World Religion Day is a time to celebrate the culture and diversity of all world religions. World Religion Day occurs annually on the third Sunday of January, and was first established by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States in Wilmette, Illinois. The first day was observed in 1950. Since then, the event has now taken on a life of its own, as it’s no longer just followers of the Baháʼí faith that celebrate this day. People from all religions across the globe come together to mark this special day.
The Baháʼí Faith emerged in 19th century Persia (now Iran), and believes all religions have value and that there are common features and similarities between them.
At an event commemorating World Religion Day in Luton, Carl Puran of Luton Baháʼí community said, “As Baháʼís we believe in the oneness of religion and humanity, and that no one should be treated differently because of their race, age, gender, color, sexuality, or whether they believe in religion or not.”
Another member of the Luton Baháʼí community Sam Taylor said, “Based on the Baháʼí core principles, World Religion Day exists to promote interfaith understanding and harmony. When celebrating World Religion Day, we remember that it is a time of awareness and peace. Never disparage others for their beliefs as they should never disparage you!”
People from Luton’s different faith communities were invited to bring and share prayers, readings, meditations, and thoughts on the themes of unity and peace.
Gulie Butcher, Vice Chair of Luton Council of Faiths said, “The very term ‘inter faith’ can seem as controversial to many, who feel interfaith work is about creating syncretism – an attempt to amalgamate different religions & cultures, saying we are all the same and so our differences do not really matter.”
She added, “While we fully acknowledge that there is more common between us than what divides us, we also strongly advocate and propagate that inter-faith work is not about syncretism. It is not about negotiating away our differences either. Instead, it is about asserting and affirming our differences, but doing so in a way that does not breed conflict and confrontation. It rather enriches our learning and understanding.
L to R: James Cassidy (Catholic), Carl Puran (Baháʼí), Gulie Butcher (Quaker) & Jasbir Singh (Sikh) were few amongst those who attended the World Religion Day event.