Transforming Global Development

Religions for Peace and Fetzer Institute Partner on a Sacred Shared Flourishing

Kalamazoo, Michigan-March 27 – Religions for Peace (RfP), the world’s largest multi-religious organization, in collaboration with the Fetzer Institute, today announced a pioneering new initiative, the “Sacred Shared Flourishing,” aimed at addressing the pervasive “polycrises” facing humanity by promoting a shared sacred worldview rooted in love and solidarity.

The initiative on Sacred Shared Flourishing builds on the Religions for Peace’s 10^th World Assembly theme of Shared Wellbeing. It recognizes that diverse sacred traditions share a common concern for wholistic flourishing within a sacred worldview, that is open to science.

A shared sacred worldview contrasts with the dominant materialistic worldview, which sees the universe as inherently meaningless and to the pursuit of materialistic individualism. The “Sacred Shared Flourishing” initiative honors, builds upon, and in no way displaces the plurality traditions that acknowledge the Sacred as the ground of the community of being. It emphasizes that our individual flourishing is intricately intertwined with the welfare of fellow individuals, society, and the Earth. 

“We are at a critical juncture in human history, facing multiple interconnected crises that demand a foundational shift in our worldview,” said Dr. Francis Kuria, Secretary General of Religions for Peace. “This initiative, ‘Sacred Shared Flourishing,’ offers a pathway to wholeness by centering our efforts in the Sacred and fostering solidarity rooted in love.”

The project will leverage RfP’s extensive global network of multi-religious structures across 100 countries to mainstream the Shared Sacred Worldview. It will focus on:

• Capacitating: Ensuring that leaders across all levels of the RfP movement contribute to and embrace the Shared Sacred Worldview.
• Enhancing multi-religious collaboration: Fostering collaborative actions that align with the Shared Sacred Worldview to address global challenges such as conflict, poverty, and environmental degradation.
• Advancing a new paradigm on development rooted in the Sacred and calling on all development actors to learn from and foster it. 

 “The Fetzer Institute is honored to partner with Religions for Peace in this transformative endeavor,” said Mr. Jonathan Lever, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, Fetzer Institute. Dr. William Vendley, Vice President of World Religions and Spirituality at the Fetzer Institute and Secretary General Emeritus, Religions for Peace added: “By centering multi-religious encounters in the Sacred, we can unlock the potential for profound healing and create a more just and sustainable world.”

The “Sacred Shared Flourishing” initiative represents a bold and historic move, inviting diverse religious communities to claim their sacred roots and identities as the basis for partnerships with all other sacred traditions and persons of goodwill. Across RfP’s global platform, religious leaders will be equipped to mobilize their congregations to advance a holistic vision of peace and wholeness.

About Religions for Peace: Religions for Peace (RfP) is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious organization, advancing common action among the world’s religious communities for peace. RfP operates multi-religious structures on all continents and in 100 countries, mobilizing religious leaders to address global challenges.

About Fetzer Institute: The Fetzer Institute is a private foundation dedicated to building the spiritual foundation for a just and loving world. The Institute supports programs and initiatives that foster understanding and collaboration among diverse spiritual traditions.