The World's Parliament of Religions: The East/West Encounter, Chicago, 1893

Conceived as a magnificent display of the major religions of the world, the 1893 Parliament sought to unite "all religion against irreligion." A singular moment in the creation of a more pluralistic religious culture in America, it introduced many Americans to Eastern religions and meditative practices such as yoga. Some in the Christian community saw the gathering as a sign of the approaching fulfillment of the missionary’s hope to evangelize the world, while others saw a divided Christendom under threat from the religions of the East. Richard Hughes Seager explores this fascinating event in all its complexities and, in a new preface, summarizes recent research and reflects on religious pluralism in an age of religious extremism.

Richard Hughes Seager is Bates and Benjamin Professor of Classical and Religious Studies at Hamilton College. He is author of Buddhism in America and Encountering the Dharma and editor of The Dawn of Religious Pluralism: Voices from the World's Parliament of Religions.