"Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration" is a 1993 document by members of the Parliament of the World's Religions that details ethical commitments shared by many of the world's religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions. It is the Parliament's signature document.
History<!--'Foundation for a Global Ethic' redirects here-->
At the request of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, Hans Küng, President of the Foundation for a Global Ethic<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> (Stiftung Weltethos), wrote an initial draft in consultation with fellow scholars and religious leaders. The Council's leaders and Trustees then worked on the draft in consultation with Küng and another extensive network of leaders and scholars from various religions and regions. Most notable in leading this effort were Daniel Gómez-Ibáñez, the Executive Director of the Council, and Thomas A. Baima, a member of the board of trustees.
In the summer of 1993, "The Global Ethic" was ratified as an official document of the Parliament of the World's Religions by a vote of its Trustees. It was then signed by more than 200 leaders from 40+ different faith traditions and spiritual communities during the Parliament's 1993 gathering in Chicago. Since 1993 leaders and individuals around the world continue to endorse the Global Ethic with their signatures. It has served as a common ground for people to discuss, to agree, and to cooperate for the good of all.
Later the Parliament decided to add a fifth directive. Led by Myriam Renaud, the Parliament's Global Ethic Project Director, a task force wrote an initial draft. After reflecting on 100+ pages of comments offered by scholars and religious leaders, the task force submitted a final draft to the Trustees for their vote. who presented him as a "free and brave thinker" and a man who spoke "straight from our Masonic hearts".
Shared directives
The two fundamental ethical demands are made concrete in five directives (initially four before the addition of the fifth in 2018
), which are "convincing and practical for all women and men of good will, religious and non-religious".
Other unique features
Things held in common
The Global Ethic acknowledges that significant differences distinguish various religions. The directives instead proclaim publicly those things that they hold in common and jointly affirm. Each tradition holds those things to be true on the basis of its own religious or ethical grounds.