Links

Buddhist Organizations

Buddhanet - A vast information and education network of the Buddha Dharma Education Association.
DharmaNet International - Contains information on centers and practice groups around the world, retreat schedules, and numerous quality links to Buddhist and meditation related sites. One of the oldest and most substantial Internet resources for Buddhist study and practice.
Karmacino - The aim of Karmacino is to provide open, user driven content relating to Buddhism of all traditions, and also be accessible to non-Buddhists and other people of other religions. Updated daily, there are categories of News, Teachings, Science & Arts.
Meditation in Action - Website of insight meditation teacher Shinzen Young. Issues related to interreligious dialogue are treated in Q & A and Discussion Forum.
Naropa Institute - Naropa University, Boulder CO, was founded by Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, a lineage holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma Buddhist traditions. The Naropa Institute sponsors conferences of Buddhist/Christian dialogue.
Sadhu - The Sadhu! web site specialises in a Theravada Buddhism. It has an updated Web Directory of Buddhist organisations, which is very useful resource for Theravadin Buddhists.
Urban Dharma -- Buddhism in America for America - Offers original articles and essays on Buddhism and archives related articles by a variety of authors in a multi-yana format. Frequently addresses interreligious issues.

Buddhist-Christian Organizations

European Network of Buddhist Christian Studies - The aims of this network are to promote mutual understanding, practical co-operation, study at academic level, interchange and friendship between Christians and Buddhists in study and dialogue.
Los Angeles Buddhist Catholic Dialogue - Formed in 1989 as an official, on-going, core group dialogue, and sponsored by the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California and the Catholic Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Monks in the West - A gathering of Buddhist and Catholic monastic men to promote a sharing of inner life and training.
Nuns in the West - A gathering of Buddhist and Catholic nuns to investigate the cultivation of monastic spiritual values in the 'West.'
Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies - An ongoing organization for those committed to study, reflection, interchange and practice arising out of Buddhist-Christian encounter.

Catholic Documents

The Attitude of the Church towards Followers of Other Religions - To foster the work of dialogue, Pope Paul VI set up in 1964 the Secretariat for Non-Christians, subsequently renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Following its Plenary Assembly of 1984, the Secretariat issued a document entitled "The Attitude of the Church Towards the Followers of Other Religions: Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and Mission." This document states that the evangelizing mission of the Church is a "single but complex and articulated reality."
Dialogue and Proclamation: Reflection and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. - A joint document of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples issued in 1991.
Nostra Aetate - The Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (1965).
Pastoral Attention to Traditional Religions - A 1993 letter from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to to the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences in Asia, the Americas and Oceania.
Spiritual Resources of the Religions for Peace - Final declaration of the participants in a symposium sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue 16-18 January 2003.
Spirituality of Dialogue - A letter from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to Catholic Bishops' Conferences sharing reflections from its 1998 Pleanary Assembly on the Spirituality of Dialogue and requesting their reaction in view of an eventual document from the PCID.

Christian Monasteries

Benedictine - An Atlas of Benedictine monasteries of men and women throughout the world.
Cistercian/Trappist/Trappistine - An atlas of Cistercian monasteries of men and women throughout the world, plus numerous links to related websites.
Deir Mar Musa - The website of a Christian monastery in the Syrian desert devoted to work, prayer, and Islamic-Christian dialogue.

Christian Organizations

Alliance for International Monasticism - Serves monastic communities of the Benedictine tradition throughout the world to build up relationships between the monasteries of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Beit Benedict - Beit Benedict, located within the Benedictine Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, is a place of encounter and prayer for people of all faiths who seek peace.
Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research - An institute for scholars at Saint John's Abbey and University in Collegeville MN to discern the meaning of Christian identity and unity in a religiously and culturally diverse nation and world, and to communicate that meaning for the mission of the church and the renewal of human community.
Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique (DIM) - International Committees of Benedictine and Cistercian monks and nuns for promoting dialogue between monks of different religions and, more specifically, on the level of spiritual experience.
East West Contemplative Dialogue - Fosters dialogue between the Christian mystical tradition and Eastern forms of meditation and enlightenment. Offers numerous on-line resources, including complete books and video transcripts.
Empty Bell, a Contemplative Sanctuary - Dedicated to learning about the history and practice of the Christian contemplative way as rooted in the Gospels, and to exploring its common ground with other ancient Wisdom teachings. Special attention is given to the Christian-Buddhist dialogue, to artistic expression of spiritual insight, and to the relationship between spirituality and stewardship of the bio-diverse natural world.
Gratefulness.org - A worldwide community dedicated to gratefulness as the core inspiration for personal change, international cooperation, and sustainable activism in areas of universal concern. Website includes a section devoted to religious harmony.
Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute - Promotes Christian ecumenism and interreligious understanding through its support of academic dialogue, research and publication.
Mercy Center, Burlingame, California - The Meditation program at Mercy Center, was founded by Father Thomas Hand, SJ, who combined Ignatian meditation/Christian contemplation with his studies of Zen meditation. The special characteristics of the program have always been its Christian foundation and influence from the East.
Mission and Interreligious Dialogue - Documentation, reports, and interconnections on interreligious dialogue in the ministries connected with the Jesuits in the United States.
Monastic Interfaith Dialogue Commission for Britain & Ireland (MID-GBI) - Monastic Interfaith Dialogue Commission for Britain & Ireland (MID-GBI) is a local commission of the ‘parent association’ of DIM (Dialogue Interreligieuse Monastique) in Europe.
Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture - Through symposia, colloquia, research projects, and a wide array of publications, this institute of Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan) is dedicated to promoting dialogue among religions, philosophies, and cultures East and West.
NCCB/USCC Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs - A department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Oasis - A journal launched by Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice to focus on scholarly ties between Western Christians and the lands of the East, particularly the Arabic world. It will be published in three bilingual editions: Italian/Arabic, French/Arabic, and English/Arabic and will be distributed in Europe, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue - The special department of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church for relatons with the people of other religions. Instituted by Pope Paul IV on Pentecost Sunday, 1964, it was known for its first 24 years as the Secretariat for Non Christians.
Scarboro Missions Interfaith Dialogue - A helpful website from a Catholic religious order that regards interreligious dialogue as central to its mission.
WCC Interreligious Relations and Dialogue - The World Council of Churches' team that seeks to encourage reflection on religious plurality and its significance for Christian identity and witness. The team also explores issues related to indigenous beliefs, traditional spiritualities and new religious movements.
World Community for Christian Meditation - An international organization that practices and teaches meditation in the Christian tradition, recognizing that meditation is a universal tradition found in all the great religions and offers an important common ground for interreligious dialogue.

Ecumenical and Interfaith Organizations

Association for Interfaith Ministers - A UK organization that furnishes information to the public about interfaith ministry and the work of its members, provides a professional framework within which to maintain high standards of conduct and service by interfaith ministers, offers further training and development for interfaith ministers, and maintains strong links with other interfaith organisations
The Boxton Initiative - The Buxton Initiative is a nonprofit organization seeking to build bridges between Abrahamic faith communities through friendship and dialogue.
Cathedral Heritage Foundation - The Cathedral Heritage Foundation is a catalyst for interfaith cooperation, with a mission to promote interreligious understanding and the civic role of the historic Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky.
Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions - The Council exists to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities and to foster their engagement with the world and its other guiding institutions in order to achieve a peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
The Elijah Interfaith Institute - A multinational organization dedicated to fostering peace between the world's diverse faith communities through interfaith dialogue, education, research and dissemination. The organization brings together world religious leaders and renowned scholars the world over, through research projects, public conferences and community-based initiatives.
Illume - Illume develops unique and innovative ecumenical and interfaith programs bringing together people of different religious traditions to deepen their knowledge of each others’ beliefs and practices in places of great historical and religious significance.
Institute for Interreligious Intercultural Dialogue - The purpose of the IIID is to promote dialogue in the broadest sense among individuals and groups of different religions and cultures, focusing especially though not exclusively on the "opinion-shapers" of society, e.g., scholars, professionals, and institutional & business leaders. This is accomplished through specialized organizations, consortia, and institutes.
Interfaith Alliance - 150,000 members from more than 70 faith traditions and people of good will work to promote democratic values, defend religious liberty, challenge hatred and religious bigotry and reinvigorate informed civic participation.
Interfaith Center for Peace - Responding in faith to the wisdom of spiritual leaders throughout human history, the Interfaith Center for Peace teaches people, by deed and example, how to be peacemakers in their own places.
Interfaith Center of New York - A secular educational organization whose mission is to make New York and the world safe for religious difference by increasing respect, mutual understanding and fellowship among citizens of diverse religious faiths, and by fostering cooperation among religious communities and civic organizations to solve common social problems.
Interfaith Dialogue Basics - A collection of significant texts on interreligious dialogue collected and made available by Lucien F. Cosijns of Belgium.
International Interfaith Center - The International Interfaith Centre promotes interreligious understanding and co-operation between different faith communities and organisations of religious or spiritual conviction.
Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel - An umbrella organization of over 70 Jewish, Muslim and Christian institutions actively working towards interreligious and intercultural understanding in Israel and the region.
Koinonia - A quarterly newsletter of the Paulist Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Office
North American Interfaith Network - The North American Interfaith Network is a non-profit association of interfaith organizations and agencies in Canada, Mexico and the United States. NAIN's programs seek to build communication and mutual understanding among interfaith organizations and diverse religious groups throughout North America.
Pluralism Project - A decade-long research project, with current funding from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, to engage students in studying the new religious diversity in the United States.
Reglions for Peace - The World Conference of Religions for Peace is the largest international coalition of representatives from the world's great religions who are dedicated to achieving peace. Respecting cultural differences while celebrating our common humanity, Religions for Peace is active on every continent and in some of the most troubled places on earth, creating multi-religious partnerships that mobilize the moral and social resources of religious people to address their shared problems.
Religions for Peace - The World Conference of Religions for Peace is the largest international coalition of representatives from the world's great religions who are dedicated to achieving peace. It is active on every continent and in some of the most troubled places on earth, creating multi-religious partnerships that mobilize the moral and social resources of religious people to address their shared problems.
Religions in Renewal - A site is dedicated to efforts by people all over the globe to renew their religions or ideologies in such a way that in the future they will be open to ongoing transformation while remaining solidly rooted in what is essential in their past. Secondarily, it is a site to demonstrate that no matter how different their faith-languages, religions have much in common and can learn from one another.
Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies - Among the aims of this ecumenical institute situated between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is the exploration of the relationships between Christians and peoples of other world faiths, especially Jews and Muslims.
Temple of Understanding - A global interfaith organization with NGO consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Promotes worldwide interfaith dialogue and education in order to achieve understanding, mutual respect, and coexistence among the people of the world's religious and spiritual communities.
United Communities of Spirit - A global interfaith network, linking people of diverse faiths and beliefs who want to work with others to build a better world. The aim of United Communities of Spirit is to promote awareness that all humanity is part of the same spiritual family.
United Religious Initiative - Promotes 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.

General Resources

BeliefNet - Self described as “a multi-faith e-community designed to help you meet your own religious and spiritual needs -- in an interesting, captivating and engaging way.”
CoNexus Multifaith Media - Offers books, calendars, music, gifts, CD-ROMs, posters, and video on understanding world religions and spiritual traditions, on interfaith and faith-based organizations to serve your needs, and on new ways of creating a sense of community and cooperation among religions. CoNexus Press engages in research and development of interfaith resources.
Fetzer Institute - Fosters awareness of the power of love and forgiveness to address the critical issues facing the world. Current work includes research and education programs on altruistic love, compassionate love, and forgiveness.
Inner Directions Foundation - A nonprofit organization dedicated to communicating the immediacy of the nondualistic ground from which religions and spiritual traditions arise. Its publications and programs are meant to provide an authentic expression of nondual wisdom, in the spirit of self-inquiry.
Inner Explorations - Where Christian mysticism, theology and metaphysics meet Eastern religions, Jungian psychology and a new sense of the earth. More than 500 web pages, 2,500 pages of text, and 1,000 images
MID Archives - In the summer of 2005 the archives of MID were transferred from the Monastery of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph Minnesota to Notre Dame University in Indiana. This website lists the contents of the archives.
Monastery Greetings - A website and catalog that sells only products from monasteries, religious communities and hermitages. MID publications and back issues of the printed Bulletin can be found by clicking on "Monastic Dialog" in the sidebar.
Network for Good - A nonprofit organization that connects individuals with their favorite charities. Network for Good is the place to make secure online donations, explore volunteer opportunities, and learn more about the causes that matter most.
Spiritual Books Catalog - Doorway to the best spiritual books from almost 200 different publishers.
World Scripture Archive - World Scripture contains over 4000 scriptural passages from 268 sacred texts and 55 oral traditions. It is organized in terms of 164 different themes common to all traditions. The text is the result of a five-year project involving the collaboration of an international team of 40 recognized scholars representing all the major religions of the world.

Hindu Organizations

Vedanta Society of Southern California - Based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India, Vedanta (the philosophical foundation of Hinduism) affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions.

Hindu-Christian Organizations

Society for Hindu-Christian Studies - The Society is dedicated to the study of Hinduism and Christianity and their interrelationships. It seeks to create a forum for the presentation of historical research and studies of contemporary practice, for the fostering of dialogue and interreligious conversation, carried forward in a spirit of openness, respect and true inquiry.
Sri Gnanananda Nama Sankirtana Mandali - The main objectives of the society are to spread and to develop the knowledge of Hindu philosophy as taught by the society's Gurus; to introduce the spiritual path of Guru Bhakti; to conduct bhajans, poojas, spiritual discourses and lectures; and to introduce the philosophical teaching of Guru Bhakti through the publication of books, leaflets, and other media.

Islamic Documents

A Common Word between Us and You - The official website of a letter addressed by a wide array of Muslim scholars to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders on October 13, 2007. It highlights the foundational principles of both faiths--love of the one God and love of neighbor--and insists that these shared fundamental convictions compel us to work together for justice and peace in the world. The website includes Christian responses to the letter.
Islamic Studies - Resources for Studying Islam and the Diverse Perspectives of Muslims
Letter to Monks of Saint Catherine's Monastery - An English translation of a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai granted by the Prophet Muhammad in 628 C.E.

Islamic Organizations

Dar Al Islam - An American non-profit educational organization incorporated in New Mexico in 1979. Its main objective is the presentation of Islam to the people of North America from the primary sources as understood and interpreted by God-fearing scholars of Islam through out the ages. A simultaneous objective has been a demonstration and education about effective ways of living Islam and being Muslims in North Ame
Database of Islamic Sites
Islamic Society of North America - ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and civic and service organizations.
Islamicity - A great resource for all things Islam, both the basics of the religion and what's going on in Islam today.
Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies - Originally established to provide a venue in the Arab world for the interdisciplinary study and rational discussion of religion and religious issues, with particular reference to Christianity in Arab and Islamic society, RIIFS has recently broadened its focus to include all issues pertaining to religious, cultural and civilizational diversity, regionally and globally.
Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialogue - Founded in 1999 to foster interfaith and intercultural dialogue, to provide a platform for education and information exchange, and to create a global "meeting place of peoples" that promotes dialogue, tolerance, and reconciliation among all.
Zaytuna Institute and Academcy - The mission of Zaytuna is to provide the highest quality educational programs, materials, and training in the traditional sciences of Islam in the most beautiful way using the most effective tools of our time as a means of serving its Lord and honoring its Prophet,

Islamic-Christian Organizations

Bernardin Center - The Catholic-Muslim Studies Program of the Center is dedicated to building bridges of mutual understanding and profound respect between Muslims and Christians
The Macdonald Center - The Website of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, the country’s oldest center for such study. The Macdonald Center is committed to the premise that through intensive study and academically guided dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation between Muslims and Christians can and must develop.

Jewish Practitioners

Jewish Contemplatives - The weblog of a Progressive Jew living a solitary contemplative lifestyle in Europe. It consists of a short online book called "The Cave of the Heart" and a regularly updated monthly "Reflection." Its aim is to provoke discussion on contemplative lifestyles in Judaism and to reach out to other "Jewish Contemplatives" via the internet.

Philosophers/Thinkers

Carl W. Ernst - The website of Carl W. Ernst, a specialist in Islamic studies, with a focus on West and South Asia. His published research, based on the study of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, has been mainly devoted to the study of Islam and Sufism.

Pioneers and Teachers of Interreligious Dialogue

Aelred Graham - Brief biography.
Bede Griffiths - Biography, articles, book reviews, meditations and the Bede Griffiths Trust, an association for the renewal of the contemplative life.
Henri Le Saux (Swami Abhishiktananda) - Biography, texts, photo gallery, bibliography, and Abihishiktanda Society.
Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle, SJ - Afticles by Dr.Ursula Baatz (in Germand and English) dealing with the life and work of a Catholic Zen master.
Jules Monchanin - French website dealing with the life and work of Jules Monchanin and Henri Le Saux.
Raimon Panikkar - A presentaion given by Gerard Hall, SM, at the 2003 Conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religions summarizing and assessing Panikkar’s contribution to contemporary thinking on multi-faith dialogue and religious pluralism.
Ramon Panikkar - A website devoted primarily to the biography and works of Ramon Panikkar.
Thomas Merton Internet Bibliography - Comprehensive directory of links to on-line writings of Thomas Merton, Thomas Merton organizations, websites, etc.

Research tools

Buddhist-Christian Studies Database - The Buddhist-Christian Studies Database (BCSD) contains citations to articles, essays, books, and dissertations about the historical and contemporary encounter between the Buddhist and Christian traditions.
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