WCC Reference Group for Interreligious Dialogue
This will be the group's first in-person meeting since their online meeting held on 15 October. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the objectives of its work and to plan its actions within the framework of its mandate.
The mandate of the reference group is in alignment with the call of the WCC 11th Assembly to act together in a Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity from 2023 to 2030. This journey calls the reference group for efforts towards justice, unity, and mutual understanding by deepening solidarity and communion with members of other faiths and by engaging to strengthen the WCC’s convening role for bilateral and multilateral dialogue at international levels, and by inspiring member churches to take forward dialogue with members of other faiths at the local level.
Furthermore, the reference group is called to contribute to theological reflection on Christian self-understanding in the context of global religious diversity, and to assist common learning and formation in order to build capacity for interreligious engagement, especially for young people but also for ministers, theologians, and people of other faiths and of good will.
The reference group is called to continue collaboration with Christian faith-based organisations with the aim of strengthening interreligious literacy not only theologically but also in humanitarian and development work and to engage in advocacy on behalf of Christians and people of other faiths suffering discrimination or persecution as religious minorities.
The reference group has 18 members, from all around the world, with knowledge and experience in different religions. Its members are representatives of governing and consultative bodies of the WCC, ecumenical partners, and experts in the field, selected from WCC member churches, specialised ministries, and ecumenical and interfaith partners.
Learn more about the WCC interreligious work
Current Dialogue - World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue