United Religions Initiative (URI)

Peace, Justice, Healing

 United Religions Initiative (URI) is comprised of over 1,100 member groups, called Cooperation Circles, in 112 countries.

URI Global Staff and Global Council Trustees share their views on what it means to be part of an international interfaith peacebuilding movement.

Mission

URI is a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world.

URI implements their mission through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of their member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles, to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women’s and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.

Vision

URI envisions a world at peace, sustained by engaged and interconnected communities committed to respect for diversity, nonviolent resolution of conflict and social, political, economic and environmental justice.

Purpose

The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue

URI Cooperation Circles must include members of at least three different religions or traditions. By engaging in respectful conversations, members learn, share and build bridges of understanding.

Action Areas

URI members make an impact in 14 different action areas. Be inspired by their work and their efforts around the world:

Arts, Community Building, Education, Environment, Health & Social Services, Human Rights, Indigenous, People, Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue, Media, Peace building and Conflict Transformation, Policy Advocacy, Poverty Alleviation, Women, Youth.

History

The vision for the United Religions Initiative (URI) was sparked by an invitation from the United Nations to The Right Rev. William Swing, Founder and President Emeritus.

Bishop Swing was invited to host an interfaith service in June 1995 to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. Through this invitation came “a sudden realization that religions, together, have a vocation to be a force for good in the world”.

The seed planted in Bishop Swing took root in hundreds and then thousands of people who joined in a global appreciative process to create a shared vision of the world they wished to inhabit and of a global interfaith organization that would engage people of all backgrounds in making that vision a reality.

From 1996-2000, people around the world participated in writing URI’s Charter, which was signed in June 2000. Since its inception, URI ignites people all over the world to share their dreams, initiate cooperative action, and fulfill their aspirations.

Since then, thousands of people from different cultures and perspectives have shared their visions and worked together to create URI: the United Religions Initiative.

Contacts

Address: 1009 General Kennedy Ave, San Francisco, CA 94129 USA

Phone: +1 415 561 2300

Email: info@uri.org

Website: https://www.uri.org/