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Congress

ORIGINS OF CONGRESS

For the first time, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was convened on September 23-24, 2003 on the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev.

Speaking on February 13, 2003 at the International Conference of Peace and Accord, which played an important role in the rapprochement of religions, cultures and peoples and in which representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish organizations took part, Elbasy appealed to representatives of all faiths with the initiative to hold the Congress of World Leaders in Kazakhstan. and traditional religions.

Representatives of the Catholic Church were among the first to support the idea of ​​the Congress during the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to the Vatican.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONGRESS:

  • search for common human landmarks in world and traditional forms of religions;
  • functioning of a permanent international interfaith institution for the dialogue of religions and the adoption of agreed decisions.

MAIN PRIORITIES OF THE CONGRESS:

  • the establishment of peace, harmony and tolerance as the unshakable principles of human existence;
  • achieving mutual respect and tolerance between religions, confessions, nations and ethnic groups;
  • preventing the use of religious feelings of people for the escalation of conflicts and hostilities.

CONGRESS OBJECTIVES:

  • strengthening the traditions of inter-religious and inter-confessional dialogue in the form of inter-religious congresses;
  • creation of a permanent organ of the Congress for the coordinated, objective and competent preparation of the ideology and concept of future congresses;
  • cooperation and interaction with all international organizations and structures aimed at promoting dialogue between religions, cultures and civilizations;
  • expanding the dialogue between representatives of different cultures and religions with the involvement of representatives of secular and religious media, youth associations, scientific and creative intelligentsia;
  • deepening and strengthening mutual understanding and respect among religious communities;
  • development of a culture of tolerance and mutual respect as a counterbalance to the ideology of hatred and extremism;
  • preventing the prevalence of theses about the "clash of civilizations", expressed in the opposition of religions and the further politicization of theological disputes, as well as attempts to discredit one religion by another;
  • promoting global dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions.

CHRONOLOGY OF CONGRESS

The six Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, held in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018, were attended by leaders and prominent representatives of the clergy from Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism and other traditional religions.

At the dialogue platforms of the Congress, a rich and constructive conversation is held on the spiritual rapprochement of religious communities, as a result of which joint final documents of the interreligious summit were adopted - Declarations and Appeals addressed to citizens, peoples and governments of the countries of the world.

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