It is beyond the borders of sanity that Catholics and Protestants are blowing each other up in Northern Ireland, that Hindus and Buddhists wantonly massacre each other in Sri Lanka, that Jews and Muslims teeter on the abyss of war in the Near East, that Sikhs and Hindus terrorize each other in the Punjab, that Muslims and Hindus are always in a state of hostile unrest in Kashmir, that Marxists and Muslims murder each other with abandon in Afghanistan, that various factions of Christians and Muslims in Lebanon  have made the "Switzerland of the Near East" a roiling charnel house -- and on and on. Our religions and ideologies must put a stop to these perversions of Religion and Ideology!
     Modern, purely secular men and women often put religiously committed men and men to shame in their human love and compassion. Ultimately, however, they find it difficult to provide a theoretical basis for such positive actions toward humans.  After all, from a strictly rational perspective, just why should someone extend concern and love toward one's "neighbor"?
     Religions, however, have profound answers to that fundamental ethical question. But, they must no longer speak in multiple, confusing tongues about it. Nor can they ignore those modern ideologies that function like religions by providing an "explanation of the ultimate meaning of life, and an ethics with which to live accordingly," though their "explanations" are not based on a notion of the "Transcendent," as are religions'.
     A worldwide dialogue, a global dialogue, must be initiated that will lead to the building of a consensus on a "Global Ethos." (By "ethos" here is meant the fundamental attitude toward good and evil and the basic principles to carry that attitude into action.) Bilateral dialogues between religions and ideologies, vital as they are, are no longer sufficient for the world of today and tomorrow.
     A beginning has been made, of course, through organizations like the Conference on Religion and Peace, but the occasional large meeting is far from sufficient.  The situation is much too critical and is becoming increasing so at an almost geometric rate of acceleration.  The world does not have the luxury of waiting patiently for a Global Ethos!  Immediate action is necessary:
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• *The initial inspiration for this statement came from the book by Hans Küng, Projekt Weltethos (Munich: Piper Verlag, 1990); E.T.: Global Responsibility.  In Search of a New World Ethic (New York: Crossroad, 1991).
• Web Editor's Note [not part of the JES editorial]: The term "Global Ethos" would subsequently be changed to "a Global Ethic" as a "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic" was drafted by Hans Küng,  translated by Leonard Swidler, and ratified by the Parliament of the World's Religions in September, 1993.

1. Every major religion and ethical group needs to commission  its expert scholars to focus their research and reflection on articulating a Global Ethos from the perspective of their religion or ethical group -- in dialogue with all other religions and ethical groups.
2. Every religious and ethical scholarly institution with such experts needs to press them to use their creativity among themselves and in conjunction with scholars from other religious and ethical institutions in formulating this a Global Ethos.
3. Interreligious, ethical scholarly "Working Groups" need to  be formed to focus on this issue; existent ones need to turn  their attention thereto.
4. Beyond that there needs to be a major permanent a Global  Ethos Research Center, which will have some of the best experts from the world's major religions and ethical groups in residence, perhaps for years at a stretch, pursuing precisely  this topic in its multiple ramifications.

Leonard Swidler (Catholic)                                   Hans Küng (Catholic)

     [The following "representative sample" of scholars of religion also signed this statement as it appeared in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich) in German, and elsewhere:

Mohammad Arkoun (Muslim), Julia Ching (Confucian/Catholic), John Cobb (.Methodist), Khalid Duran (Muslim), Claude Geffré (Catholic), Irving Greenberg (Jewish), Norbert Greinacher (Catholic), Riffat Hassan (Muslim), Rivka Horwitz (Jewish), John Hick (Presbyterian), Adel Khoury (Catholic), Paul Knitter (Catholic), Karl-Josef Kuschel (Catholic), Pinchas Lapide (Jewish), Johannes Lähnemann (Lutheran), Dietmar Mieth (Catholic), Paul Mojzes (Methodist), Jürgen Moltmann (Reformed), Fathi Osman (Muslim), Raimundo Panikkar (Hindu/Buddhist/Catholic), Daniel Polish (Jewish), Rodolfo Stavenhagen (sociologist), Theo Sundemeier (Lutheran), Knut Walf (Catholic/Taoist).

Journal of Ecumenical Studies
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