every and each one of us, we immediately understand that this condition:

- is local, because it concerns me;

- is global, because it universally concerns human kind;

- is glocal, because the assumption of my fulfillment depends on my willingness to make possible the complete fulfillment of my neighbor.

 

I think this can be the very contribution of religions.

Actually, we, as "Religions for Peace", are trying to work along this path. It is a way that first of all calls for a personal commitment. Thinking that this must involve all religious communities from the beginning may sound very much like a utopia. It is an attitude that moves from personal and individual commitment, passing through communities to reach the whole human kind at the end. I am sure that though our Italic identity is the result of a contamination with other identities, nonetheless, in so much as we can speak about Italic identity, this Italic identity can be a ‘ground’ for religions to play their complete role both globally as locally.

To Milan, the crossroads of various cultures and traditions, but especially a home to people from all over, so that it wholeheartedly participates in the commitment to ensure liveability, hospitality and peace.

—General secretary of "Religion for Peace – Milano"