"Published in association with the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions."

Includes bibliographical references and index

Words of welcome / Charles Carroll Bonney -- Words of welcome / John Henry Barrows -- The religious mission of the English-speaking nations / Henry Harris Jessup -- Strategic certainties of comparative religion / Joseph Cook -- Religion essentially characteristic of humanity / Lyman Abbott -- Christianity as a social force / Richard Theodore Ely -- The sympathy of religions / Thomas Wentworth Higginson -- Possible results of the Parliament / Julia Ward Howe -- The influence of religion on women / Annis F.F. Eastman -- A white life for two / Frances E. Willard -- The reunion of Christendom / Philip Schaff -- Impromptu comments / Frederick Douglass -- Christianity and the Negro / Benjamin William Arnett -- What can religion further do to advance the condition of the American Negro? / Fannie Barrier Williams

The needs of humanity supplied by the Catholic religion / James Cardinal Gibbons -- Religious union of the human race / John Gmeiner -- Future of religion / Merwin-Marie Snell -- The Greek church / Dionysios Latas -- The Armenian church / Minas Tcheraz -- A voice from Syria / Christophore Jibara -- Universal Brotherhood / Serge Wolkonsky -- Human brotherhood as taught by the religions based on the Bible / Kaufmann Kohler -- Elements of universal religion / Emil G. Hirsch -- The voice of the mother of religions on the social question / Henry Berkowitz -- The outlook of Judaism / Josephine Lazarus -- Some teachings of the Koran / J. Sanna Abu Naddara -- The points of contact and contrast between Christianity and Mohammedanism / George Washburn -- The spirit of Islam / Mohammed (Alexander Russell) Webb

Evolution and Christianity / Henry Drummond -- Science a religious revelation / Paul Carus -- Christianity as seen by a voyage around the World / Francis Edward Clark -- The invincible Gospel / George F. Pentecost -- The attitude of Christianity to other religions / William C. Wilkinson -- The religion of the future / John Talbot Gracey -- The bearing of religious unity on the work of the Christian missions / George T. Candlin -- Orthodox or historical Judaism / Henry Pereira Mendes -- Criticism and discussion of missionary methods / Narasima Charya -- Impromptu comments / Virchand Gandhi -- Impromptu comments / Vivekananda -- The work of social reform in India / B.B. Nagarkar -- Confucianism / Pung Kwang Yu

On September 11th, 1893, the Columbian Liberty Bell at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago sounded ten times, symbolizing what were then considered the ten great religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. One of the most significant events in American religious and cultural history had begun. The ochre robes of Buddhist ascetics, the vermilion cloaks and turbans of Hindu swamis, the silk vestments of Confucians, Taoists, and Shinto priests, the somber garb of Protestant ministers, all gathered together on the platform around a Roman Catholic cardinal, dressed in scarlet and seated in a high chair of state. The near-ecstatic crowd repeatedly burst into tumultuous applause, waving handkerchiefs, and mingling tears with smiles. Nothing like the World's Parliament of Religions had been seen in the history of the world, and nothing like it was to be seen again for many years: a gathering of representatives of numerous world religions for an exchange of views. It was a turning point in American life, presaging the multiculturalism of a century later. This volume contains a selection of 60 representative and revealing addresses given to the Parliament, with authoritative introductions and notes by Professor Seager. The addresses include contributions by Protestant mainstream ministers, African-Americans, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and representatives of other Asian religions. Also included are various "points of contact and contention," in which religious leaders attempted to analyze or reach out to their counterparts in other traditions