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The conference, titled “Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs in Europe: Building Fraternity through Dialogue and Collaboration,” will take place at the “Aula Minor” of the Pontifical St Thomas Aquinas University (Angelicum).
Convened by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the event is being organized in collaboration with the Institute for Interreligious Relations of the Pontifical St Thomas Aquinas University (Angelicum), the Section for Interreligious Dialogue of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, Hindu Forum of Europe, European Buddhist Union, Institute of Jainology in London, Sikhi Sewa Society, Focolare Movement, and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the WCC.
The conference will bring together religious leaders, scholars, peace activists, academics, students, and professionals from across Europe representing Christianity and Dharmic religious traditions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
The gathering will respond to the growing religious diversity shaping European societies through migration, globalization, demographic changes, secularization, and the increasing number of religiously nonaffiliated people. While such diversity can enrich societies culturally and socially, organizers note that it can also create tensions and exclusion when communities fail to foster inclusion, mutual understanding, and integration.
The conference therefore seeks to encourage what Pope Leo XIV has described as “building bridges” through encounter, dialogue, and collaboration. Organizers also point to the continuing relevance of Pope Francis’ appeal to view cultural and religious diversity “as a human richness and not as a threat.”
The WCC’s role as a co-organizer reflects its longstanding commitment to interreligious dialogue and cooperation as essential dimensions of peacebuilding, reconciliation, and the pursuit of the common good. Through its Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, the WCC continues to work with churches and religious communities worldwide to strengthen mutual understanding and promote peaceful coexistence.
Sessions during the two-day conference will explore concrete ways religious communities can contribute together to social cohesion, respect for religious freedom, peaceful citizenship, and solidarity in increasingly pluralistic societies.
The initiative also builds on reflections and proposals emerging from a similar conference held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in June 2025, which focused on interreligious fraternity in the Italian context.
Organizers hope the conference will further deepen relationships among religious communities in Europe and contribute to building a culture of fraternity that can serve as a foundation for lasting peace.
Learn more about the WCC interreligious work
Current Dialogue - World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue
