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The Journal

Through its journal WCF has sought to disseminate the lectures and conference papers to a wider audience. The aim has been to address a non-specialist serious readership, helping them to learn about the religions of the world and to consider how the relationship between them can be more creative and harmonious.

During the Second World War, Sir Francis Younghusband himself, as we have seen, started a 'Chairman's Circular Letter', which was carried on by Baron Palmstierna. It was designed to maintain contact between the scattered members of WCF. By 1941, this had developed from a type-written sheet to a four page printed pamphlet.

In 1949, Sir John Stewart Wallace persuaded a young member, Heather McConnell, who was just back from the Far East, to launch a journal for the WCF. 'My briefing', she recalled, 'was not to be academic and above the heads of our readers but neither was it to play to the lowest common denominator. It should strive to be of general interest to our members in many parts of the world. "Always remember", said Baron Palmstierna, "that we are a movement and not a study group"' (1). The journal was named Forum and sold for 6d, the equivalent of 2½p. It soon became a journal with reprinted talks, commissioned articles and included extensive book reviews. The Editor's Notes gave news of WCF activities.

Until his death, Baron Palmstierna contributed a regular, inspirational column. His last letter, written shortly before his death, ended with these words: 'Within each human soul exists a link with life eternal which gives us certainty of individual immortality. Death is evidently nothing but the opening in the wall which makes it possible for religious life to continue to progress independently and move ahead on the other side of the wall'(2).

In 1961 the journal was renamed World Faiths, 'as more descriptive of the contents'(3). Heather McConnell, who gave a lifetime of service to WCF, continued as Editor until 1976.

Looking back, with a hundred issues of the periodical lying on her table, Heather McConnell wrote of the way in which the journal had linked countless friends across the world. The correspondence which she received showed that the journal was passed from hand to hand. She recalled some of the distinguished contributors who had submitted material - Sir John Grubb, Professor Geoffrey Parrinder, Professor Norman Bentwich, Christmas Humphreys, Marco Pallis, to name only a few. She remembered some of the important events in the life of the Congress which had been recorded - conferences in Paris and Holland, the opening of Younghusband House, the Dalai Lama's visit. 'Most of all', she concluded, 'the pages are enriched by the personalities of those who made it all happen, by the many whose lives were dedicated to Truth and understanding and to building bridges of interfaith unity. To have had the privilege of their friendship and of drawing on their wisdom has been the most worthwhile experience of my life'(4).

In 1976, I succeeded Heather McConnell as editor. There was a lot of work, checking the proofs, pasting up the pages, trying to ensure the journal was on time and that it remained solvent. Heather said that one compositor always added a 't' whenever the word 'rabbi' appeared in the text. The material, however, was always fascinating and it was a privilege to be in touch with many inspiring people across the world. 'The editor', as Heather wrote, 'is simply the conductor of an orchestra and it is due to the many "players" involved that the concert has continued unbroken' (5).

The main regret is that so few took advantage of the rich and varied diet. Looking at World Faiths No 100 - the first issue that I edited in 1976 - there is a fascinating article by Kenneth Leech, known for books such as Soul Friend and the Social God, on 'Youth's Demand for Change'. 'Whether the mass of young people become more conformist, more quiescent, more compromised, or whether they become more critical, more visionary, more athirst for justice, one thing is certain', he warned, 'they will not be deceived by a superficial tampering with the surface manifestations of religious life'. He suggested that it will be from the Christians of the Third World that the churches in the West would be 'recalled to the realities of prophecy and vision' (6). The issue includes a sensitive account by W W Simpson, Secretary of the International Council of Christians and Jews, of the first conference to be held by the International Council of Christians and Jews in Jerusalem; a comment on the Festival of Islam by Sir John Lawrence, Editor for many years of Frontier and an incisive report by Dr Stanley Samartha, an Indian theologian who was Director of the World Council of Churches programme on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies, on the debate about dialogue at the 1975 Nairobi Assembly of the World Council of Churches.

After some negotiation, in 1980 it was agreed to unite the WCF journal with the journal Insight, which had been produced from 1976 by the Temple of Understanding. The merged journal was called World Faiths Insight. Professor Seshagiri Rao, of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and I became co-editors. Seshagiri Rao, who graduated from Mysore University, studied at the Centre for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University. He subsequently became Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He has written extensively, especially in the field of Gandhian studies and is now editing a multi-volume Encyclopaedia of Hinduism

The happy co-operation between a Hindu professor and an Anglican clergyman has itself symbolized the spirit of WCF. The link increased the breadth of contributions and gave an international flavour to the journal. The American market was likely to be in universities which offered courses in the study of religions, whereas the British readership was less academic. This added to the considerations in ensuring the right balance of articles - considerations which included fair representation of different religions and countries, as well as a proper gender balance. Another difficulty was that it was inappropriate for an international journal to carry information of interest only to WCF members, such as news of British local interfaith groups. This difficulty was met by producing a British supplement, which was to be the seed of Interfaith News. A further difficulty was the constant struggle to break even, as World Faiths Insight never received a subsidy.

World Faiths Insight, besides a variety of articles, carried news of major interfaith conferences and events as well as book reviews. Although the circulation is still not large, the journal goes to many parts of the world - often to libraries. It has been one of the ways by which WCF has tried to offer a service to the world rather than just to Britain.

In 1991, Rev Alan Race, an Anglican clergyman particularly known for his book Christians and Religious Pluralism, succeeded me as Editor. Alan Race was born in Stockton-on-Tees in 1951. His initial training was in chemistry, but he followed this with theological studies at Oxford and Birmingham. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1976. His interest in interfaith encounter grew out of living in multi-cultural and multi-faith Bradford in the early seventies. Dr George Chryssides, a Lecturer in Religious Studies, became Review Editor for a time.

Although Professor Seshagiri Rao has continued as co-editor, the Temple of Understanding decided, in 1991, that they were unable to continue their support for the journal. Despite this, a significant North American readership was. maintained,

Together with the change of Editor, other changes were introduced. The first was a change of name to World Faiths Encounter (March 1992). This was to indicate that the revised journal intended to focus 'more sharply on both the interactions between religious traditions and on the relationships between people of different religious communities, in our contemporary world'. This reflected the growing recognition that the meeting of religions had an important impact on society - for good or bad. 'We live with competing religious convictions pervading every department of life'. The journal was designed to appeal to many different constituencies - 'theologians and religious specialists of the different traditions, educationalists, inter-faith organizations and local activists who are faced with the daily confusions and joys which a pluralist society generates' (7). Such a wide audience creates difficulties, but these have been successfully met and the great variety of content indicates the range of contemporary inter-religious encounter.

The format and lay-out of the journal was redesigned to produce a more attractive publication - together with an eye-catching logo and green cover.

Interfaith News

In the early eighties, WCF approached other bodies to discuss the publication of a news-sheet of interfaith activities, to keep pace with the proliferation of interfaith activities in Britain. The Committee for Relations with People of Other Faiths of the British Council of Churches, the Interfaith Association, The Week of Prayer for World Peace, The World Conference of Religions for Peace (UK) and the World Congress of Faiths agreed to sponsor a publication, which was called Interfaith News. By the late eighties, The Interfaith Association had merged with WCF, but its place as a co-sponsor was soon taken by the then recently established Inter Faith Network. The first issue of the news-sheet appeared in 1982.

The first editor of Interfaith News was Geoffrey Bould, a member of the Friends, who has had a particular concern for prisoners of conscience. He was succeeded in 1989 by Dr Paul Weller, who at that time was Resources Officer of the Inter Faith Network and who now heads the Religious Resource and Research Centre at the University of Derby. The organizing committee was chaired by Brian Pearce and the administrative work was handled by WCF.

It is difficult to ensure that a newsletter breaks even. The cost of postage and administration make an economic price unrealistic in terms of expecting people to pay for it. The subscription rate of £1 and then £1.50 for three copies never fully covered costs and in 1991 Interfaith News, for financial reasons, had to cease publication.

Interfaith News gave a lively account of activities, advertised future events and helped to ensure that those working in this field, for various national and local organizations, kept in touch with each other.

To glance through the copies of Interfaith News is to be reminded of the significant events of the eighties, which was an important decade in the development of interfaith work not only in Britain, but across the world. No 3 has the headline 'Interfaith Breakthrough?' with a report of interfaith activities at the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which was held in Vancouver in 1982. At the Assembly, for the first time, members of other faiths addressed a plenary session, whereas twenty years before at the New Delhi Assembly, people of other faiths could not even attend as accredited press representatives (8)

Issue No 12, highlights Archbishop Robert Runcie's Younghusband lecture, which Dr Kenneth Cracknell, then secretary of the British Council of Churches' Committee for Relations with People of Other Faiths, wrote of as a 'miracle at Lambeth Palace'.

The next issue spoke of the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace at Assisi in October 1986. Next year, Interfaith News heralded the 'Birth of the Inter Faith Network'. The June 1988 issue, reporting on the Global Forum of Spiritual and Political Leaders, held in Oxford, is headlined 'Towards a Global Ethic' - pointing forward to the work of the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago five years later.

The issues of the early nineties reflect a changing scene. The optimism of the eighties was giving way to awareness that religious passion was still a divisive force. The June 1990 edition concentrates on some of the issues raised by the publication of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and includes a report on the refusal to extend the blasphemy laws. The February 1991 issue highlights Dr Runcie's address to the Inter Faith Network. After talking about the progress in interfaith relations, he spoke of the hostility to other faiths still evident in some parts of the churches and of what he called 'the tribalising of religion' in places as varied as Sri Lanka, India and Northern Ireland as well as the rise of Islamic 'fundamentalism' (10).

One Family.

The wish to link the various activities up and down Britain during the Year of Inter-Religious Understanding and Co-operation in 1993 led to the production of a fresh newsletter. One Family, collated and edited by Sandy Martin and Jean Potter, was produced to list the various activities of the year. There were so many events that four editions had to be published.

One Family has been found to be so useful that it has continued to appear three times a year. It is published by the World Congress of Faiths and reports on WCF events and gives details of future programmes. It is not, however, confined to news of WCF but includes details of the activities and programmes of quite a number of interfaith organizations in Great Britain.

Other Publications.

WCF has sponsored a number of other publications. The papers of the pre-war conferences were published (11).

Two booklets have told the history of WCF. In 1956 Arthur Peacock wrote Fellowship Through Religion, which gives a good summary of the early years (12). In 1976, for the fortieth anniversary, I wrote a brief account of WCF's life and work. Bishop George Appleton wrote a Foreword, (a printer's error called it 'A Forward', which perhaps expressed the hopes of the moment!) in which he included his personal 'guidelines', which had emerged after nearly fifty years of contact with people of other Faiths. They are the principles which guided a Christian who was committed to building good interfaith relations, but ones which, suitably adapted, he hoped members of other faiths could make their own. They are still well worth reproducing:

Other WCF publications include some of the Younghusband lectures, which have been published as pamphlets. WCF also arranged, as we have seen, for the publication of the report on Interfaith Worship by Galliards, which is part of Stainer and Bell.

Interfaith Prayer.

It has been said that religions meet, where religions take their source, in God. The deepest meeting of people of faith is as they wait together in the acknowledged presence of the Eternal Mystery.

The Church Times for November 19th, 1869 reported that the opening of the Suez Canal had been marked by 'religious services of a somewhat mixed character, Mussulmen and Roman Catholics each taking part in them'(1). Presumably this refers to separate services, but it is a reminder that there is quite a long history to occasions when people of different religions are together to pray. I have attempted to summarize this history, which certainly dates back to the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions, in All in Good Faith (2). Here, therefore, I shall concentrate on the World Congress of Faiths' contribution to this development.

In Britain, WCF has pioneered the arrangement of special times for people of different faiths to meet together to pray as well as providing the opportunity for members to meditate together and to be present at each other's times of prayer.

Times when people of different religions pray together have been given a variety of names. They are sometimes called All Faiths Services or Multi-Faith Worship or Interfaith Prayer. Sometimes a more neutral word such as 'celebration' or act of witness is used. A distinction is sometimes made between 'praying together', which implies joint prayer and 'being together to pray', which suggests praying in each other's presence but not saying together the same prayer. The latter term suggests rather more clearly that each religion is distinct. These occasions have been held in churches of many denominations, in synagogues, temples and other religious or secular buildings.

At the 1936 World Congress of Faiths, each morning started with prayers led by a member of one faith. As Younghusband explained in a broadcast prior to the Congress, 'Every morning before the proceedings begin there will be held devotional meetings, conducted on one day by a Hindu in the Hindu manner, on another day by a Muslim in the Muslim way and so on. At these all members of the Congress will be welcomed in the hope that they may in some measure catch the spirit of each of the different religions' (3). The final session included readings from the scriptures of the world. Some hymns were sung during the Congress. All were taken from the Christian tradition but they were chosen in the hope that many members of other faiths also would feel able to sing them.

Similar arrangements were made at the early conferences of the World Congress of Faiths. In this, Sir Francis probably received help from Will Hayes, an early supporter of WCF, who had published in 1924 A Book of Twelve Services, which were universalist in character and which expressed Hayes' belief that the religion of the future would be a world religion (4).

One of the first public services in which members of different religions read from their scriptures was the memorial service for Sir Francis Younghusband. It was almost certainly the first such service to be held in an Anglican Church - taking place at St Martin-in-the Fields on the 10th of August 1942. Participants included Bhikkhu Thittila, Sir Atul Chatterjeee, Rabbi Dr Salzberger and Sir Hassan Suhrawardy. Dorothy Thorold, who was there, remembered the service as 'truly, truly extraordinary. I had never seen anything like it at that time. It really was most unusual to have foreign religions gathered at that kind of service in a Christian church - but quite appropriate' (5). The Church Times, whilst careful not to speak ill of the dead, made it clear that, in its view, it had been a 'rather improper performance' (6).

By the early fifties, an 'All Faiths' service had become a regular feature of the World Congress of Faiths' Annual Conference. Then, in 1953, in response to Queen Elizabeth II's request at the time of her coronation that people of all religions should pray for her, a public service was arranged (7). Thereafter, for many years, the World Congress of Faiths arranged an Annual All Faiths Service. Distinguished figures were asked to give the address, including the Indian High Commissioner, Mrs Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Sir Basil Henriques, Sir John Glubb, the Hon. Lily Montagu and Dr Edward Carpenter.

In 1958, the service was held for the first time in an Anglican Church, at St Botolph's, by invitation of George Appleton who at the time was vicar there. The preacher was Dr Aurabinda Basu, a lecturer at Durham University. In 1961, the service was held at St John's Wood Liberal Synagogue. Ten years later it was held for the first time in a Roman Catholic Church, at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Marylebone. The preacher was Fr Tom Corbishley who insisted that the service was an act of worship. Despite the differences between religions, there was enough in common, he said, to come together in worship. In 1972, for the first time, the preacher was a Muslim, Al Haj Sheik M Tufail.

The most memorable services perhaps were when the Dalai Lama spoke, once at the West London Synagogue in 1973 and again at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in 1981. The latter service was held on a hot summer evening and the church was packed. At the start everyone was asked to offer his or her neighbour a greeting of peace. This created a relaxed and happy atmosphere. In his sermon, the Dalai Lama said he disliked formality. Neither birth nor death was formal! He said we needed variety of religions, just as we like variety of foods. Each has a particular insight to share.

In recent years, whilst WCF has continued to arrange times for meditation and prayer at its various conferences, the tradition of an annual All Faiths service has not been maintained. Occasional public services have been organized, for example at the end of the Year of Inter-religious Understanding and Co-operation, but it has been felt that a number of such services are now arranged in different parts of the country, so that a big central service is less necessary.

A Matter of Controversy.

In the mid-sixties the question of 'interfaith worship' became a matter of controversy. In 1965 a 'Ceremony of Religious Affirmation' was arranged at St Mary-le-Bow by Rev Joseph McCulloch, a member of WCF, to mark the opening of the Commonwealth Arts Festival. The event, which was attended by Prince Philip, included readings offered by representatives of each of the great world religions. The following year the first Commonwealth Day Multifaith celebration, which was attended by the Queen, was held at St Martin-in-the Fields.

The next year, some Christians, led by Rev Christopher Wansey, objected to the Commonwealth Day Service and also to the WCF Annual Conference service which was held at Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge. The Bishop of Ely allowed the service to proceed and in the event only a handful of protesters gathered outside the church, although correspondence about it continued in the church press for several weeks.

In his sermon, Canon Hugh Montefiore, The Rector of Great St Mary's who later became Bishop of Birmingham, explained the significance of the service. He suggested there are four stages in our meeting with people of other faiths. First, there is learning about what they believe. Then, there is reflection about what this new knowledge means to us. Then comes the confrontation, when we are stripped naked and grapple with each other in our agreements and disagreements. Then, 'beyond doctrines and convictions, we move into the reality of God Himself'. We retain our religious identity.

The question of interfaith services was taken up by the British Council of Churches, which in 1968 agreed that churches should 'scrupulously avoid those forms of interfaith worship which compromise the distinctive faiths of the participants and should ensure that Christian witness is neither distorted nor muted' (9). The final draft had read 'all forms of interfaith worship', but this was changed to 'those forms of interfaith worship', after representations from the World Congress of Faiths.

The final report to the British Council of Churches made clear that Christians would not wish to compromise the uniqueness of Christ nor would members of other faiths wish to compromise their convictions. 'The presupposition of any interfaith service must be the acknowledgment of our religious diversity rather than a presumption of some (lowest) common denominator... What needs to be stressed is the religious approach to life and the common endeavour to bring spiritual values to bear on all its aspects'. The Report suggested exchange visits to different places of worship and 'occasions on which those of different faiths do in turn what is characteristic of their own religion, enabling the others present to share to the extent to which they conscientiously can'. The latter suggestion seems to be the genesis of what have become known as 'serial interfaith occasions', when members of different faiths in turn offer prayers on a chosen theme (10).

The World Congress publicly welcomed the British Council of Churches' recognition of the changed situation in Britain. The WCF statement then pointed out that WCF was careful in its services to ensure the 'distinctive witness of all participants'. The statement added that many of those attending interfaith services experienced a new awareness of God and found that their own particular faith had been enriched by contact with other faiths (11).

In view of the public debate, the World Congress of Faiths asked a working group, under the chairmanship of Dr Edward Carpenter, to prepare a justification for the services which it arranged. As the debate was between Christians, the WCF report, Inter-Faith Worship, was drawn up by Christians who were sympathetic to interfaith activity and was primarily addressed to Christians.

After giving a history of interfaith services and of the then current debate, the report set out the arguments in favour of such services. The first was that all religions worship the same God. It was a view voiced by Bishop George Appleton at a WCF service when he said, 'We stand in worship before the mystery of the final reality to whom or to which we give differing names, so great and deep and eternal that we can never fully understand or grasp the mystery of His Being' (12). Secondly, it was said that God is the creator of all people and that such services affirmed our common God-given humanity. The difficulty for some of reference to God was acknowledged. The Report also noted the ethical values which were shared by members of the great religions and said that an interfaith service could be an occasion of commitment to common action.

The objections of some Christians to interfaith prayer were noted and discussed. The Report also reflected the opinions of some members of other faiths, who mostly showed a preference for members of one faith visiting another place of worship rather than for all trying to arrange a joint service. The report included some practical advice and reproduced the texts of some services, including a particularly imaginative one, arranged with the help of Donald Swann for the 1972 WCF conference (13).

The question of whether people of different faiths should on occasion pray together has continued to be a subject of controversy. Reports have been produced by The Archbishops' Consultants on Interfaith Relations (1980), The Committee for Relations with People of Other Faith of the British Council of Churches (1983) and the Inter-Faith Consultative Group of the Church of England's Board of Mission (1992). I was a member of the first two groups and submitted material to the third of which Alan Race was a member. Whilst some Christians still strongly oppose interfaith prayer, many more have come to see that it is appropriate on special occasions and the practice has become quite widespread (14).

Many members of WCF take part in the annual Week of Prayer for World Peace, which was founded in 1974, partly on the initiative of George Appleton and Edward Carpenter. For many years Canon Gordon Wilson, who sat of the WCF Executive for some time, was the Organising Secretary. He was been succeeded by Jonathan Blake. In the mid eighties, as many as 100,000 leaflets were printed (15).

In the nineties, WCF gave renewed attention to the question of interfaith prayer. A multi-faith working party was set up, which consulted widely. The opinions of many local interfaith groups and relevant organizations were sought. Whereas most previous publications on this subject had been by Christians, for the WCF book on Multi-Faith Prayer, which was published in 1997 with the title All in Good Faith, members of different faiths were asked to share their views of interfaith prayer, in the context of their religion's understanding of prayer or worship or meditation. The texts included in the anthology were also chosen by members of different religious communities.

The book was in four sections. The first section gave some history of the development of interfaith services and of the discussion about them, followed by a series of chapters in which members of different faiths explained about their religion's view of prayer or worship or meditation and the attitude of members of that religion to interfaith prayer. The second part of the book was an anthology of texts on twelve chosen themes. The third part reproduced some orders of service and the fourth part included an annotated bibliography of collections of readings and prayers.

To broaden the consultation, a weekend conference was arranged at Ammerdown in November 1994 on Multi-Faith Worship, at which Shahin Bekhradnia, a Zoroastrian, Swami Tripurananda, Rabbi Rachel Montagu and I spoke. Anula Beckett, who is Adviser for Inter-religious Affairs for the Diocese of Britsol, said in her report of the conference that 'the first Multi-Faith meeting I was closely involved with was an interfaith "service" at Bristol Cathedral, in the Chapter House, in 1988. It was a joyful and moving occasion, but I little knew how much trouble it would cause'. This was because some Anglicans threatened to take legal action to stop an interfaith service being held in a building dedicated to the worship of the Holy Trinity. The weekend, she said, 'affirmed that we should continue our efforts to pursue greater inter-religious understanding through "Interfaith Celebrations"' (16).

The conference also affirmed the need for great care and sensitivity in the arrangement of interfaith times of prayer and that they are special and not a replacement of the regular pattern of worship of any one faith community.

Interfaith times of prayer are likely to remain controversial just because they challenge the exclusiveness of some faith communities. At the same time, they can be a deeply moving experience of the unity to be discovered in the presence of the Divine - a pointer to, what Younghusband called 'the underlying and overarching harmony which may reconcile all people of faith' (17).

8. Lectures, Chat and Lukewarm Coffee: conferences and lectures.

There are various stages to building friendship between people of different faiths. Often people have false or prejudicial views about members of other religions. In part this can be countered by the production of accurate books about the world religions or by lectures which give correct information. It is even more important to meet members of another faith and to visit their place of worship. As trust and friendship grows, people begin to discuss common problems and to share their experiences of faith. They may discover concerns that they have in common and take action together. They may wish to meditate and pray together.

Because the growth of interfaith friendship has different stages and each person has to travel this journey for herself or himself, the programme of the World Congress of Faiths has tried to cater for a variety of needs.

WCF's work has been primarily educational, arranging conferences, lectures and tours and publishing a journal and other literature.

Conferences.

Lady Ravensdale once said, 'I sometimes think that our congress has been a series of good lectures, chat and lukewarm cups of coffee' (1)'. Conferences have been of three main types. Large conferences with a high level of intellectual content; quiet, smaller conferences of a retreat character for spiritual sharing; and conferences to meet with members of local multi-faith communities.

It would be tedious to try to summarise all the conferences. All that can be done is to mention a few. We have already glanced at the pre-war conferences. Even during the Second World War and immediately afterwards efforts were made to arrange an annual conference. The annual conference has continued to be important in the life of the Congress, although its nature has changed over the years.

The 1951 Oxford conference seems to have been remarkable for the quality of the papers. Professor Andre Toledano from France mentioned his initial surprise that 'at a time when mankind is living in the dreadful fear of a grim future', the conference did not address economic or political questions. 'But on second thoughts', he continued, 'I realised that a religious meeting should deal with what is of permanent value for mankind; beauty, health, the body and the spirit and, to finish with, the defence of the spirit fighting with matter in industry'. Even so he remained surprised that one session was devoted to 'The Religious Attitude to Animal Welfare'. The session changed his mind. 'In our time of hatred and contempt for the human person, recalling the reverence due to all the creatures that God made was most inspiring' (2). Canon L W Grensted, Regius Professor at Oxford, gave a paper on 'Religion and Healing'. Professor Alistair Hardy, Professor of Marine Biology who was to do pioneering work on religious experience, led a discussion.

One person at the conference was critical that at the service only Christian prayers were used. In fact, as was pointed out to her, prayers were drawn from Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian sources. As the Forum Editorial comments, '"Prayer unites the ages, it unites the faiths, it unites all mankind"'(3).

In 1955, a European Conference, organised together with the World Alliance for Friendship through Religion, was held at Diekirch in Luxembourg. There was obviouly dissatisfaction with the hotel accomodation, in particular that there was no hot water. The addresses on the subject of 'Spiritual Experience and Moral Responsibilities' were of a high standard. Joan Dopping felt it was one of the most vigorous WCF events for some years.

A Conference at Bremen.

Two years later, a Conference was held with the German branch at Bremen. Some two hundred people attended. From Britain there was a small group, which, included Lady Ravensdale, Arthur Peacock and George Appleton. The opening address on 'The Unity and Collaboration of Religions' was by Professor Friedrich Heiler of Marburg. Deploring the exclusiveness in some religions, including Christianity, he mentioned a number of Christians, in different generations, who had had a broader outlook. He then listed seven points held in common by the higher faiths. These were:

7. The last aim: perfection of the soul in God's infinity.

One of Heiler's pupils, Annemarie Schimmel spoke about 'The Importance of Islamic Mysticism for the Unity of Religions', whilst Pastor Engelhardt spoke about Rabindranath Tagore. Rev George Appleton warned that there was perhaps a tendency at the conference to assume more had been achieved than was in fact the case. 'We were only at a beginning and the encounter and confrontation of different religions in a spirit of mutual tolerance must go on', he said. This encounter he believed was in the purposes of God.

A particularly moving moment was when Heiler paid tribute to the Grand Rabbi of Luxembourg for his willingness to return to Germany from which he had had to flee many years before. The Grand Rabbi spoke on 'Judaism and the Unity of Religions' and explained that the idea of 'a chosen people', which was often misunderstood, was not inimical to the aims of the conference (4).

Bristol 1969.

The centre pages of World Faiths, No 77, contain pictures of the WCF Conference held in 1969 at Wills Hall, Bristol. The subject was 'Moral Standards Today'. Speakers included Ven. Boonchuay, a Buddhist monk, and Albert Polack, who for several years was Education Officer of the Council of Christians and Jews. The conference concluded with a memorable service at which the preacher was Lord Sorensen - some of whose sermon has already been quoted (5). The conference included a visit to the tomb of Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, the great Indian reformer and founder of the Brahmo Samaj, and also to the seventeenth century Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, at which Keshub Chander Sen, another leading Hindu reformer, had preached in the last century.

Looking back through past copies of the journal, one comes across a galaxy of well known speakers who have participated in WCF conferences. They have included Professor Ursula King, now of Bristol University, on 'Mysticism and Feminism', Dr Frank Lake, founder of Clinical Theology, at a conference on 'Wholeness and Healing', Professor Zaehner, former Spalding Professor at Oxford on the 'Dangers of Mysticism' and Dr Martin Israel, a well known author and mystic, on 'The Scientific View and the Mystical Vision'.

The subjects discussed are very varied. It is impossible to try to summarize all these conferences, although each one brings back vivid memories for me of people whom I have been privileged to meet. The most I can attempt is to give a glimpse of these gatherings and to look again at questions raised about the nature of dialogue, which are of continuing interest.

The Fortieth Anniversary Conference.

At the Fortieth Anniversary Conference held at Canterbury in 1976, speakers included Ven Thich Nhat Hahn, Professor Harbans Singh, Bishop George Appleton, Dr Ezra Spicehandler and The Lord Abbot Kosho Ohtani.

Two personal comments on the Canterbury conference are still significant. Pamela McCormack (Pamela Wylam). who had first attended a WCF conference in 1962, had the feeling 'that we have been here before, meeting old friends and repeating the same discussion', although she added that the circle had grown. Marian de Fossard (now Marian Tewksbury) was at a WCF conference for the first time. She wondered whether

The problem then, as Marian de Fossard said, is how do religions relate to politics.

The further question is to what extent is a religion an entity. As Ven Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, said,

At the 1989 conference, Dr Paul Williams, a Buddhist who is a lecturer at the University of Bristol, raised a similar question about who are the participants in dialogue. A religious tradition is moulded by its great teachers, but how can there be dialogue with the dead?

Dialogue is a meeting of people and the experience of such encounters is for many people the most vivid and lasting memory of a conference.

A Conference on Suffering.

This is why one of the most profound conferences was on 'Creative Responses to Suffering'(1979), at which the speakers were Professor Donald Nicholl, Ven Sumedho, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, Dr Frank Chandra and Fr Benedict Ramsden. Each spoke out of his personal experience and warned about the superficiality of much religious talk on the subject. 'Suffering', said Donald Nicholl 'is unique to each of us and has as many faces as there are human beings'. Fr Benedict Ramsden, an Orthodox priest, began by speaking of experiences of suffering in his own life.

Rabbi Hugo Gryn, after giving a clear summary of Jewish teaching, ended on a personal note.

50th Anniversary Conference.

If dialogue is mostly conducted by words, the way we use words in our religious life is important. At the 1978 York Conference, Professor Maurice Wiles, Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford and Dr Al Faruqi, Professor of Islamics at Temple University, Philadelphia, spoke on 'The Language of Faith'. In November 1986, a rather similar subject was discussed at the fiftieth anniversary conference, which was held at the Royal Veterinary College in London. The main speaker was Professor Wilfred Cantwell Smith, who is Professor Emeritus of the Comparative History of Religion at Harvard University. He argued that

In a challenging closing section of his talk, Wilfred Cantwell Smith asked whom we meant when in a religious community we use the term "we". 'The time has come', he said,'when it is a criterion of moral and spiritual maturity to mean, when saying "we" religiously, "we human beings"'. He expressed his unease with the word 'dialogue'. Certainly the idea that 'we Christians are speaking to you Sikhs is an advance on the we/they way of speaking'. Yet, religious diversity is a human matter that we confront together. "Colloquy", he suggested is a better word. 'We share a common planet and we are jointly in process of constructing a common future... The only common goal worth pursuing is one that appeals to us all; and one to the building of which the faith of each one of us can inspire our striving'. Responses on 'The Language of Dialogue' were made by Professor G S Mansukhani, Ven Dr M Vajiragnana, Professor Seshagiri Rao, Professor Keith Ward, Rabbi Dr Norman Solomon and Dr Zaki Badawi (9).

London 1989.

In 1989 the main speaker was Professor Hans Küng. His subject, which has since become well known through his book Global Responsibility, was 'No World Peace Without Peace Between Religions'. The conference itself, however, was based on his book Christianity and World Religions. Responses were made by two Buddhists, Dr Paul Williams and Ven Dr M Vajiragnana, by two Muslims, Dr Muhammad Mashuq Ibn Ally and Dr Yaqub Zaki, and by the Hindu scholar, Professor Seshagiri Rao (10).

The discussion again raised questions about the usefulness of dialogue, especially as one speaker at the conference said 'Interfaith dialogue is an exercise in futility'. One question was whether the Christian scholars on whom Küng had relied for information about other faiths were accurate. Can a member of one faith really understand another tradition? A second question was who speaks for a religion? Thirdly, 'is each religion making a permanent take-over bid for all the rest?' Fourthly, if that take-over is not your aim, will you be suspect to other members of your faith community? Does that therefore mean that it is only those willing to be self-critical about their own tradition who are willing to engage in dialogue? This is why helping members of a faith to redefine their attitude to other faiths is important and has been, as we shall see, the subject of several Younghusband lectures.

Changing Patterns.

In recent years the pattern of conferences has changed for various reasons. In the seventies, well-attended residential conferences were held in different parts of the country. In the eighties several large non-residential conferences were held in London with well known speakers. The size, however, and the fact that they were non-residential, meant that whilst the conferences were intellectually stimulating, they lacked the sense of fellowship of earlier gatherings. Large residential conferences present a number of problems. The first is the cost both of residence and of travel. Secondly, younger people especially find it difficult to get away, so that conferences may be arranged mainly for the benefit of the retired. Thirdly, in the last decade a great number of interfaith meetings have taken place. Often speakers of another faith are invited to events which in a previous generation would have been only for members of the faith which was arranging the event.

This has meant that recent WCF conferences have perhaps been more specialized, because there are now many opportunities for people to gain information about other faiths and to meet with members of those faiths. Local groups, however, are often maintained by the enthusiasm of two or three members. WCF conferences now are perhaps aimed more at providing nourishment for these enthusiasts, allowing those who have considerable experience in this field to pursue issues at a greater depth than may be possible in a local meeting. For example, WCF with the Religious Resource Centre at Derby University has arranged two conferences on 'The Care of the Dying in a Multifaith Society'. At Ammerdown, conferences have been held on Multifaith Worship and about the needs of members of mixed-faith marriages. WCF arranged, at Peterborough, a conference about the pastoral and spiritual needs of prisoners.

The Derby conferences brought together people from a variety of backgrounds. Some were clergy, imams or rabbis, others were doctors or nurses. There were social workers and volunteer helpers at hospices. The mixture of disciplines as well as of religions was stimulating. The conference soon moved beyond the important questions of ensuring respect for the religious practices of patients to look at the way that the spiritual strength of a believer of one faith could help a believer of another - be he or she a doctor or patient. The conference also heard about the training given to future clergy, rabbis and imams on ministry to the seriously ill.

Retreats.

Some of the small conferences have been retreats designed to encourage personal spiritual growth and appreciation of the inner meaning of religions. In 1972, a small number of people met together in the spring in the beautiful city of Durham to share together on the subject of meditation. In the early eighties, a similar emphasis characterised the St Alban's Congresses, led by Rev. Peter Dewey and arranged by the Interfaith Association.

Several retreat weekends have been held at the ecumenical centre at Ammerdown, near Bath, which was at that time run by the Sisters of Sion. Bernice Joachim wrote of the first such gathering, which was held in 1976, 'We practised meditation together, several times a day, in quiet waiting, focusing our restless minds on the kingdom within, gently bringing back our life and all its concerns to the Source' (11). For several years Bishop George Appleton and Swami Bhavyananda of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre were regular leaders of these weekends. Recently, Sandy Martin has arranged retreats at Wantage and at the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre at Bourne End.

Shahin Bekhradnian, a Zoroastrian and a member of the WCF Executive, described her feelings about the Wantage retreat.

Experiencing multi-faith Britain.

WCF has also arranged a number of weekends to give an opportunity for people to experience the multi-faith life of some cities, such as Birmingham (1983) or Wolverhampton (1989). Emphasis has been placed on visits to places of worship and on meeting members of different faith communities. Particularly valuable have been the invitations to stay in local homes, with the chance for friendship that this creates.

Those who attended the conference in 1983 at the Multifaith Centre in Birmingham, which was established by Sister Mary Hall, were given as a souvenir, a card which described a person of dialogue.

A Journey in Faith.

In 1990, an imaginative Interfaith Pilgrimage to Iona was arranged. This involved links with many local interfaith groups and stressed both fellowship and the shared spiritual search.

The journey began at the Coronarium at St Katherine's Dock, near Tower Hill, London, where the pilgrims were seen off by the actress Hayley Mills and by Keith Ward, Chair of WCF. The first night was spent in Derby. The next day, a second send-off was arranged at Derby Cathedral. The pilgrimage was full of surprises. In Huddersfield the pilgrims were invited to share in the celebration of a wedding at Shir Guru Sikh Temple. In Bradford, they were invited to a mosque for evening prayer. 'Afterwards, we were led to a basement room where large white cloths had been spread on the floor. Our hosts had prepared a vegetarian meal for us. They had never before prepared such a meal and asked, somewhat anxiously, if it was all right. It was, in fact, excellent but it was the thoughtfulness that lay behind it that moved us. Our hosts said that they felt that mutual trust had been established and added that they respected Christianity and wished that Islam was equally respected by people in this country'.

Crossing into Scotland, the goal was Iona. The group, on its way, stayed at the Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre at Eskdalemuir, in Glasgow and at the Scottish Churches House at Dunblane.

One pilgrim wrote a prayer, summing up what she had learned:

Tom Gulliver, whose idea it was to arrange the pilgrimage, wrote that perhaps 'the most important lesson of the pilgrimage is that we found in so many people a longing to meet each other, a hunger no longer to feel divided by race or culture or religion' (14).

The value of pilgrimage in interfaith work has been clearly shown by the annual London Multifaith Pilgrimage for Peace, which is arranged by Westminster Interfaith. Sarah Thorley ends her report of the tenth pilgrimage with these words,

Younghusband Lectures

In the nineteen seventies, at the suggestion of Bishop Appleton, an Annual Sir Francis Younghusband Memorial Lecture was inaugurated. The first lecture was given by K.D.D.Henderson who spoke about Sir Francis Younghusband.

In the eighties, there was a series of Younghusband Lectures, in which scholars of different faiths were asked to outline the attitude of their religion to other religions. Each lecturer affirmed the distinct identity of religions and his or her own particular commitment, but in a way which was not exclusive.

Professor Seshagiri Rao used his Younghusband Lecture in 1982 to expound the views of Mahatma Gandhi on the relation of religions. 'Gandhi's interreligious dialogue authentically represents the Indian attitude of respect for all religions', he said. 'The idea that "Truth is one: sages call it by different names" has been alive since the time of the Rgveda (the earliest Hindu scriptures)... To ignore any of the religions meant to ignore God's infinite richness and to impoverish human spirituality' (16). Similarly, in his 1988 Younghusband Lecture, Dr Karan Singh, a devoted worker for inter-religious understanding, after reviewing Hinduism's relationship to several particular religions, ended with a passage which beautifully expressed the Hindu vision of an underlying unity.

Dr Zaki Badawi, in his 1984 Younghusband Lecture, started with the assumption that each religion sees its beliefs as final. 'No religious community can allow itself to float in the empty space of uncertainty'. He outlined Islam's view of other religions and suggested that the initial classification of Hinduism as paganism was regrettable. He ended with these words:

Rabbi Dr Norman Solomon, in his 1985 Younghusband Lecture, suggested that the dialogue of faiths was a natural outgrowth of the mission of Judaism.

Dr Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the 1986 Younghusband Lecture given to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Congress, to which reference has already been made, expressed very well the hopes of WCF. Dialogue, he said, 'can help us to recognize that other faiths than our own are genuine mansions of the Spirit with many rooms to be discovered, rather than solitary fortresses to be attacked'. Whilst theology is talk about God, we must recognize

There does not seem to have been a Younghusband lecture which discussed this issue from a Buddhist point of view, but the Buddhist scholar Ven. Pandith M Vajiragnana in his response to Professor Hans Kung at the 1988 WCF Conference said, 'Buddhists are not looking for a convergence of religions'. Quoting the well known edict of the Buddhist Emperor Asoka, Ven Vajiragnana continued,

It may be seen that whilst all speakers affirm the importance of understanding and mutual respect, their view as to the relationship of religions may differ. To some the mystery of the Divine transcends all human language, for others it is shared ethical imperatives which are vital. These differences are reflected in the varying motivation of members of the congress. Indeed they stimulate the continuing debate about the relationship of religions to each other to which WCF has made a significant contribution.

In recent years the subjects have been more varied. Mr Indarjit Singh spoke on A Sikh Approach to World Peace. In 1993 the speaker was H E Dr L Singhvi, who is a Jain. In 1994, Dr John Taylor, a former Secretary General of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, spoke about efforts at reconciliation in former Yugoslavia. His lecture brought some strong reactions from those who thought that it was too even handed and did not show sufficient moral indignation about ethnic cleansing.

In 1995, the speaker was Patrick French, author of a recent biography of Younghusband, to which several references have already been made. He spoke about 'Younghusband's Religious Visions'.

The lectures have all been interesting and significant in themselves, but an added value is that a member of one faith speaks and reflects in the company of those who belong to another faith tradition. Hearing how people interpret and live out their faith today, helps us to overcome the barriers not only of ignorance and mistrust but of misunderstanding. The lectures show the need for us to draw on the wisdom of the great spiritual traditions as, in Cantwell Smith's words, we 'jointly construct a common future' (22).

For most of the period since 1966, I have been on the Executive Committee of WCF and for much of the time an officer, either as Hon. Secretary, Editor of the journal or Chairman. There have been many changes of personnel, but the story has been sadly repetitive and reminiscent of the British economy since the Second World War. The recurring problem has been lack of money. Some fresh initiative which has increased activity and interest has created too much work for the over-burdened secretariat. The inability to raise significant funds may reflect a lack of clarity about the purposes and identity of the Congress.

This chapter will tell the story of the organization up to 1996 – the Sixtieth Anniversary. There have been, over the past thirty years, many changes of officers and repeated attempts to redefine WCF's role in a changing world. In subsequent chapters, we shall consider the main activities of the Congress.

In July 1965, I was one of four people approached by Lord Sorensen to consider being put forward for the post of Hon. Secretary. Rev John Rowland had resigned because he was moving to Kent, although he continued as Hon. Treasurer. Soon afterwards Fr Lev Gillet indicated his wish to resign. At the AGM early in 1966, Rev Tom Dalton, a Unitarian minister in North London and I were elected Joint Hon Secretaries. I soon became responsible for planning the annual service and annual conference whilst Tom Dalton looked after the business concerns.

I was busy as a curate in Highgate and had a young family. They and Mary came to the conferences, but I had too little time and Tom Dalton was equally busy. After a short while, in 1967, Miss Olive Dearlove, a very faithful office secretary who travelled from Hove - another Unitarian - resigned. Her place was taken by Miss Kathleen Richards, who had already taken on organizing the London lecture programme. Miss Richards became Hon. Gen Secretary. She had enormous enthusiasm and wrote long friendly handwritten letters to anyone who showed any interest in WCF. She could write equally long irate letters when she disagreed with the officers or the Executive! Several members gave her voluntary help, especially Gladys Ludbrook, who was an active Unitarian and deeply committed member of WCF, and who was at every conference welcoming members, giving them their badges and telling them the number of their room.

Gradually Tom Dalton found himself able to give less and less time to WCF. He resigned in 1968. By this time, Rev Eirion Phillips, Minister of Essex Hall Unitarian Church in Notting Hill, had become Treasurer. Rev John Rowland, in his time as Treasurer, had patiently conducted the negotiations which led to the sale of Younghusband House and also the revision of the Constitution required by the Charity Commissioners.

In 1972, Lord Sorensen died. After a while, George Appleton who was at the time Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem agreed to become chairman. Dr Edward Carpenter, who was President, deputized until George Appleton retired from Jerusalem and was back in Britain. This was not until 1974. On his return, George Appleton gave considerable attention to WCF.

George Appleton, as we have seen, had been active in WCF in the late fifties and early sixties. Indeed throughout his life he was concerned for sympathetic understanding between the faiths of the world. An unusual and varied ministry brought him into contact with people of many faiths. He served his curacy in Stepney, where forty per cent of the parishioners were Jewish. Almost in the first week, his rector said to him, 'Tomorrow is the Day of Atonement. You had better attend the closing hour of it in the synagogue in Rectory Square. I will arrange it with my friend, the rabbi. Don't forget to wear a hat' (1). Two years later, in 1927, Appelton was on his way as a missionary to Burma, where he was to serve until after the Second World War. In the fifties, Appleton became a secretary of the Conference of British Missionary Societies. Then after working in the city of London, he became Archbishop of Perth in Western Australia and then Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, a position which involved extensive travelling throughout the Middle East.

George Appelton had high hopes for WCF, although lack of resources largely frustrated them. He believed that WCF had a unique role.

He hoped conferences could be held in different countries. He thought WCF should seek to co-operate with UNA, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches, the Temple of Understanding and other bodies. WCF needed to establish an inter-religious information bureau along the lines of Interreligio in the Netherlands. He suggested an award along the lines of the Nobel Peace Prize for the greatest contribution to inter-faith understanding (2).

In a sermon that he preached at my church in Frindsbury, Kent, he outlined why he felt the encounter of religions was so urgent. There was greater contact between people of different faiths; the non-Christian faiths had undergone a great revival, people everywhere were concerned about the condition of the world with its widespread war, want and hunger; the world-wide missionary activity of the Church had stimulated thinking on the most profound questions whilst the scientific outlook had led to a questioning of all religion. Archbishop Appleton then sketched a world history of the development of religions, leading to the encounter and dialogue of the present century. He suggested that Christians should look for signs of God's activity in all religions and believe that Jesus Christ is relevant to all, whilst expecting to learn more of God from others. The aim he said was

In another sermon, preached in Canterbury Cathedral during the Fortieth Anniversary Conference of WCF, Appleton suggested that 'each religion has a mission, a gospel, a central affirmation... good news not only for its own people but for all humanity'. He gave, hesitantly, some examples:

In an attempt to raise the public profile of WCF, George Appleton suggested that HH the Dalai Lama and Mr Yehudi Menuhin (later Lord Menuhin) should be invited to succeed Dr Radhakrishnan as Patrons of WCF. Both accepted the invitation.

Another suggestion Appleton made was that WCF should arrange a large meeting with major speakers. He agreed himself to fly back from Jerusalem to participate. An approach was made to Michael Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to enquire whether he would agree to speak. His letter declining the invitation reveals the suspicions of WCF that were widespread in the Anglican Church at that time.

'I cannot', Ramsey wrote, 'honestly see myself happily taking part in a function of this kind, especially when the World Congress of Faiths is the sponsoring body'. His first objection was that, although Christians should show reverence towards other faiths, he did not believe that "religion" was a banner under which all should unite as if it contained the essence of what is good versus "irreligion" as its opposite. 'Not all "religion" is good, and some of the religion under the Hindu banner seems to be very bad indeed'. He was willing to join in a human rights platform, but not a "religions" platform. His other objection was that he felt the 'World Congress of Faiths' ideology is being used by non-Christian religions in order to propagate their own belief in a "diffused" view of deity and revelation at the expense of the distinctive Christian belief in particularity'.

Dr Edward Carpenter, as President, wrote a detailed and careful reply. He rejected the view, held by some of WCF's critics that it was trying to create a new eclectic religion. 'Respect for mutual integrity is recognised as the condition of a worthwhile dialogue... For myself I am more fully seized of this very particularity since I have come to know more about other faiths'. Dr Carpenter asserted that WCF's aim was to encourage dialogue between 'main-stream' groups.

Carpenter then said the purpose of the proposed meeting was 'that at a time of division and fratricidal strife, the great faiths of the world, within their continuing witness in depth, ought to be able to contribute something to the healing of the world's ills'. He continued that it had never occurred to him that there was any suggestion that humanists and Marxists were not also concerned about human rights.

Edward Carpenter ended on a more personal note, saying that he had hoped that those who tried to implement WCF's stated policy had the Archbishop's support.

The Archbishop in his reply on November 17th, 1969, admitted that 'I think it was unfair of me to use the phrase "the Congress of Faiths ideology" and I was using words vaguely and inaccurately. I should perhaps have said "some of the things said from within the World Congress of Faiths"'. Dr Ramsey then reiterated his main objection about presenting a platform of "religion" as the way forward for humanity, 'as I am not really sure that it is' (5).

Despite this disappointment the meeting went ahead at the Central Hall, Westminster on December 11th, 1970. A good sized audience attended. The speakers were eminent, but perhaps not quite famous enough for the meeting to make the impact that had been hoped for. The speakers were Dr Baldoon Dhingra, a Hindu scholar on the staff of UNESCO, Ven Chao Khun Sobhane Dhammasudhi, head of the Buddhist Vipassana Centre in the UK, Dr Barnett Joseph, Director for Jewish-Christian Relations in the Chief Rabbi's office, Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, President of the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Mr Indarjit Singh, Editor of the Sikh Courier and Archbishop Appleton, Venerable Edward Carpenter and Lord Sorensen.

In an effort to make the organization of WCF more effective, Bishop Appleton introduced Rev Jack Austin, a Buddhist, as Development Officer. Jack Austin was seconded by the National Westminster Bank for two years. Kathleen Richards soon left. This meant that in effect Jack Austin took on the duties of secretary and had too little time for development work. For a time, Jack Austin had the help of Rita Wing as office secretary. Once again lack of finance hampered the hoped for expansion and no decisive action was taken on a report by Mrs Montgomery Campbell, a management consultant. Jack Austin worked hard to build up WCF as a centre of information. This required time to collect and collate information, as well as time to respond to enquiries - work now handled, far more effectively and with greater resources, by the Inter Faith Network for the UK. At the time, the WCF office did not have a computer.

At the end of his second year, Rev Jack Austin wrote an extensive report about his work, detailing the many chores he had to undertake. He emphasised that it was 'the quality and number of staff available which determines what is actually done'. It was only when Rita Wing joined the staff that he had time to do anything about development. He weeded out lapsed members, insisted that the subscription should be raised to £5 and started to enrol new members. Looking ahead, Jack Austin suggested the need for close co-operation between the various interfaith groups, with the journal World Faiths acting as a link. He felt the Congress should concentrate on its Annual Conference and Younghusband lecture and try to build up more local groups. Jack Austin drew attention to the lack of money. Although WCF balanced its books, the small income made real development impossible. WCF was not, he said, a world body and should call itself 'The Inter-Faith Fellowship', 'which is what it really is' (6).

When Jack Austin resigned, he was succeeded by Sister Teresa of the Anglican Community of St Andrew's. The arrangement was that she should work half-time for the Congress which would pay an honorarium to her community. An American, Sister Teresa was energetic and knowledgeable. Dressed in a habit, she rode a powerful motorbike. Increasingly her many other interests, especially her concern for the position of the diaconate in the church, left her with too little time. It was a serious loss for WCF when she resigned as Secretary in 1981.

For part of her time, I worked with her as Chairman. When Bishop Appleton resigned in 1978, he suggested that I should succeed him. I was at the time Rector of Swainswick and Langridge, near Bath. At thirty nine, I was the youngest person to have become chairman of WCF. I had a detailed knowledge of the working of the Congress, but lacked the public profile of previous chairmen. The feeling was that WCF needed someone who could give quite a lot of time to the Congress rather than a well known figure, with little time and no previous knowledge of WCF.

The Vice-chairman was Rabbi Hugo Gryn, of the West London Synagogue. Hugo Gryn, who was born in Czechoslovakia, spent his teenage years in a concentration camp. He has worked tirelessly through many organizations to combat racism and to promote interfaith understanding. He has been chairman of the Standing Conference on Inter Faith Dialogue in Education and, with Bishop Jim Thompson, was a first co-chair of the Inter Faith Network. I also worked closely with Brian Reep, who was the treasurer. Deeply committed to Sir Francis' vision, Brian Reep gave a lot of time to WCF and served on the executive for many years. He has also worked hard for interfaith co-operation in Surrey, where he lives. He had carefully thought out plans to put WCF's finances on a sound footing, but sadly his hopes were not fully realised.

During Sister Teresa's time as secretary, the office was moved to a 'ground floor' or basement office below the hall of All Saints Church, Notting Hill. At first the office was quite convenient. Sister Teresa's community was nearby. The Rector of All Saints, Rev Randolph Wise, who became Dean of Peterborough, was sympathetic to WCF and his wife Hazel worked part time as WCF's office secretary. The hall was available for WCF meetings. Many members, however, found the location difficult and in later years there was less rapport with the church authorities. Various time-consuming efforts to find another office all came to nothing, until the decision was made to move the office to Oxford in 1993.

Sister Teresa's and Hazel Wise's departure created considerable difficulties. Miss Margot Morse was appointed Secretary. A very capable person who had held an important administrative job, she found the lack of office facilities frustrating and also suffered from quite a lot of illness. By this time, I had taken up a position as Director of Training in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and was living in Wells. With the acquiescence of John Bickersteth, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, my part-time secretary Veronica Whitehead, in order to ensure that WCF's esential work continued, typed quite a lot of letters on WCF notepaper as well as on Diocesan notepaper!

After a time, Miss Morse felt unable to continue and, in 1983, Miss Patricia Morrison, a New Zealander, who had just retired as International Secretary of YWCA (The Young Women's Christian Association) became Secretary. She brought to WCF wide international experience and a deep interest in WCF's objectives. She represented WCF at a range of related activities, but it was difficult to combine this outreach with the administrative demands. Despite a variety of voluntary help, there was not the money to provide her with the proper secretarial assistance that she deserved. As a result, she had to do much of the routine office work which meant that she became very over-burdened. Once again financial constraints frustrated WCF's efforts to expand its work.

In 1983, soon after Patricia Morrison had taken over as Secretary, I felt it was time to hand on the Chairmanship. I had found ensuring that the office kept going wearying, especially as living in Wells in Somerset meant I was not as readily available to visit the office and to attend meetings in London as I would have wished. There was also a possibility that I might have taken up work in Israel, at the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur. In fact in 1984, I was invited to become Director of the Council of Christians and Jews, so it would have been inappropriate to have remained chairman of WCF.

A further difficulty had been suggestions from both the Unification Church to work with them in their interfaith work and from Michael Woodard to co-operate with the World Order for Cultural Exchange that he hoped to create. The discussions took up a lot of time, caused division within WCF because of suspicions about the credibility of both the Unification Church and of the World Order for Cultural Exchange, and were fruitless. Whilst the WCF has never agreed to joint sponsorship of events with the Unification Church, individual members have made their own decisions on whether or not to attend interfaith events sponsored by that Church. Although many of Michael Woodard's ideas were imaginative, The World Order for Cultural Exchange proved to be a 'one-man show' and did not survive Michael Woodard's death.

Lord Combermere, who was in charge of the religious studies programme of London University Extra-Mural Department agreed to become chairman. He brought to WCF his wide experience in adult education and ensured that WCF's programme of conferences and lectures was of a high academic standard. The link with the Extra-Mural Department of London University continued for some time after his retirement. His wife Jill was very supportive. Her father was R.G.Coulson, who, as we have seen, tried in the fifties to introduce interfaith contemplative prayer meetings into the life of WCF.

When Patricia Morrison felt it was time to retire and to return to New Zealand, Tom Gulliver, a member of the Friends who had worked for several years for TocH and who had long been active in WCF, agreed to take on the running of WCF, assisted for a time by Pauline Astor. This involved his travelling up from near Bournemouth, although he often stayed a night in London. He gave great attention to the future organization of WCF. The Trustees Association was wound up. The constitution was revised and preparations made for 'a change of gear'.

Professor Keith Ward, a very distinguished Anglican theologian, who was then professor at King's College, London and subsequently Regius Professor in the University of Oxford, had become chairman. It was agreed to appoint, in place of Tom Gulliver and at his suggestion, a part-time paid Director, Lesley Matthias and also in the office a part-time paid secretary, Helen Garton. This was to some extent a gamble as the payments would come out of reserves whilst fresh money was raised. It was felt that it was essential to increase the activities of WCF and to raise its profile if it was to attract money. Lesley Matthias, therefore, was asked to develop a forward looking programme. There were difficulties, however. One was the growing recession in Britain, which meant that donations to charities were being cut-back. It was a particularly difficult time to raise new money. Secondly, Lesley Matthias was living in Peterborough, where she worked part-time at the College of Higher Education. This made it difficult to co-ordinate her work with that of the office. Thirdly, it took time to plan a new approach and programme and not all existing members of WCF were enthusiastic about the changes. Sadly, new money did not become available in the amounts required. It was unrealistic to have hoped that Lesley Matthias might both develop a new programme and have time to do serious fund-raising. An experienced fund-raiser gave good advice, but there was no one to do the work.

Lesley Matthias, whose own previous experience of interfaith activity was mainly in a local interfaith group at Peterborough, was clear that WCF needed a new focus.

WCF should, she suggested, focus on the 'immediate issues which arise out of the practical outworkings of a maturing plural society'. Some of these issues she identified as the relationship between religion and politics, the pastoral and spiritual care of religious minority groups, for example in prisons, the responsibility of the media, difficulties of the individual believer in relation to a mixed marriage and the feasibility of common worship.

As Director, Lesley Matthias tried to move the WCF programme to address some of these matters. This has continued. A WCF working group prepared a resource book on Multi-Faith worship, a conference was held on mixed faith families and the religious identity of the children. The 1994 Younghusband lecture grappled with some of the passionate reactions to the suffering in former Yugoslavia. The practical relevance of an understanding of the world's religions to many aspects of current British life is being increasingly recognised and it is right for WCF to address this concern. A question not dealt with in Lesley Matthias' paper 'A Strategy for the Future' is how WCF's work relates to that of other bodies concerned for good inter-faith relations and tackling similar issues (7).

Financial problems denied Lesley Matthias the opportunity to implement her proposals. By 1992, it was clear that WCF was not in a position to guarantee the salary of a part-time director and a part-time secretary. Keith Ward by this time had moved to Oxford and wished to give up as Chairman, because of the even greater demands upon his time in his new position. He accepted an invitation to become Joint President with Dr Edward Carpenter. In 1992, I agreed to become chairperson for a second time. I had recently resigned as non-stipendiary vicar of Christ Church, Bath, so had a little more time. I was also much involved in the international plans for the 1993 Year of Inter-religious Understanding and Co-operation and wished to see an accompanying programme in Britain. David Potter, who had been Honorary Treasurer since 1987, agreed to combine with this the task of administrator and his wife Jean took on increasing responsibility for the programme, as well as for One Family. Both gave a great deal of time and devoted service to WCF. Mae Marven, Brenda Fischel, and Annette Marco and others gave an enormous amount of voluntary help in the office.

At the end of 1993, as part of the plans to establish an International Interfaith Centre in Oxford, the office was moved to Market Street Oxford, in a building shared with the International Association for Religious Freedom and the International Interfaith Centre. Mrs Diana Hanmer, who had been a part-time secretary to Bishop George Appleton, became part-time office secretary. Financial and administrative control remained with David Potter. With Jean Potter, I took on responsibility for much fo the programme.

With these changes has gone a change in WCF's self-understanding. The inability to sustain the expansion programme of the late eighties has meant that WCF now is largely dependent on voluntary labour. David Potter has overseen a slimming down of administration. WCF is also clearly a fellowship of individual members. This distinguishes it from The Inter Faith Network for the UK which is for organizations. Some of the work that WCF attempted to do in the seventies and early eighties is now much better done by the Network.

Is WCF still necessary? In my view, ‘yes.’ It is a fellowship of individuals committed to interfaith friendship. It has a freedom that a more official body like the Network does not have. This means that WCF can and should take a pioneering role and is able to articulate a point of view that might not be shared by the designated leadership of faith communities. For example, the WCF working group on Multi-Faith Worship is dealing with a controversial subject and one with which some faith communities are uneasy. The conference on the spiritual and pastoral care of the dying in a multi-faith society opened up a new area. WCF also offers those individuals who are engaged in interfaith work a chance to meet co-workers, to reflect together on their concerns and to be renewed in their endeavours. Probably in any local group there are three or four people who are really keen and maintain the local group's activities. WCF can offer them the stimulus and encouragement they need. This depends on WCF offering a programme of a high quality.

As interfaith activities increase, it becomes clearer that there are different motivations and agendas. Whilst WCF has always affirmed the integrity and distinctiveness of the world religions and has repudiated syncretism, it has also been conscious of the mystical tradition, voiced by Younghusband, which suggests a meeting in the spirit. The arrangement of retreat weekends where people of different faiths can explore each other's spiritual disciplines is an expression of this dimension. This again gives a special emphasis to WCF's activities.

Mid-life Crisis

'The World Congress of Faiths is suffering from an identity crisis', wrote Nikki Malet de Carteret in one of the many reports on future strategies for WCF. ‘Many’ may be an exaggeration. There are in fact three reports by consultants, but many more comments and papers by officers and staff. The first report was by Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell in 1973, the second by Nikki de Carteret in 1987 and the third by Pauline Astor in 1989. They all sprang from a desire that WCF should become a larger, professionally run organization, which meant that it would need to raise considerable amounts of money. It was assumed that no 'holy men' of any faith would know about money and that it was essential to have the advice of business consultants. The real problem has been that faith communities have not so far been willing to make significant resources available for interfaith work.

The previous section has told of the changes of personnel and the failure 'to change gear'. The reports are worth further consideration because they raise questions about different expectations of 'interfaith dialogue' and should be of interest to many people beyond WCF members.

I have to admit to being a little sceptical about consultants' reports! It has always seemed clear to me what WCF’s purpose is and that it is likely to remain a fairly small group of individuals who sense a spiritual unity that transcends religious differences. Re-reading the reports, however, I recognize that others had different expectations. I have also as a parish priest spent much of my life working with volunteers so am less confident that 'professionalization' (to use a consultant's term!) is a solution to all problems.

Nonetheless all the reports are carefully prepared and astute in their comments. They reflect the varied motivation of different members of the Congress, which in turn illuminate the different understandings of and approaches to interfaith work.

Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell makes much of the different objectives of the original (1936) constitution and those adopted in 1966.

The 1936 objectives were:

The 1966 objective was

As I recall, the 1966 objectives were adopted reluctantly because the Charity Commissioners indicated that promoting a spirit of fellowship, like contemplative prayer, was not in itself charitable. It was felt at the time that religious education - a term acceptable to the Charity Commissioners - would promote a spirit of fellowship. John Rowland's comments at the Extraordinary Meeting at which the constitutional amendments were approved and a subsequent note by Heather McConnell confirm my memory. Members who voted for the changes did not see them as marking any significant alteration in the purposes of WCF, but as necessary to retain the tax-advantages of being a charity. This is why some of those interviewed by Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell 'were obviously not aware of the limitations suggested by the amended objects'.

Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell rightly recognized that some members retained an international outlook, whilst others were content to focus on the British situation. This meant that, in her view, the name World Congress of Faiths was misleading. In fact, as she noted, by the seventies, when her report was written, Britain's concern for the Empire was decreasing, whilst Britain was itself becoming a multi-faith society.

What, she asked, was WCF's role:

Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell clearly thought the third option was the most relevant, especially as the Shap Working Party on World Religions in Education was taking on the second task (8).

Nikki de Carteret also felt that the 1936 objectives were inspired by 'the romanticism and idealism' of the Empire. It is interesting how such a concern has today again become widespread as we adjust to living in a global society. Hans Kung's phrase 'no world peace without peace between the religions' is widely quoted'. Nikki de Carteret recognized the different concerns of members. 'Is WCF's role to bring people of different religions together? Is it to inspire spiritual experience? Is it to educate? Or to foster academic study? Or is it all of these? Can the organization be all things to all men and women?' The lack of clarity about WCF's purpose, she argued, made it hard to project WCF to a wider audience.

Nikki de Carteret recognized that if WCF remained as it was it would only attract the liberals within religions and 'seekers'. She recognized the importance of interfaith dialogue to communities which are divided by fear and suspicion and acknowledged the important role in this of the then newly established Inter Faith Network of the UK. If WCF wished to grow significantly it would, in her view, need to become more popular and focus more on religious community relations (9).

The Carteret report again made clear the need for a full-time paid Director and the raising of the necessary funds for this. A Chairman's appeal for £50,000, however, met with an 'extremely disappointing' response and the appointment of a director was put 'on hold'.

The report by Pauline Astor was an attempt to move things forward. She noted three weaknesses: a 'muddled identity, a lack of enthusiastic committed support and a lack of funds'. She suggested three ways forward, either to remain as it was and to continue to decline, to seek a merger with a larger body or to create a team of workers and to appoint a paid director (10).

Efforts were made to set up a number of sub-groups, so as to involve more people in the work of WCF and to increase activity. Tom Gulliver, as Hon. Secretary, worked tirelessly to build the basis on which WCF could move forward or 'change gear'. In 1990, it was decided to go ahead and advertise for a part-time director and a part-time secretary. Some money had been raised but no source had been found to guarantee their salaries for at least three years. It was hoped that a new image and greater activity would generate fresh income. In fact, despite several meetings, no real fund raising campaign was undertaken and the recession meant that new money was extremely difficult to find. The position was not helped by the cancellation of the 1991 Annual Conference. Lesley Matthias took up her post as part-time Executive Director in the autumn of 1990, but by the autumn of 1992, WCF, having eaten into its reserves was no longer able to guarantee a salary. Lesley Matthias returned to her college teaching. The hope was that she would continue as programme Director on an honorary basis, but it soon became obvious that she did not have the time to do this.

WCF is now clear, as has been said, that it is an organization for individual members. The journal and newsletter are important endeavours. Conferences are organized, often with the Extra-Mural Department of London University. The aim is to explore in depth matters which other organizations might find it difficult to treat. Its influence will be in terms of the quality of its thinking. It will be listened to if it has anything significant to say.

My own view is that Younghusband's intention was that WCF should help people of different faiths to discover a mystical unity which transcended particular religious traditions. Such an awareness of human unity would inspire a concern for peace. Had the aim just been the study of religions there was no reason to establish WCF, as the Society for the Study of the Great Religions, in which Younghusband was active, already was in existence.

Younghusband's intention was quickly perceived by critics as 'syncretistic', although this was consistently denied by members of WCF. If syncretism means an attempt to create one world religion, this has never been WCF's aim. If the aim is that members of each religion should recognize a spiritual affinity with members of other religions this was Younghusband's intention. His efforts rested upon a mystical understanding of religious experience and religious truth.

Not all who are concerned for good interfaith relations share this approach. There is an important difference between those for whom the starting point is the conviction that there is a transcendent unity and those who stress the real differences, which require people to find a way of living together harmoniously. The latter view seems to have been emphasized by WCF in the late eighties and early nineties - partly to get away from WCF's 'syncretistic' image and partly to focus on the community relations dimension of living in a multifaith society. With this went a concern not to offend members of so-called 'main stream' religious groups by encouraging seekers or members of 'new religions' to take an active part in WCF. My own view is that genuine spiritual experience may well be found in newer groups as well as in more traditional communities. Several new groups, such as Brahma Kumaris, have a strong sense of the fellowship of faiths.

The hesitation to relate to new groups is shown in the correspondence and minutes of the late eighties. It reflects the deep suspicion that some WCF members harboured towards 'New Age' spirituality.

There was equal suspicion of new religions. This was shown in the sharp criticism of the London group when it arranged a series of talks by members of new groups such as Unificationists and Scientologists. Earlier, the WCF Executive had agreed that members of any group could join WCF, although the Executive retained the right to suspend the membership of anyone found to be using WCF meetings for proselytism or political activity - a power which has so far never been exercised.

These are issues which are still unresolved. Whilst WCF has not set boundaries on who should join and 'seekers' have always been welcome, its primary task is to build up fellowship between members of the world religions. This means that it is important to try to ensure a proper balance to the membership, which of course is difficult in an organization based on individual membership.

The proper balance between recognizing a spiritual affinity between religions and avoiding syncretism is also difficult, as the enormous amount of literature on this subject indicates. WCF has always been careful to avoid defining the relationship between religions. Its emphasis has been on building good relations between people who belong to different religions.

It is this that perhaps makes its purpose distinct from semi-official bodies such as the Inter Faith Network for the UK or the departments for 'other religions' of religious or denominational bodies and from university departments for the academic study of religions. WCF characteristically has been and still is a fellowship of spiritual pioneers. Together, as we shall see, they have explored many different aspects of the coming together of people of faith.

India gained its independence in 1947. An even more important date, however, in marking the end of British imperial ambition is Sir Anthony Eden's disastrous attempt to seize the Suez canal in 1956. By the late fifties, the Empire was being metamorphosed into the Commonwealth. On a visit to South Africa Harold Macmillan spoke of winds of change. Those who had served the Empire were growing older and this meant that the appeal of the World Congress of Faiths began to alter.

At the same time as Britain was adjusting to a new role in the world, so British society was changing. After the Second World war some Midland firms recruited labour in the Indian subcontinent. Immigrants also came from the West Indies. By the early sixties, restrictions were being imposed on the number of immigrants allowed into Britain. Nonetheless, Britain was starting to change into a multiracial and multireligious society, although the ethnic minorities are still concentrated in the major conurbations.

Slowly the media began to notice the change. In 1954, the Home Service of the BBC broadcast a series of talks about the religions of the world. Canon Charles Raven wrote an introductory article in the Radio Times. An article in The Christian in October 1957 referred to the presence in Britain of immigrants and students who belonged to other faiths. In 1959, Good Cookery had a series of articles about the religions of the world. The next year The Times, not to be out done, had an interesting article about Eastern religions establishing themselves in Britain. 'A remarkable array of oriental religions can be found - and found to be flourishing today - in Britain'. The article referred to The Woking Mosque, Shanti Sadan in Notting Hill Gate, to Swami Avyaktananda's Centre in Bath, to the Sikh Gurdwara in Shepherds Bush and to Zoroastrian House, which had recently been opened. 'Between them and the Jewish communities, the World Congress of Faiths has helped to maintain a deal of good will'(1).

Yet there was a general lack of interest in other faiths. In 1961, the BBC refused Lady Ravensdale's offer to endow a series of broadcast lectures about the great faiths. As late as 1 80, Clifford Longley, Religious Affairs Correspondent for The Times could say that 'the main denominations know far more about each other than they do about non-Christian religions, and tend to treat those outside any formal belief system as mere "tabula rasa" needing not understanding but conversion "from scratch"'. He noted Archbishop Runcie's wish to talk to and learn from people of other faiths as a new departure which 'for reasons of inherited prejudice, the Church of England and the Free Churches have shied away from' (2). This is why Dr Runcie's 1986 Younghusband Lecture was so important not only for what he said but for its symbolic significance, although admittedly the series of Lambeth Interfaith lectures was started under his predecessor, Dr Donald Coggan. It was only in 1977 that the British Council of Churches established its Committee for Relations with People of Other Faiths.

The widespread British indifference to the understanding of other religions, except amongst orientalists and some missionaries, may be illustrated by the situation at Cambridge University, when I was an undergraduate in the early sixties. Rev. Dr. A. C. Bouquet, who had a few years before published his Comparative Religion and his Sacred Books of the World, gave the only lectures on the subject. They were held in the May term, which was dominated by examinations, at 5.0 p.m. in the afternoon, when no one in the summer expected to be indoors. It was assumed that hardly anyone would come and the assumption was self-fulfilling. Before I went to Madras Christian College, Dr Bouquet invited me to tea and gave me much helpful advice about India. Dr Bouquet saw Christianity as fulfilling all that was best in other faiths. The frontispiece of his Sacred Books of the World has two quotations from Justin Martyr. It will suffice to quote one: 'We have shown that Christ is the Word (Logos) of whom the whole human race are partakers, and those who lived according to reason (logos) are Christians, even though accounted atheists'(3).

A letter from Dr A C Bouquet to Bishop Bell of Chichester, written in 1956, casts an interesting light on how WCF was perceived at the time. The suggestion had been made that the Cambridge Society for the Study of Religion should become in effect the Cambridge University branch of the World Congress of Faiths. Bouquet was concerned about this as in 1951 he had joined the WCF Council, but quickly felt himself compromised as an Anglican clergyman - evidence of the mood under Sir John Stewart Wallace's leadership. Bouquet had noticed, however, that Bishop Bell had taken part in the dedication of Younghusband House. Bell, in his reply, said that WCF had changed and referred Bouquet to Lord Samuel's statement, which is quoted below, on the occasion of the opening of Youghusband House.

Despite Dr Bouquet, Canon Raven, Dr W W Matthews and one or two more clergy, Christian thinking about other religions was still negative. It was dominated by the influence of Karl Barth and Hendrik Kraemer, who, as has been mentioned, stressed the discontinuity between the Gospel and the religions of the world.

By the early sixties a few church leaders were giving attention to the new situation. Max Warren, an experienced missionary, wrote 'The Christian Church has not yet seriously faced the theological problems of "co-existence" with other religions' (4). This was in the introduction to an influential series of books called 'The Christian Presence'. Contributors, including George Appleton and Kenneth Cragg, wrote in a sympathetic way about other religions.

In a sermon preached about this time for the World Congress of Faiths, at St Paul's Cathedral, Dean Matthews elaborated on his understanding of the work of WCF. He outlined five points.

Turning then to his position as a Christian, Matthews did not question the missionary command, but thought more was achieved by appreciation of others than denunciation. 'We come not to destroy, but to fulfil'. By this means, he said, 'we shall be led to a deeper apprehension of our own religion'. Others ask 'Is not your quest hopeless?' He agreed that profound differences between religions could not be overlooked. 'Any attempt to reconcile ideas of the Divine in Buddhism and Christianity appears to be hopeless'. Yet 'all the saints of all the religions agree that the Divine is not material and it is not unreasoning force or fate. They agree too, I would urge, in believing that we must seek for any suggestion of the nature of the Divine within the spirit of man'. There are agreements too in their view of man and on what makes for the true good of humankind.’(5).

Other Anglican clergy who became supporters of WCF at this time were Edward Carpenter, a Canon of Westminster Cathedral, who was to give increasing support to WCF and to become its President and George Appleton, later to be Archbishop in Jerusalem who was to become chairman of WCF. George Appleton, as Vicar of St Botolph's Church in the City of London, invited WCF to hold its 1958 Annual service there. This was, it appears, the first interfaith service to be held in an Anglican church.

Younghusband House

In later chapters, we shall look at the various activities of WCF, such as its publications and the conferences and lectures which it arranged. In this and the next chapter, we shall concentrate on the development of theorganization and the changing personalities who led it.

For WCF an important achievement was the purchase of Younghusband House. The house at 23 Norfolk Square, which is near Paddington Station, provided a spacious meeting room on the first floor, and offices for the Hon Secretary. On the ground floor there was an office for the housekeeper and for the office secretary and also a library and reading room. The cost of shelving and equipping the library was met by the Spalding Trust. The rest of the house consisted of furnished bed-sitting rooms and a furnished flat. The weekly charge for a single room, with breakfast, was £3.5s. 0d. The house was vested in the World Congress of Faiths Trustee Association Ltd, which has now been wound up. Its cost was £5,600, met by a loan from Lady Ravensdale. Members raised £1,700 towards the cost of furnishings and decoration.

The opening must have been an impressive occasion, with a talk by Lord Samuel and prayers offered by the Bishop of Chichester, by Rabbi Livingstone and by members of other faiths. The opening received fair coverage in the national press. Lord Samuel said it had been hoped that religious intolerance was fading, but, sadly, religious antagonisms had again become a principal feature in world affairs. There were, he said, some 2,500 million members of religions in the world. Was it not common sense, as well as a duty, for them all to dispute less and to co-operate more? He mentioned that WCF was hampered by persistent misunderstanding of its purpose. People seemed to think the aim was to amalgamate religions. 'That has never been the aim and it is not now'. 'The principle has been - I have my belief, you have yours - on that understanding let us work together to soften antagonisms, to organise co-operation; to bring the leaders of all faiths together in order to promote goodwill among their followers and so guide mankind along the ways of gentleness and the paths of peace'(6).

Unfortunately, the house was difficult to run and there were financial problems, accentuated by the discovery of dry rot. The first meeting that I attended at Younghusband House was in the gracious upstairs lecture room. The speaker was Professor Geoffrey Parrinder of King's College, London, who both by his teaching and writing, did much to encourage a scholarly interest in the world religions. By the time I next visited the house, WCF had retreated to the ground floor. In 1965, the house was sold to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington to be a nurses' hostel. The ground floor was leased to WCF. The front room became the meeting room, with the adjoining room as the office. The Spalding Room remained the library.

In 1967, after Miss Joan Dopping, who had been a conscientious and helpful Librarian, resigned, most of the books were given to the Selly Oak Colleges. Others have now found a home at Westminster College, as part of the recently established International Interfaith Centre there. I regretted this particularly, as I had made considerable use of the library in writing a thesis for the London Master of Philosophy degree - material which I used in my book Together to the Truth. When I became Executive Director of the Council of Christians and Jews in the eighties, it too had just disposed of its library. Increasing postal costs made lending libraries less useful: but there were several books, in the WCF library, published in India, which were not readily available anywhere else in Britain.

The eventual sale of the property made it possible to repay the loan and provided WCF with some capital. No one at the time knew how property prices were to soar in the seventies. WCF never seems to have been destined to be wealthy and there is much in most religions about renunciation and the way of poverty!

When WCF's lease ran out, there was a further retreat, to save money, into the Spalding room, until eventually costs forced WCF to move out of the house altogether - only the fanlight, painted with the bold letters 'YOUNGHUSBAND HOUSE' are a reminder of its former use (7).

Arthur Peacock.

The moving spirit during the fifties was the Rev Arthur Peacock. Following the resignation as chairman of Sir John Stewart Wallace, because of illness, Lady Ravensdale combined the position of Treasurer and Chairman. At the same time, Lord Samuel became President in place of Baron Palmstierna. It is clear that the main responsibility for running the Congress rested with Arthur Peacock who became the Hon Secretary in 1951.

As a young man, Arthur Peacock became editor of the Clarion and for fifteen years he was secretary of the National Trade Union Club. In 1937 be became a minister of the Universalist Church. This was quite a strong body in the USA, where the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. In Britain, the Universalist Church was always very small and gradually disappeared, with many of its members joining the Unitarian Church, as Peacock himself did. In 1951 he became a Unitarian minister. He did much to help build up the Social Service Department of the Unitarian Church.

He was an imaginative and energetic secretary. He was, as an ex-journalist, a fluent writer and wrote Fellowship Through Religions, which tells the history of the first twenty years of the Congress. His motto was a verse from Elizabeth Barrett-Browning:

Universalism - universe religion - the unity of all things,

Arthur Peacock left in 1959, 'under a cloud', but I have not been able to discover what the problem was. At Executive committee meetings in 1961 there were heated debates about whether Peacock should still be invited to review books for the journal.

His place as Secretary was taken by Fr Lev Gillet, an Orthodox priest, with an amazing range of knowledge, shown in his extensive book reviews for the Spalding Trust Newsletter.

An interesting memo survives of some suggestions that he made to the Executive Committee. He wanted university theological students to be made aware of and to use the library. He suggested a Year Book to serve two purposes:

He also proposed a World Council of Religion. This is particularly interesting in view of the establishment in the eighties, thanks partly to the efforts of WCF, of an International Interfaith Organizations Co-ordinating Committee. There was also talk about the need for a World Council of Religion. As we shall see when we look at WCF's international work, no such council has been established although the idea reappears from time to time. 'Implement this idea of Younghusband and Spalding', Lev Gillet wrote in his telegraphic style. 'The World Congress of Faiths cannot, of course, do this alone, but can provoke and stimulate. Try to form an initiative group or committee, not asking at the start Churches or Associations, etc, but well-known individuals - e.g. Buber, Suzuki, Kagawa, Vinobha Bhave, Radhakrishnan, Taha Hussein. Correspond with them actively. Find, with them, how to approach the "collectivities". This requires faith, intensity of feeling and will and firm decision not to drag on, but act quickly'. The first immediate steps, he suggested, were to consult with Dr Heiler and Canon Raven. Fr Lev Gillet also suggested that prayer or meditation meetings should be held at Younghusband House. (9).

For a while Heather McConnell was joint Hon Secretary with Fr Gillet, but in 1963 Rev John Rowland, a Unitarian Minister, combined this work with his position as treasurer. Another active worker for WCF at this time, especially in the North of England, was George Harrison, who was a great admirer of Younghusband. He was himself also of a mystical inclination.

In 1959, Lord Samuel resigned as President, because of age. His position was taken by Lady Ravensdale, who remained as President until her death on February 9th, 1966. She was succeeded by Dr Edward Carpenter, who at the time was Archdeacon of Westminster and who became Dean of Westminster. He had long been a supporter of the Congress and of a wide range of organizations concerned for peace and human rights. He and Lilian, both of whom have regularly attended WCF events, made the Deanery a home for all who were active in the interfaith movement. By their wisdom, wide contacts and personal charm they have made an incalculable contribution to the life of the Congress.

Reg Sorensen

In 1959 the Rev. Reginald Sorensen, M.P., who in 1964 was created a baron, became chairman and retained the office until his death in 1970. Born at Highbury, London in 1891, Sorensen entered Parliament in 1929, by winning the seat for Labour. He was defeated in 1931, but regained the seat in 1935 which he held to 1950. After boundary changes, he became MP for Leyton from 1950 to 1964, when he accepted a life peerage, in the hope of enabling Mr Gordon Walker, the Foreign Secretary, who had lost his own seat, to re-enter Parliament. In the event, in a sensational result, Gordon Walker was defeated by the Conservative candidate.

Reg Sorensen was a tireless worker for numerous causes. He was a convinced pacifist and was President of the International Friendship League and chairman of the National Peace Council. He was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and one of the first Britsh politicians to advocate Indian independence. In 1958, he received the freedom of Leyton. I remember at his memorial service in the town hall the innumerable organizations that were represented and paid tribute to his work for them.

He and his wife Muriel brought to the World Congress of Faiths, their wide concerns and contacts, their gift of friendship and their kindness to individuals of all races and conditions. He was a Unitarian and his interest was especially in seeking the common moral values contained in the teachings of the world religions. The emphasis shifted, therefore, away from the mystical.

Conscious of the obscurantist and reactionary character of so much religion, he had a love-hate relationship with organized religion. In his book, I Believe in Man, he criticized religions' opposition to new knowledge, to scientific advance and to social progress. In a letter to Heather McConnell he said 'I do not think the book is suitable for the WCF and would certainly not wish it to be displayed at WCF gatherings because it would be too challenging and provocative to many of our members'. He added a PS to his letter that he was sorry that Edward Carpenter had mentioned it at the Annual Service (10).

Sorensen disliked all intolerance and found orthodox Christianity too rigid and dogmatic. Yet he never doubted that the human spirit could commune with the divine and sought to commend a 'modern faith'. 'I affirm that we should not be seduced into thinking that the only reality is the tangible and the sensuous, but that reality is vaster and more permeative of our material environment than we can neatly tie up with intellectual string'(11).

With his belief in a divine spirit, went a deep and optimistic belief in the human spirit and in man's ability eventually to overcome evil and suffering in the world. He held that this belief was enshrined in all the great religious traditions and hoped that the Congress could help the religions emphasize the ethical values which they held in common. Impatient with doctrinal debate or theological dialogue - despite his questioning mind - again and again Reg Sorensen, in his addresses, came back to matters of ethical and moral concern.

He was well aware of the endless variations of moral patterns or 'mores', but held that there could be found in the world religions an essential moral content beyond transient communal codes.

Lord Sorensen was chairman when I became Joint Hon Secretary. He and his wife Muriel had a great gift of friendship. At an Annual Conference they would make a point of speaking to everyone. I have happy memories of their visit to our home in London and then in Kent, where he preached at a local interfaith service. He had a quizzical and enquiring mind and a great sense of fun, shown by his skill as a ventriloquist.

With his death, the dominant contribution that Unitarians had made to the leadership of WCF was to fade. Subsequent chairmen have all been members of the Church of England, although all would probably share Edward Carpenter's sentiment that they are grateful to the C of E, but glad to have spent a lot of their time outside it!

Younghusband concentrated all the work of WCF in his own hands, as Baron Palmstierna observed in the first circular to be sent our after Sir Francis' death. This was appropriate for a pioneer, Palmstierna added, but his successors would have to rely on team-work. Lord Samuel became Chairman of the Executive Committee, Baron Erik Palmstierna Chairman of the Action Committee and Lady Ravensdale took on responsibility as Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee.

Herbert Samuel, who was created a viscount in 1937, was one of the first Jewish members of the British cabinet. He was a member of Campbell-Bannerman's Liberal government. In 1916, for a few months, he was Home Secretary and again in 1931. From 1920-25, he was British High Commissioner for Palestine. After the Second World War, he became leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords. He wrote a number of books, including Philosophy and the Ordinary Man, The Tree of Good and Evil and Belief and Action. Herbert Samuel showed a consistent interest in WCF and was a man of wide contacts and sound judgment.

Baron Palmstierna had been for a short while Foreign Minister of Sweden and then from 1920-37 he was Swedish ambassador to Britain. When he retired from diplomatic service, he stayed on in Britain. He found a kindred spirit in Younghusband. He was an effusive and spontaneous man and a good extempore speaker. His books, Widening Horizons, Horizons of Immortality and The Innocence of God reflect his deep spiritual interests.

Lady Ravensdale was the daughter of Lord Curzon, who was the Viceroy of India who appointed Younghusband to lead the expedition to Tibet. She was well known for her love of music and for her social welfare work, especially in the East End of London. She was intimately involved in the foundation of WCF from 1936 onwards and continued to work for what she called a 'spiritual design for living in a greater universalism' . A devout Anglican, it was she who introduced W W Matthews, the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and Dr Edward Carpenter to WCF. She had a considerable knowledge of Eastern religions and wrote movingly of a pilgrimage to Benares. 'Hindu worship', wrote Heather McConnell of her after her death, 'struck her as a great irresistibly pulsing heartbeat offered to the Eternal Unkown. Visits to Ceylon and Burma, where in Rangoon barefoot she joined the pilgrims climbing the hundreds of steps up the Shwedagon Pagoda, added to her feeling that some part of her being was only completely fulfilled in the East' (1). She continued throughout her life to be a generous and loyal supporter of the Congress and made possible the purchase of Younghusband house.

Arthur Jackman was appointed Hon. Secretary. Five new members joined the Executive: Eileen Younghusband, Sir Francis' daughter, Sir John Stewart-Wallace, who was Chief Land Registrar for England and Wales from 1923-1944, Mr Paul Shuffrey, the Editor of the Guardian, Rev W W Simpson, at the time Secretary to the Christian Council for Refugees from Germany, who was soon to become Secretary of the Council of Christians and Jews and Rev J van Dorp, Rector of the Dutch Church in London. It is noticeable that the majority of members of the Executive were British and Christian. Steps were taken to register the movement as a legal entity.

Palmstierna wrote the first Circular letter of 1943. When this was replaced by the journal, Forum, he continued until his death to contribute a letter to each issue. In the first Circular letter, Palmstierna paid tribute to Sir Francis and insisted that the work must be carried on. 'Lasting peace and progressive order cannot be reached on earth until the spirit of fellowship quickens in human souls and mankind realises that all spring from the same source of Life and Love'. He indicated that it had been agreed to hold a big public meeting in May and that plans were in hand to continue the series of annual conferences (2).

Palmstierna's next letter tells of further activity. The Brotherhood Movement had become affiliated to WCF, a Library was being created, members' meetings were being held regularly and the Public Meeting had been fixed for June 4th 1943, with R.A.Butler, President of the Board of Education, as one of the speakers. An Annual Conference was to be held in London in September on 'The Religions and World Recovery'. The office had been moved to Parliament Mansions in Abbey Orchard Street.

A Public Meeting.

Because Caxton Hall had been requisitioned, the public meeting was held in Central Hall Westminster, where an attendance of 750 people, which would have been too many for Caxton Hall, looked rather lost. The Chair was taken by Lord Samuel, who outlined the action that had been taken since Younghusband's death. He also reiterated the purpose for which WCF existed. He again rejected the idea 'which prevails in some quarters that the object of WCF is to create some new combined religion'.

The main address was given by R.A Butler, who after some years as Under-Secretary in the India Office and the Foreign Office had become Minister of Education. Religious Education and worship in schools continues to be a subject of keen debate. In view of the influential 1944 Education Act, with its important sections on religious instruction and collective worship, Butler's talk is of particular interest. He suggested that despite significant differences between creeds, what is 'of transcendent value is common to us all - the fact of faith'. He quoted the poet:

He stressed the importance of faith in helping the United Nations to resist Nazism. The personal values of our civilization, he said, depended mainly upon the development of the spiritual life. His first point was 'that these spiritual values are emphasised in all the Faiths of the world and not only in Christianity'. Religious education had been a cause of much controversy. Complaints were made that the schools were godless. He was awaiting evidence from School Inspectors, but certainly felt arrangements were too haphazard. He went on:

The broad foundations of religious teaching were already present in the Agreed Syllabuses. 'These are not intended to be a form of State religion but are the beginnings of the teaching in what I may call the literacy of faith'. His hope was that in addition, for those who desired, there would be teaching on special faiths. He warned against the harmful effect of dissension amongst Church leaders on the subject (4).

The Dean of St Paul's, W.W.Matthews, made clear that he was a convinced Christian and that he rejected the idea of a pale abstraction from all religions. He stressed the importance of understanding others at their best and that members of one faith can learn from members of another faith.

1943 Conference

The next circular letter, written it would appear in the Spring of 1944, mentions the 1943 Conference, which was held at the Institut Français. It explains that plans for a Congress in Edinburgh had to be abandoned. Members' meetings were continuing, but clearly the strains of wartime conditions were making it difficult to maintain the momentum of the Congress. Ill health had led Lord Samuel to resign as chairman of the Executive and his place had been taken by Baron Palmstierna.

The Three Faith Declaration.

The most interesting activity at the time was WCF's efforts to canvass support for the Three Faith Declaration on World Peace. It is reminiscent of recent attempts, following the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions, to gain support for the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic.

On April 4th, 1943, Dr George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester, spoke in the Lords of 'the acceptance of an absolute law with a common ethos to be secured in the dealings of nations with each other' and 'of an association between the International Authority and representatives of the living religions of the world' (5). The Bishop was subsequently invited to submit his proposal to the Executive of WCF. In a letter dated April 17th, 1943, recognizing that the League of Nations lacked a supporting religious body, he wrote 'my idea was whether there could be some group officially recognized of representatives of all religions' - an idea which has resurfaced fifty years later with talk of a World Council of Faiths or a Religious UN.

The WCF Executive asked Dr Bell to set up a private committee to examine the proposal in detail and to report back. The Committee included, Lord Perth, late Secretary General of the League of Nations, Lord Samuel, Sir S Runganadhan, Indian High Commissioner, Baron Palmstierna and M Mo'een Al-Arab, Secretary of the Royal Egyptian Embassy in London. After several meetings it was unanimously agreed to ask WCF to circulate the Three-Faith Declaration on World Peace.

The American Three Faith Declaration had been issued in October 1943 over some 140 signatures of authoritative leaders of the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish communities. The Declaration proclaimed:

1. That the moral law must govern the world order.

In Britain, the statement gained the support of the Council of Christians and Jews. CCJ's Executive issued a statement affirming that 'there can be no permanent peace without a religious foundation'. All social righteousness had to rest on divine law. 'The re-establishment of moral law, of respect for the rights of the person, especially those of the poor, the weak and the backward, and of responsibility towards the whole community, must be the first charges on the energies of all right-thinking men and women' (6).

The Bishop of Chichester's committee invited WCF to make the Declaration and Statement known to religious leaders of the world and to enlist their support.

This was done through embassies, legations and rectors of foreign churches in London. By mid 1946, one thousand and fifty copies had been despatched. Several copies sent to European countries were returned by the censor. WCF kept Dr Lois Finkelstein of the Jewish Theological Seminary of the USA, who was one of the original signatories, informed of the response.

Pamphlet 27 of 1946, shows an interesting range of supporters, including the Sheikh of the Mosque at Mecca, as well as Muslim leaders from Iraq and Syria. The Dewan of Travancore affirmed his sympathy as did the Raja of Aundh. The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj published the document in full in its newsletter. The Archbishop of Sweden, after consultation with the Swedish Ecumenic Committee, expressed his whole-hearted agreement. To Palmstierna's bitter disappointment, however, there was little backing for the initiative from most Christian leaders. In any case, the Communist block prevented the United Nations from any public endorsement of religious principles. A reception was arranged for members of UN delegations during the first meeting of the Assembly in London in 1946 to tell them about the Declaration, but only a few people turned up.

WCF had done all it could, but religious leaders failed to build on this initiative. I hope that fifty years later the same will not be true of the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic.

1945-50.

Apart from work on the Three Faith Declaration, the next period shows no enormous sign of activity. There were a few members' meetings. Arthur Jackman had resigned - the minutes make clear that he and Palmstierna could not work together (7). An Hon Secretary pro tem was appointed, but this was not a success. 'For a few brief months the Chairman and Hon. Treasurer (Lady Ravensdale) were assisted by a "pro tem" Hon. Secretary - a renegade whose name had better not be mentioned, for there was more "pro tem" about him than any right to the title', said Baron Palmstierna in his Annual Report for 1945. To my disappointment, none of the minute books reveal the secretary's name and 'pro tem' has to become synonymous with anon (8).

By early 1946, Sir John Stewart Wallace had become Hon. Secretary. The Congress also had various office secretaries, sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time. By late 1945, a new secretary, Miss Iris Wade, who commuted from Brighton, had been appointed. Her salary was £250 per annum, plus the cost of a third-class season ticket from Brighton, which was then £10. I doubt whether you would now get a day ticket for that amount!

It is easy to underestimate the difficulties of life in Britain in the years immediately after the war, but the impression given by the various changes of staff is that no one of Arthur Jackman's experience and ability was available to take on the running of the organization and that this was the point at which WCF lost much of the momentum created by Younghusband.

The next circular letter I have come across is No.3, 1948, dated October. Minutes for the intervening years do not show much activity. At the Annual Meeting on 19 February 1948, the Executive Committee was forced to recommend that, because of lack of money and decreasing support, the Movement should go into 'cold storage' until such time as conditions improved. In the ensuing discussion, 'it was clear that the members were vigorously against the closing-down of the Movement and many pledged their support to help keep it going'(9).

It was left to the Executive to take appropriate action. For a time the office was closed and moved to the country under the directorship of the Colonel van Dorp. This proved to be a failure, even before Colonel van Dorp's death made other plans essential. Lady Ravensdale appealed to Sir John Stewart-Wallace to take over the re-organisation of the society and to re-open a London office. He agreed to do so. A restatement of the purposes of the Congress was produced. Heather McConnell started to edit a magazine called Forum, which replaced the Chairman's letter. A Youth Group was set up, again thanks to the energy of Heather McConnell. A series of meetings on Contemplative Meditation were arranged, led by Rev R G Coulson. His son-in-law, Viscount Combermere, was to become chairman of WCF in the eighties.

R.G.Coulson in his book I am explained the purpose of the contemplative meetings. Previously, in his view, WCF had confined itself to 'exercises in comparative religion which led to increased sympathy between the great institutions. But little actual co-operation followed, and certainly little real prospect emerged of a united search for the I AM, as the Lord of The All' (10). Agreeing to put aside dogmatic differences, some Christians, Hindus and Buddhists were prepared to come together for a joint experience in contemplative silence. A single meeting enabled them to reach a truly joint experience of The Supreme. Slowly they found that they agreed that 'The Supreme is the entire Reality composed of three essential aspects which are indissolubly interrelated'. The first aspect of the Supreme is the Nameless, the second aspect is the Infinite manifested as knowable and the third aspect is 'actually made known on this earth as incarnate in particular corporeal Selves' (11).

This experiment in the early fifties is of considerable interest. Sadly, there was quickly disagreement between Coulson and Stewart-Wallace, as surviving letters indicate. Coulson insisted that only committed members of a faith should be invited to these meditation meetings. Stewart-Wallace wanted 'seekers' to be invited and seems to have seen WCF as a new spiritual movement.

Sir John Stewart Wallace was critical of traditional orthodox religions. The high religion of the future, of which he wrote, would be for those who could no longer accept traditional doctrines. It would be universal in character. 'Only through a high religion, all-embracing and tolerant as the love of God, can mankind be linked in the bond of peace for which the whole world so piteously travaileth - and for which, without religion, the politicians travail in vain' (12). In an article in the Hibbert Journal, Sir John asked why 'any suggestion of synthesis in religion is anathema to the orthodox' ... The great cosmic process is confused with an attempt to make some superficial, eclectic religion...Behind and above all the World Faiths there is to-day, here and now, a transcendent oneness, a Fellowship of the Spirit, of which the world, breaking from the swaddling clothes of the institutional theologies, is becoming conscious... At the heart of the synthesis lies the ever-living spring of all religion ... the mystic vision' (13).

Under Stewart-Wallace's guidance, it is clear that the Congress had regained some of its lost vigour. The emphasis, however, had subtly changed. The new leaflet talked of two categories of members: those who were committed members of a faith and those who were 'seekers'. The latter were people interested in spiritual matters, but who were unable to accept the tenets of any particular faith and who did not belong to any particular faith community. Seekers have continued to be welcome members of WCF, but if they appear to be in the majority they may deter committed members of faith communities from joining, as they may be uneasy with what they feel is the unspoken assumption that all religions 'really say the same thing'. The introduction of sessions on contemplative meditation may have added spiritual depth, but may have reinforced the impression that the Congress was a private spiritual group. There was perhaps also more emphasis on the underlying unity of religions. Religion, in Object One, is 'interpreted in its wide and universal sense. A sense far transcending its particular expression in any one of the world's faiths and penetrating to that divine essence we believe to be common to them all' (14). Younghusband himself no doubt believed this, but was always more cautious about voicing this in public and the claim was certainly not so 'up front' in earlier leaflets. Any idea of a new amalgamated creed is rejected, but there is less about the differences between religions. This was at a time when the mood in the churches had become less sympathetic to other religions, under the impact of Hendrik Kraemer, a Protestant missionary theologian who in 1938 wrote a very influential book called The Christian Message in a Non-Christian World, which sharply distinguished between the religions and the Gospel.

A series of lectures at the Caxton Hall to coincide with the Festival of Britain on 'The Drama of Faith and Belief' was poorly attended. The lack of big public meetings lessened the emphasis on world concerns and may have further reinforced the feeling that WCF was in danger of becoming a spiritual coterie, despite the universalism of its message. Indeed in a circular, Baron Palmstierna said he thought the time for big congresses was over.

There were some continuing international links, but Younghusband's sense that WCF was an international movement had receded. Baron Palmstierna, in a newsletter, mentioned that he and Sir John had attended a conference in Paris arranged by The World Alliance for International Fellowship through Religion (USA). For a time WCF received some financial help from this body. A leaflet from this period describes a Conference in Paris arranged by French members of the Congress. The French Union des Croyants was quite active and had the support of Teilhard de Chardin. The Paris Conference was attended by representatives of the British, French, Dutch and Indian branches. It was agreed to set up an international central committee. It does not, however, seem that much came of this.

WCF had avoided 'going into cold storage'. The theological mood of the churches, however, was now unsympathetic to its aims. The Empire and British interest in it and its religions had waned. As yet, Britain had not in a significant sense begun to become a multiracial and multifaith society. The Cold War had dashed hopes of building a new moral world order. Nonetheless, a few people kept alive the original vision of the World Congress of Faiths for a time when its importance was again to be more widely recognized.

With the Congress drawing to its close, Younghusband wasted no time in thinking about the future. On the last day of the Congress, a meeting was held at Caxton Hall to consider what should happen next. The main suggestions were the formation of a Continuation Committee and the establishment of a Council. Within a week, the continuation committee was meeting, with Dr Radhakrishnan, Mr H N Spalding and Herbert Samuel amongst its members. Younghusband was at once elected chairman and Arthur Jackman Secretary.

The Chairman suggested that the next Congress might be in Oxford. He thought that many distinguished people from overseas would be in Britain for the Coronation. It was hoped the Congress would be held a week after the Coronation, which was planned for May 12th. It was not until December 12th, 1936 that George VI was officially proclaimed king, following the abdication of Edward VIII.

It was also agreed to send a letter to Weller and Das Gupta 'explaining that while recognising our debt to them in carrying on the idea of the World Fellowship of Faiths, we must ask them to leave us perfectly free to pursue the outcome of the Congress and its subsequent work in our own way and in accordance with British practice'.

The name World Congress of Faiths was approved for the time being. Quite a lot of time was spent discussing an, in the end, abortive scheme to show religious films followed by a short devotional service, conducted by members of different religions, in some cinemas on Sundays.

Attention was also given to publishing the proceedings of the 1936 Congress and to agreeing a constitution and a publicity leaflet. Discussions were also initiated with some University Extra-Mural Departments.

Early in 1937, Younghusband visted India to attend the centenary celebrations of the birth of Sri Ramakrishna, one of the outstanding Hindu saints of the nineteenth century, after whom The Ramakrishna Vedanta Society is named. His conference name badge survives amongst his papers. In the summer, the Oxford Congress was held at Balliol and Somerville Colleges on the theme 'The World's Need of Religion'. The fact that it was residential made for greater discussion and fellowship (1). The following year the Congress was held in Cambridge (2).

The records of each Congress are of interest, partly to see the names of participants and partly because of the content of the talks and discussions. There is obviously not space to summarize all the conferences and this would also become repetitive. It seems best to sample just a few congresses and conferences. It is worth mentioning that there was talk of arranging a congress in Travancore and also in Beirut, before the Committee settled on Paris. This indicates just how worldwide Younghusband hoped the WCF would become and he would have had the contacts to achieve this. World War was to thwart his hopes. The Paris Conference itself was held less than two months before the outbreak of the Second World War.

The Paris Conference.

The Paris Conference was held at the Sorbonne from July 3rd to the 11th, 1939. It had some support from the French government. The theme was 'How to promote the Spirit of World-Fellowship Through Religion'.

The Conference attracted some eminent scholars. The most substantial paper - and certainly the most lengthy - was from the Catholic scholar Louis Massignon, who was a student of St Thomas Aquinas, on whose writings classical Catholic thought has been based. Massignon began by observing that 'nothing in history goes to show that religious feeling or religious ideas have been particularly successful in pacifying men'. He stressed the need for people to be faithful to the light shown to them. He outlined the Catholic understanding of the relationship of religions. The doctrine that there is no salvation outside the church 'means that there is no salvation outside the truth - which explicitly or implicitly and gratuitously offers itself to all'. The truth speaks to every man's heart, wherever and whenever they may have lived. The fellowship WCF hoped to create was not at the level of intellectual agreement, but of love and friendship.

'In the first part', he eventually concluded, 'I emphasised the fundamental plurality of our respective points of view' but I have also spoken 'of a fellowship, based on friendship and leading to common action'(3).

Baron Palmstierna, in the chair, tried to clarify the nature and purpose of the World Congress of Faiths.

The Outbreak of War.

Even as war broke out, Younghusband and others were planning a Conference which they hoped to hold in the Hague in 1940 (5). War was soon to change the way WCF worked. At the 1939 Annual Meeting, it was admitted that perhaps WCF should close down during the war as it was hard to promote fellowship amongst people who were bombing each other. Younghusband insisted that the need for WCF would be greater than ever when the war was over. 'By 2036', he said, 'We may be holding our centenary celebrations in a Europe where war is unthinkable' (6).Throughout the war, a programme of meetings and conferences was maintained. Indeed in the autumn of 1939, a series of monthly meetings were held in the office, which was now at Abbey House in Victoria Street. One meeting even took place whilst an air raid was in progress (7). The difficulties of travel, however, led Younghusband to start a Chairman's letter to keep in touch with members.

Even war did not dent Younghusband's optimism. Indeed almost at the beginning of the first Chairman's Circular letter, he writes,

A New World Order.

The hope for a new world order was a recurrent theme. In the Chairman's letter No 3, referring to youth being disillusioned with religion, Younghusband stressed the need for Christians and non-Christians together to show the value of religion. A religious basis, Younghusband insisted, was essential for the new World Order. 'No reconstituted League of Nations', he had said earlier 'will be of the slightest avail unless it is inspired by an irresistible spiritual impulse' (9). In his Chairman's letter he refers to the efforts of Rudolf Otto, best known for his book The Idea of the Holy, to create an Inter-Religious League as a parallel to the League of Nations. Not knowing much about this, Younghusband invited Rabbi Salzberger, who had known Otto, to speak to the Members' Meeting in April. A subsequent letter refers to a book by Professor Norman Bentwich, called The Religious Foundation of Internationalism in which Bentwich expounded in detail the idea of a League of Religions (10). At a subsequent meeting, Bentwich said the idea had a long history. Leibnitz had propounded it and so had Rousseau. Incidentally Norman Bentwich maintained an interest in WCF, as did his brother, Joseph Bentwich, who settled in Israel. I met him there in the seventies and he introduced me to a small group concerned for inter-religious understanding, which produced a newsletter called Petahim.

Unable to meet in the Hague, the 1940 conference was held at Bedford College, London. Its theme was 'The Common Spiritual Basis for International Order'. Speakers included Lord Samuel, Bishop Bell of Chichester, Mr Yusuf Ali, and Chief Rabbi Dr Hertz. The latter expresed 'his deep conviction that without a common spiritual basis for International Order we shall all be labouring in vain'. Lord Zetland, a member of the government, presided at the inaugural meeting and stressed the need for 'a spirit of religious unity' (11).

The Church Times was not impressed. It 'suspected that the consequences of its (WCF's) labours are for the most part entirely mischievous... The results from such perverse efforts could only be to abolish the religion of God' (12). Younghusband responded that for most people to listen to inspiring thinkers from each religion led them 'to a greater concept of God and what he wills for the world' (13).

In Letter No 11, Younghusband came back to the idea of a New World Order, which was by then a subject of public discussion. He stressed that Christians should work with members of other faiths for this. He quoted from a Times leader that 'the fundamental precepts of Christianity are shared by millions in other lands and of other religions'. He also quoted words from the French philosopher Henri Bergson: 'God common to all mankind, the mere vision of Whom, could all men but attain it, would mean the immediate abolition of war' (14).

The subject of the 1941 Conference at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford was 'World Religions and World Order; the Interdependence of Religion and the Political, Economic, Social and Cultural aspects of the New World Order'. Younghusband was pleased with this Sixth Annual Conference and Lord Samuel commented on the improvement in the quality of the contributions and the discussion. Addresses were given by, amongst others, Canon Grensted, the Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford and by Dr Gilbert Murray. Participants were invited to a service at the University Church (15).

A smaller conference was also held in the spring of that year at Downe House, near Newbury. At this one of the speakers was Dr Maxwell Garnett, a former Secretary of the League of Nations. At the closing session, Younghusband drew attention to a recent pronouncement made by Christian leaders and suggested that a similar pronouncement should be made by leaders of all the great religions. He returned to this theme at the Annual Meeting on December 3rd, 1941 and appealed to the Indian sage Sri Aurobindo to give a lead. Reference was also made to a suggestion by Sir James Marchant that there should be an International and Inter-Religious Day of Prayer.

It was natural for the WCF to welcome The Atlantic Charter and, subsequently, the Three Faiths Declaration. The Atlantic Charter was issued by Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt in August 1941 - the USA had not at that point entered the war. It was subsequently incorporated by reference in the Declaration of the United Nations (as the Allied Powers called themselves) of January 1st, 1942. The Declaration affirmed that neither country sought territorial aggrandizement and described the just and peaceful world and settled economic order for which they hoped. The spring meeting for 1942, held at a much bomb-damaged Bedford College in London, was on 'The Atlantic Charter: its Spiritual Basis'. Younghusband suggested that the influence of mothers was probably more important than that of Popes and Archbishops. The devotional service at the conference was led by Oliver Mathews, a priest of the Christian Community, which is a small denomination founded in Germany in the nineteen twenties by some Lutheran priests, who were much influenced by Rudolf Steiner.

Birmingham 1942.

The summer conference was held at Birmingham on 'Religion Today: The Mutual Influence of East and West'. Some of the WCF officials thought it would be better to abandon plans for the conference. But when the office manager voiced this, Sir Francis reacted swiftly. 'Miss Anderson', he wrote, 'you, I know have the interests of the Congress most deeply at heart and I shall be ever grateful to you for the help you have given us for a long time past. But...' She was dismissed and Sir Francis, now in his late seventies, personally took on the day-to-day running of the office (16). Despite constant setbacks, he worked very hard to ensure the meeting's success. He and Lady Madeline Lees, whom he had first met in 1939 and with whom he formed an intimate friendship, stayed just outside the city with Dame Elizabeth Cadbury.

On July 17th Younghusband gave the opening address. He said that the need in the thirties had been for a Gladstone, with his passionate indignation, to denounce the Nazis. Sir Francis blamed himself for not creating WCF twelve years earlier. He came back to a theme that recurs in his later talks, namely the crucial role women should take in creating a more peaceful world. He insisted that when peace came there should be no vengeance, otherwise more conflict would follow in the future. Whilst repeating that WCF respected differences, he spoke of the need to stress the unity. This would make possible 'deep down genuine spiritual fellowship which would issue in the bliss divine of union with God, which is both the source and end of all religion, to which goal WCF presses forward' (17).

The attendance was thin, but the atmosphere he felt was more inspired than ever. Speakers included Rabbi Georg Salzberger, Canon Guy Rogers and Swami Avyaktananda, whom I was later to get to know when I lived in Bath.

It was on the fourth day, after listening to the last named speaker, that Younghusband complained of feeling rather tired and was taken by taxi back to Dame Elizabeth's house. The next day he travelled by train to London to say goodbye to his wife, Helen. Before leaving Helen's nursing home, he wrote in a shaky hand to his daughter Eileen. 'My dear Rogie, The Congress was a huge success. The University, the Lord Mayor and Canon Guy Rogers all played up like Billy oh, and Sir Francis Younghusband... was a bit played out at the end so Madeline is motoring him straight to Lytchett today and he is giving the Men of the Trees the go by. Your loving Daddie' (18).

Madeline managed to get him to her home in Dorset on July 21st. During the next few days, he slipped in and out of consciousness. Early in the morning of Friday July 31st 1942, Francis died calmly and peacefully, cradled in the arms of Lady Madeline Lees.

He was buried nearby. Tributes poured in from around the world. On August 10th, WCF arranged a memorial service for him at St Martin-in-the Fields. Speakers included many of his faithful allies: Bhikkhu Thittila, Sir Atul Chatterjee, Rabbi Dr Salzberger and Sir Hassan Suhrawardy. It was fitting that he who had done so much in his life to bring people of different faiths together in fellowship should also have united them in mourning for him.

Formal preparations for the World Congress of Faiths began on 16th November 1934 - exactly four years before I was born.

Younghusband had no illusions about the size and complexity of the task. 'Make the creation of a world fellowship a great adventure, a most difficult and heroic task requiring all the manliness, courage, skill, equanimity of any great military or exploring adventure', he jotted down in his notebook on Christmas day 1934 (1). This notebook, in which Younghusband wrote down ideas as they came to him and in which he planned out meetings, illuminates the more official records contained in the minutes of various committee meetings.

The minutes of the first meeting make clear the link with the World Fellowship of Faiths, which had arranged the Second World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1933. At the first meeting the short title 'International Congress of Faiths' was adopted. Subsequently it was suggested that this be changed (12.7.35) to World Congress of Faiths, with the subtitle 'Fellowship Through Religion'. After conversation with Mr Das Gupta, one of the organizers of the 1933 Chicago gathering, it was agreed that the title of the Congress be 'The World Congress of Faiths, being the Second International Congress of the World Fellowship of Faiths'.

The name 'World Congress of Faiths' has survived, - an alternative at the time was 'The All Faiths Fellowship'. It has sometimes been felt to be misleading and suggestions have been made to change it. Despite Younghusband's hopes, WCF is not really a world body, but rather a British-based organization, although readership of its journal, World Faiths Encounter, is scattered across the world. 'Congress of World Faiths' might be better. For a time the subtitle 'The Inter-Faith Fellowship' was given prominence on the notepaper. The use of initials, WCF, can hide precision of meaning. The name has survived, partly because it is known in various reference books and partly because human inertia has avoided the legal efforts necessary to change a name and a constitution. Not that anyone has come up with a more compelling name.

The first meeting of the Executive took steps to establish a National Council. It was also soon agreed that all who contributed £1 should be considered members of the Congress. It was also decided to establish an International Council.

The original plan was to have the first part of the Congress in London and then to move to Oxford, where the conference would become residential. In fact, it was to be a non-residential conference in London. By early 1935, it had been agreed that the Congress should be in July 1936.

At the meeting of the National Council on February 27th 1935, Younghusband explained that three main ideas were to be taken over from the Second Chicago World Parliament of Religions.

'1. Working for World Fellowship;

At the same meeting, Younghusband also explained the Executive's proposal that the subject should be 'World Fellowship Through Religion'. He also introduced a statement, which still has a contemporary resonance, of the hindrances and aids to the achievment of fellowship:

'Hindrances:

Aids to the Achievment of Fellowship:

The minutes for the meeting on April 4th, illustrate the varying reactions of the Anglican clergy to the proposal. The Chairman reported on an interview which he had had with the Archbishop of Canterbury and read the letter which he had received. This explained that the Archbishop was unable to accept an invitation to be President of the Congress. As the next item of business, however, Younghusband announced that the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral would be glad to welcome members of the Congress to a service there.

I have not been able to find the Archbishop's letter. The Lambeth Palace archives, however, contain correspondence from Buckingham Palace asking Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang's advice. The first letter asked how the Archbishop thought King Edward VIII should reply to Sir Francis Younghusband's request that he should preside at the opening session of the Congress. Lang in his reply to Commander Campbell said that he had told Younghusband that he personally could not take part in the Congress 'for the reason that this might be taken to imply that I thought Christianity was only one of many religions in spite of being as I believed the true religion based upon Divine Revelation'. Although, as the Archbishop admitted, some respectable Church of England clergy had given the Congress their sanction, he concluded that 'I am disposed to think His Royal Highness might well decline the invitation' (4).

In the middle of June, the Palace again asked for the Archbishop's advice. This time the question was whether The King should accept a telegram of loyal greetings and send a reply. Lang, this time, was more amenable. 'The Christian religion', he wrote, 'while having much in common with other great world religions, is unique in that it is based on a specific Divine revelation'. Nonetheless, those attending the Congress were people of 'the highest respectability'. Lang, therefore, thought that if the King was sent a telegram, there was 'no reason why His Majesty should not send a reply in a guarded form'. The message, preserved in the WCF archives, expresses thanks for the greetings of the Congress and continues, 'I earnestly hope that the deliberations of the Congress may help to strengthen the spirit of peace and good-will on which the well-being of mankind depends' (5).

The Lambeth archive also contains a pamphlet, World Fellowship Through Religion, written by Rev O Younghusband, a cousin of Sir Francis, which asks why no bishop of the Church of England attended the Congress. For Sir Francis too it remained a puzzle and a disappointment that so few leading members of the Church of England gave the Congress their backing. The only Anglicans on the Council in 1939 were the Deans of St Paul's and of Canterbury, Canon Raven, Dr Major and Archdeacon Townshend.

The office of the preparatory committee was established at Bedford Square, in the offices of the Society for the Study of Religions. Much of the detailed office work was done by Miss Beatrix Holmes, whom Younghusband described as 'the maid-of-all-work of the WCF'. Arthur Jackman was appointed as 'organising secretary', at a salary of £350 per annum. Jackman had close links with the Theosophical Society. In earlier days, Younghusband had been critical of Theosophy, which he described as a doctrine for 'neurotic and partially educated ladies'. Jackman was to play an important part in the life of WCF until the late forties. It seems that he and Younghusband did not always agree - indeed Younghusband wrote of himself being 'constantly hindered' by Jackman and the Executive Committee. Patrick French also observes that there was a split between idealists and the groupies: the leading public supporters like Gilbert Murray and Herbert Samuel had an inter-faith agenda, but many of the office volunteers were simply fans of Younghusband. Personally he was devoted to the aim of religious fellowship, yet craved the praise and support of his admirers. As he wrote to Helen, his wife, 'It is quite wonderful what appreciation I am getting - far better than any peerages and things' (6).

George Bernard Shaw's response to Younghusband’s request for support is worth recording. Shaw admitted that he 'had found in the East a quality of religion which is lacking in these islands', but he doubted the practicality of uniting 'men of burning faith'. He believed all potential members should be asked a number of questions, including: '1.On what public grounds would you shoot your next door neighbour, excluding those already recognised by our criminal court?' Shaw believed that talk of faith and love and unity was all very well, but that spiritual types were 'extraordinarily quarrelsome' 'Get them round a table to agree on a basic manifesto or spend half a crown of public money, and most of them will make frantic scenes and dash out of the room after hurling their resignations at you' (7). I recall Lady Norman saying after one WCF Executive meeting that if you want an unholy row join a religious committee!

The Congress.

The Congress was held at University College, London, from July 3rd to 18th, 1936. The Congress was not residential and this restricted the social intercourse between participants. Discussion was encouraged and was carried on in good humour. The chairmen and leaders of debate were carefully chosen.

Younghusband persuaded a galaxy of distinguished scholars to speak. It is interesting that the speakers, for the most part, were scholars rather than religious leaders.

The first speaker was Yusuf Ali, Principal of the Islamic College at Lahore and a translator of the Qur'an into English. He spoke of the revolution in communications which was making the world one, but he was equally aware of the deep divisions in the world. He then spoke of his own friendships with members of different religions. 'Thus you will see that, individually, many of us have actually felt and experienced the fellowship of faiths. Why can we not bring it about on a larger scale and in a more organised way? ... The office of Religion is to bind us together in the bonds of a common humanity' (7).

The second speaker was Dr D T Suzuki, whose master had attended the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions. Suzuki was Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at Otani University, Kyoto, and his books on Zen Buddhism were widely read in the West. His was a scholarly talk about ignorance and karma, with a careful explanation of the meaning of Sunyata or 'Emptiness'. His closing remarks, in the face of the rise of Fascism in many parts of the world, including his own country, were almost despairing. 'If it is impossible for us, advocating the various faiths of the world, to stem the tide even when we know where it is finally tending, the only thing we can do is to preserve a little corner somewhere on earth, east or west, where our faiths can be safely guarded from utter destruction. When all the turmoils are over ... we may begin to think seriously of the folly we have so senselessly been given up to, and seek the little corner we have saved for this purpose'. 'That at present no nations are willing to have a world religious conference', he added, 'positively demonstrates the truth that our Karma-hindrance still weighs on us too heavily (8).'

Another Buddhist, Professor Malalasekera, from Ceylon, outlined the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths. He suggested that the promotion of fellowship depended on our own personal growth.

Professor Nicolas Berdiaeff, (as his name is spelt in the Proceedings although Nicolai Berdyaev may be the more familar spelling) an eminent philosopher, echoed Suzuki's sense of impending doom. Berdiaeff had suffered several terms of imprisonment after the Russian Revolution and was exiled from Russia in 1922. 'We live in a cruel, inhuman epoch, when hatred and dissension are rife among nations, states and social classes', he began. Religion had itself been a major cause of discord and dissension. 'Religious fanaticism is one of the most serious deformations of human nature.' In such a divided world, the spiritual integration of Europe and the world was essential. He then argued from Christian sources for co-operation with members of other religions. 'Certain Catholic theologians', he said, 'make a distinction between the soul and the body of the Church; they consider as the body those who formally belong to the organisation of the Church... and they include in the soul those who, without being members of the Church, direct their thoughts towards God and the divine, towards truth and goodness.' Good Hindus and Buddhists belong to the true Church (9). A view which foreshadows both the generosity and condescension of talk of 'anonymous Christians'.

Stressing Christianity's commitment to a true humanism, Berdiaeff called on the Christian conscience to demand a radical change in the relations between the peoples of the world. In face of hostility and hatred in the world, 'it is the duty of the religions to struggle for the brotherhood of man, for the unity of mankind' and 'for the dignity of all human beings as children of God' . Such unity, he suggested, will not come by intellectual nor doctrinal agreement, but out of real spiritual experience of brotherhood and charity.

The two best known Hindu speakers were Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Dr S N Das Gupta, author of a History of Indian Philosophy. Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was about to take up the Spalding Chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at Oxford and was to be a future President of India. Dr Radhakrishnan studied for a time at Madras Christian College.When I went there as a student, my professor, Dr C T K Chari, arranged with his brother Mr C T Venugopal for me to be received by Dr Radhakrishnan, who was then President of India, at Raj Bhavan. I still recall the President's graciousness and that he walked with us to the door. Later, I was to invite him to become Patron of the World Congress of Faiths, which he accepted. In the early days of WCF, he served on the committee. Radhakrishnan did much to popularize Vedanta in the West and wrote with great elegance. It took Western students some time to realize the enormous variety of Hinduism and to discover that not all Hindus shared Radhakrishnan's Idealist philosphy.

Radhakrishnan had a great sense of the need for spiritual unity to match the growing physical unity of the world. 'Those who believe in humanity and in the power of the spirit to realise ideals must prepare the minds of men for the new world order'. Religions, however, had failed, being often a cause of division rather than a force for unity. The mistake had been to claim finality for certain creeds and doctrines. Spiritual experience goes beyond human descriptions of it. 'When the finite man enters the Divine presence, he discards all images and enters naked, Alone with the Alone... The Supreme ... is grasped as the central reality in the moments of our deepest life and experience'. This view has been widely influential amongst members of WCF, especially in its early days. The claim is that religious differences are at a cultural and intellectual level, whereas the experience of the divine is essentially the same. In this way Absolutist and Personal concepts of the Ultimate are reconciled. Yet, Radhakrishnan argued, human beings cannot dispense with symbols and create a purely spiritual religion (11).

The Congress, he said, did not ask anyone to change their religion. Each had a contribution to make. What was needed was spiritual evolution and a recognition of spiritual unity.

As a student at Madras Christian College, in my attempt to study Hindu philosophy, I relied on both Dr Radhakrishnan's writings and also Professor S N Das Gupta's History of Indian Philosophy. I also had the privilege in Lucknow of meeting some of those who had worked closely with Das Gupta. I have on my shelves a little book of his on The Fundamentals of Indian Art. I was interested then to find he began by talking about art and its relationship to religion. Both point to the spiritual reality of human nature. Art, Das Gupta said, encourages sympathy with other people and with nature, just as religion should. World Fellowship Through Religion would come, he argued, by spiritual awakening.

Another Hindu speaker at the Congress was Professor Mahendra Nath Sircar of Calcutta. He stressed the value of silence in the spiritual life. Other speakers at the Congress included G Ranjee Shahani, Walter Johannes Stein, Editor of 'The Present Age', and the novelist Jean Schlumberger. Professor Marcault of the University of Grenoble stressed the importance of education. A paper by Professor Haldane, written shortly before his death, on ‘Science and Religion,’ was also read.

One of the Jewish speakers Professor J.L.Magnes, President of the Hebrew University, asked whether it was possible to make fellowship in times of war. ‘What could we do during the coming war?’ He questioned religions' readiness to endorse war and called for a fellowship of those who believe no war is righteous, even though they participate in what they think to be a necessary war. 'I regret that in what I have said there is no high note of hope, but only the prospect of dull resistance. In a spirit of deep pessimism I have merely talked of preparing a lowly fellowship of the spirit for use during the coming war' (13).

Shoghi Effendi, the Head of the Baha'is, sent a paper that was read for him. This outlined Baha'u'llah's Ground Plan of World Fellowship. Baha'u'llah taught that religions at heart are one. He recognized that all religious teachers were prophets of God. It was through religion, Shoghi Effendi argued, that humanity will be rescued from dissension and united in a fellowship of hearts.

Islam's emphasis on tolerance and respect for other faiths was described in a careful exposition by Sir Abdul Qadir, a High Court Judge and a Member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India. Islam, he pointed out, means 'Peace'. He tried to dispel misunderstandings of Jihad, which is often translated 'Holy War'. Another Muslim was Sheikh Mohammed Mustapha Al-Maraghi, Rector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo and Ex-Grand Cadi of the Sudan. He stressed that fellowship among men of religion has to precede universal fellowship. He suggested creating a body to cleanse religious consciousness of hatred and jealousy and to strengthen religious awareness, especially amongst the intellectual classes. Professor Louis Massignon, a scholar on Islam from the Sorbonne, also read a paper. Another speaker was Sirdar Mohan Singh, from the Punjab. Mr S I Hsiung gave a talk on the teachings of Confucius.

Christian speakers were Dr J.S Whale, President of Cheshunt College, Cambridge and Rev P.T.R.Kirk, who was Director of the Industrial Christian Fellowship.Whale spoke about aspects of modern life and its challenge to religion - with, in parenthesis, a side swipe at syncretism. Kirk concentrated on the economic barriers to peace.

Many of the published papers are of a high quality. Of greatest interest, perhaps, is the different attitudes which they display towards the relationship of religions to each other. On the one hand, Rev P T R Kirk claimed that Christianity must be accepted by the whole of mankind and Mr Moulvri A R Dard made a similar claim for the Ahmadiyya community. By contrast, the paper prepared by Professor Haldane included this passage:

Several speakers, such as the Chief Rabbi and Canon Barry, stressed the differences between religions, whereas Ranjee G Shani said the differences were trivial. 'Jesus and Buddha, Shakespeare and Ramakrishna - are in essence "members one of another"'(15).

In general it was agreed that the aim of the Congress was not to create one new synthetic religion, but to generate understanding and a sense of unity between the religions of the world. Rabbi Dr. Israel Mattuck, Chairman of the Executive of the World Union for Progessive Judaism, put it like this:

Several speakers hoped that the world religions could together work for peace and spiritual uplift. Professor Marcault, a French Professor of Psychology, highlighted the important question of what in practice religions can actually do together. It is not easy to find areas of practical cooperation in which to give concrete expression to the desire to work together. 'Peace and fellowship', he said, 'can only be constructive if they are incarnated in some positive religious aim in whose realization all faiths can agree to cooperate, and whose universality maintains them united'(17).

In his foreword to the published papers, Faiths and Fellowship, Sir Francis Younghusband stressed again that the one aim of the Congress was to promote the spirit of fellowship. He ruled out certain misunderstandings. There was no intention of formulating another eclectic religion, nor of seeking the lowest common denominator, nor of appraising the value of existing religions and discussing respective merits and defects. It was not maintained that all religions are the same, nor equally true, nor as good as one another. The hope was to 'intensify that sense of community which is latent in all men' and to awaken a livelier world-consciousness. Sir Francis mentioned that through discussion and reflection, the conception of God grew greater and that by coming closer to each other, members of different religions deepened their own spiritual communion.

The chair was taken by distinguished scholars, such as Sir E Denison Ross and Professor H G Wood or leading figures, such as the Chief Rabbi, the Aga Khan, Dr C E M Joad and Lord Samuel. Two women were asked to chair sessions: Dame Elizabeth Cadbury and Dame Ogilvie Gordon.

In the evenings there were public meetings. There were also devotional times, led by members of different faiths. These included a Jewish service, led by Rabbi Leslie Edgar, and a Coptic service. Members of the Congress were also invited to services at St Paul's Cathedral and at Canterbury Cathedral. The Government provided a reception at Lancaster House and Sir Francis Younghusband hosted one at the Royal Geographical Society.

Press coverage was mixed. Some letters about the Congress were very hostile, with talk of heathen temples and idols. The Inquirer and The Jewish Bulletin gave active support.

In estimating the value of the Congress, the question has to be asked, as it has to be of the subsequent life of the World Congress of Faiths, whether, however worthy, the aims are sufficiently precise. The question of the relation to each other of the world religions is still much debated. The position of the Congress ruled out the view that any one religion had a monopoly of truth. It assumed that despite differences, the world religions have an affinity, and share a recognition of spiritual reality and of ethical values. It is hardly surprising that many adherents of missionary religions opposed the Congress. On the other hand, the Congress ruled out the attempt to create a new synthetic religion. It insisted that differences are important and must be respected. It was therefore criticized both by those who advocated a new unified religion and by those who held that differences are only external and irrelevant.

Is, then, the promotion of a spirit of fellowship and world loyalty a sufficient aim to engender enthusiasm? Clearly it has been for some, but the number of people, even including religious leaders, with a world consciousness and interest, has been small.

How fellowship is understood may vary considerably. It should imply learning to appreciate others whose values and ways of life are different. In a world of prejudice, this is important, but somewhat negative. Fellowship may be concerned with the discovery of areas of ethical agreement and perhaps with taking common action on certain moral issues.

At its deepest level, the search for fellowship becomes a search for truth and flows from communion with the divine. Here it is assumed that the truth is greater than the understanding of any individual or of any one religion and that by sharing together with members of other faiths, each individual will be deepened in his knowledge of truth and usually in his appreciation of his own religious tradition. It seems that Sir Francis Younghusband saw the development of all these aspects of fellowship as part of the work of the Congress, although he was aware of the difficulty of conveying exactly what he meant by fellowship. He perhaps came nearest to expressing his understanding in a talk given soon after the outbreak of war.

'I can see Younghusband before me now, as he was at the early Congresses - always the central figure, mobile in body and mind, vibrating with energy, a perpetual stimulus', said Lord Samuel in a broadcast he gave quite soon after Younghusband's death. There is no question that Younghusband was the moving spirit of the Congress. The WCF was his 'ultimate mission. To it he devoted the remaining years of his life. He travelled about; he lectured, he enlisted much individual support among leaders of opinion in many parts of the world' - to quote Lord Samuel again (1).

Sir John Squire, writing in The Ilustrated London News in 1953, gave a vivid picture of how Younghusband appeared in his later years.

His daughter Eileen gives a rather different picture and spoke of his ability to enter into her childish enthusiasms. 'I know that when he and I were walking in mountainous country when I was a child, every plea of mine just to see what was round the next corner met with an enthusiastic response from a fellow conspirator, who also felt that what was round the next corner was far more important than that lunch was getting cold'. This sense of fun shows in many of his letters to his daughter, his 'Rogie' (a diminuitive of 'little rogue'), his 'Rog Pog', 'Little Scampie' or 'Baby' (3). His love of nature, she recalled, was not only for the great mountains but for the detailed beauty of a butterfly. '"Where's your father? Breakfast's ready": "Oh he's down the garden looking at the butterflies on the buddleia bush"'.

Dame Eileen, in a talk to WCF on November 16th, 1965, paid a beautiful tribute to her father:

Eileen ended her talk by saying, 'Whom the Gods love are young when they die. He was indeed young and full of happiness and confidence' (4). To look through the minutes of both the preparatory committee and of the early years of the WCF Executive is to see Younghusband's full involvment, attention to detail and youthful vigour, although he was well over seventy before the World Congress of Faiths was established.

In a broadcast, a couple of weeks before the Congress opened, Younghusband explained how he became involved.

Elsewhere he wrote,

Because of his experiences, Younghusband wanted to break down the barriers that usually exist between people. Indeed he said that the way in which everyone worked together during the blitz was creating just that sense of camaraderie at which WCF was aiming (7).

In his address at the inaugural meeting of the WCF Paris Conference, he spoke of what happened when he was run over by a car in Belgium.

In the same address he went on to speak of people of unusual sensitivity who in some crisis of their lives become still more acutely conscious of the oneness of all being.

The experience he said was one both of unity and of joy, the two being inseparable (8).

To those who knew Younghusband, it would have been obvious that he was speaking of his own experience, but he seems to have been careful to avoid mentioning this too publicly. In a private letter to Miss Mary Clark of Tunbridge Wells, dated 31.5.1938, he speaks of the spiritual experience which inspired him. He begins:

The experience, to which he refers, he describes in one of his books, Vital Religion.

Elsewhere he mentioned other mystical experiences. The second experience was in 1905 after he had attended a Welsh Revival meeting. 'I felt', he said, 'as if I were in love with every man and woman in the world'. Some twenty years later, as he described in his book A Venture of Faith, he again sensed the power of the Spirit. It was a 'feeling of great thankfulness. I kept muttering to myself. I thank Thee, O God, I thank Thee' (11).

It was such mystical experiences that were to be one of the spiritual roots from which the World Congress of Faiths was to grow. In some private notes, Younghusband admitted 'I was too slow and hesitant in my middle life in developing my religious concern' (12).

Younghgusband's life

Because the WCF both in its origins and throughout its history has been inspired by Younghusband's vision, some outline of his life is in place. This has been told in a worthy biography by Francis Seaver and more recently in a very carefully researched and elegantly written biography by Patrick French. Both cover the many aspects of Younghusband's life.

It was perhaps fitting that Francis was born at Murree, a hill station on the North-West frontier of India. Indeed, V Ganapathi Sastri, a devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi, who told the Maharshi about the World Congress of Faiths, wrote to Younghusband that 'there is no doubt that in one of your previous incarnations in this planet of ours, you were an Indian' (13).

Francis' father John Younghusband was in the Indian army. He taught his son to show respect to people of all races and religions (14). His mother was Clara Jane Shaw, who was the sister of Robert Shaw, an explorer of Central Asia. In an interview, Younghusband spoke of his uncle's influence on him as a teenager in making him want to be an explorer (15).

Francis, John and Clara Younghusband's second son, was born on May 31st, 1863. At the age of seven months, he was taken home to Britain to Bath by his mother, who wished to care for her dying mother. After the grandmother's death, the parents returned to India, whilst Francis, now four and a half, was sent to live with his father's two unmarried sisters at Freshford. They were austere and strictly religious. Any hint of moral laxity was beaten out of him. 'They were of the sternest stuff, dressed in poke bonnets and living in the greatest simplicity. Strict teetotallers waging a war against drunkenness and teaching in the Sunday school', wrote Francis years later.

Three years later, Francis' parents returned. The reunited family moved back to Bath but the strict religious regime continued. One day Francis was found stealing a coin from a servant's purse. The punishment stressed his irredeemable wickedness and convinced him that he had betrayed his family and God. 'I lost my childhood's happiness, and became serious. Indeed I doubt if I ever completely recovered it till my old age' (16).

In 1873, when he was ten, he travelled out to India with his parents. Three years later he returned to Britain to start at Clifton College, Bristol. There he was expected to conform to the rather conventional public school version of Christianity. Yet already at his confirmation he was thinking for himself. He had some doubts about the virgin birth and the physical resurrection and ascension of Jesus. During this time, he paid a visit to the Alps, which he said, 'did far more for me than all the sermons I had ever heard' (17). He was troubled by feelings that he was guilty of terrible sins - probably only masturbation. He was good at games, especially cross-country running, but too withdrawn to be popular. Clifton had a proud record of training those who would run the Empire and Francis was fitted to the mould. Henry Newbolt was a contemporary and he and Francis remained friends for life.

In 1881 he entered Sandhurst. He was a solitary figure, spending his spare time reading biographies or going for long walks by himself. The only person with whom he could share his intimate feelings was his sister Emmie.

The following year he set sail for India. His choice of reading for the journey showed that already he had considerable interest in religion. Amongst many biographies, lives of Christ were prominent. He had time to think and determined that in the future he would take nothing on authority. Ritual and dogma were unimportant. He came to think of Jesus Christ as a real man, with all the frailties of men, who became great because of indomitable courage. Already his basic convictions were largely fixed. These were to develop in two main ways: in greater experience of the mystery of the universe and in broadening sympathy with, and understanding of, people of other faiths.

The highlights of the next few years of military service were his journeys of exploration to Manchuria and across the Gobi Desert. In 1888 he was granted a short leave, so that he could lecture about his travels to the Royal Geographical Society. He tried, unsuccessfully, to communicate to his parents his new sense of spiritual values. He had met and spoken with Christians of many denominations and with both educated and simple adherents of other faiths. He did not think one religion alone could be true and all others false. In the Gobi Desert, he had studied Darwin's work. He had found confirmation for his views on the gospels in Renan's Life of Jesus and Seeley's Ecce Homo. For Younghusband, at the time, the essence of Christianity was that the divine Spirit, which in Christ was a living flame, was latent in all men. All therefore were children of the same Father and should seek to develop the divine Spirit. Thus by 1889, he had made his own religion for himself (18).

On his return to India, after a time of 'arid and meaningless' soldiery, he was asked to explore all the Himalayan passes from the north. He was in his element as an explorer, but even so, during his leave in England in 1892, he again discussed with his father his project to leave the service and devote his life to the conduct of a spiritual campaign. This would not have been as an official of any church, but in some undefined way.

In 1894 he wrote in his diary 'I think I have had from time to time the feeling that I was born to recognise the divine spark within me... I shall through my life be carrying out God's Divine message to mankind'. A little after this entry, he was thrown from his horse and lay unconscious for fourteen hours. As he began to recover, he read Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You - a book which deeply impressed him and was also to influence Mahatma Gandhi profoundly. Younghusband had been reading books on evolution by Herbert Spencer, who almost convinced him, but did not inspire him. Tolstoy made his heart leap. On August 31st 1894, he wrote in his diary:

A few days later, he sent a letter to the Government explaining his intentions. Almost immediately, however, he was to meet with George Curzon, who was visiting India. By the end of the year Younghusband was back in Britain on leave and quite quickly recovered his health and good spirits. Plans to get rid of his possessions were put to one side. He was still unsure about his future. His father suggested a return to government service, whilst others thought he should try journalism or business. He was also doing preliminary work on a book, which would be called The Heart of a Continent.

Disturbing developments on the frontier at Chitral justified his warnings about the instability there. A speech he gave at the Royal Geographical Society on the issue on March 25th, was fully reported in The Times. The Times invited him to return to Chitral as their special correspondent. By April 21st, Younghusband was riding back into Chitrali territory.

Patrick French describes Younghusband in early 1895:

Younghusband had for some time had an epistolary romance with a married woman Nellie Douglas. This was brought to an end by the fact that returning to South Africa, where he had been sent by The Times, he had fallen in love. The lady whom he intended to marry was Helen Magniac. She had been brought up in a wealthy home and her family had aristocratic links. Her father, who died in 1891, had speculated on the stock exchange and left massive debts. The family was forced to sell Chesterfield House and all its contents. Helen was afraid of the sexual aspect of marriage and Francis agreed to a marriage without sex. The agreement must have been quite quickly broken, as Helen was pregnant within the year. Even so, it was never a fulfilling marriage for either of them. Younghusband tried to do his duty to his wife and wherever he was he wrote regular letters to her. She did not share his many ventures and at the end of her life was in a nursing home in London. The marriage was also too much for Younghusband's sister Emmie, who could not bear another woman to replace her in her brother's affection. Emmie was to become the victim of mental illness and depression.

The wedding took place on August 11th, 1897 and was followed by a month's honeymoon in Paris. Now needing a steady career, Younghusband, with Helen, returned to India. He hoped to rejoin the Government of India's Political Department. Instead he was given the lowly position of Third Assistant to the Political Agent in Rajputana. The Political Agent's job was to advise - a polite word for 'control' - a prince who, recognizing British suzerainty, ruled one of the many states of India. Younghusband was posted to the hill station of Mt Abu. There, Charles, their first child was born but died as a tiny baby. Helen was crushed by grief. The time at Mt Abu was not a happy one for the young couple.

Strangely, Mt Abu has more recently again come to play a part in the story of WCF. This hill town is the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris, who have built their World Spiritual University there. In recent years the Brahma Kumaris movement has given active support to WCF and other interfaith work. It was at their Global Co-operation House in London that the 1993 Year of Inter-religious Co-operation and Understanding was launched.

With Lord Curzon's appointment as Viceroy of India in 1899, Younghusband's prospects began to improve, as the two were already friends and political allies. In 1903, Younghusband was asked by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, to lead a mission to Tibet. This was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. Controversy has continued to surround what happened. At Lhasa, where he met the Dalai Lama's Regent, he successfully signed a treaty, but his work was repudiated by the politicians. It was as he was leaving Lhasa that he had the decisive spiritual experience, which has already been described.

On his return to Britain after the Tibetan venture, Younghusband was regarded as a hero, except by Whitehall. In 1906, Younghusband returned to India to become British Resident in Kashmir. The following year his father died. He felt his loss acutely, but also felt free to pursue a spiritual mission. In 1908, he drafted a letter to the poet Henry Newbolt about his 'important mission'. 'For years past I have felt there is something wrong with our present religion... Christianity itself is puny and childish' (21). When in 1908, the job for which he had been hoping as Commissioner of the Frontier Provinces went to a rival, Younghusband decided the time had come to leave India.

In December 1909, Younghusband sailed from Bombay. It would be nearly thirty years before he returned to Asia. Immediately on his return to Britain, he involved himself in the first 1910 General Election campaign and again in the second campaign at the end of that year. Besides making a number of speeches, he wrote some articles for the press and two books, Kashmir and India and Tibet.

His mind was still brooding on religious matters. In an article in the National Review, he wrote, 'Behind all political effort and social endeavour must be the impulse which religion alone could give. It was for the renewal and revitalizing of our religion that the English people really craved' (22). Already for some fifteen years, religion had been Francis Younghusband's primary interest. He was aware of the higher-critical study of the scriptures and of scientific advance. As a result he was dissatisfied with the conventional religion in which he had been brought up. 'I had visions of a far greater religion yet to be, and of a God as much greater than our English God as a Himalayan giant is greater than an English hill' (23).

Already he wished to communicate this 'greater religion' but he knew that first he had to clarify the intellectual framework of his conception of the universe. Convinced that the universe was governed by its own laws and not by external interference, he continued his study of science. A variety of experiences and his reading of nature-mystics, such as Blake and Wordsworth, made him dissatisfied with some scientists' 'petty-minded hatred of religion'. A study of McTaggart's Some Dogmas of Religion and Studies in Hegelian Cosmology led him to seek the acquaintance of the author, who was an Old Cliftonian.

Having tested his faith against intellectual criticism, he set to work to give it shape and definition in a book to be called The Inherent Impulse. As the work was nearing completion, he met, whilst in Belgium, with an accident, which was followed by prolonged illness. This experience led him to revise his book, which, eventually, was published in the autumn of 1912, with the title Within. This was the first of several books in which he described his religious views.

In October 1914 his Mutual Influence, which was his most humanist book, was published, but it did not sell many copies. When war broke out, Younghusband offered his services to the India Office and then to the War Office. Both were declined. In 1915, he was asked to take an unpaid job at the India Office preparing daily news telegrams for the Viceroy on the progress of the war. These were then used for official news releases to the Indian press. Later that year, he caught the mood of the nation in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, saying 'We are engaged in a spiritual conflict - a holy war - the Fight for Right' (24). ‘Fight for Right’ quickly became a movement to bolster public morale and Younghusband toured the country giving speeches. In 1917, he was made a Knight Commander of the Star of India. Soon, however, ‘Fight for Right’ fell apart as divisions between idealists and jingoists came to the surface.

For the last months of the war, Younghusband gave his time to thinking about India and the constitutional changes that should be introduced after the end of the war. He prefaced his memorandum with a recommendation that reform be instituted in the express context of future self-determination and be accompanied by an affirmation of belief in those spiritual values which in India bulk larger than politics.

After the war, Younghusband in effect lived two lives. One life was with his establishment friends, many of whom showed no interest in his religious views. In the 1920s Younghusband was involved in many societies. As President of the Royal Geographical Society he initiated and backed Mallory's attempt to conquer Mt Everest.

In his other life he was exploring spiritual ideas both with his religious friends and in his writings. In 1921, he wrote The Heart of Nature; or The Quest for Natural Beauty which is broken up into alternate chapters of description and philosophizing. In 1923, he wrote The Gleam, which was an account of the life of the pseudonymous Nija Svabhava. The real hero, of course was Younghusband and he nearly revealed this in a letter to the Times, but prevented its publication at the last minute. His next religious book was Mother World (in Travail for the Christ that is to be). In it, he speaks of Mother Nature and talks of the world as a benevolent deity. His pantheistic tendencies were attacked by The Tablet. The book ends with the belief that the world was 'groaning and travailing to bring forth a leader', the 'Christ that is to be', the God-child that he had first prophesied in Within (25).

Amongst the societies that he supported was one to encourage religious drama (now Radius). He was also keen to promote a knowledge of the world's religions. He was, as we have seen, active in support of the Religions of Empire Conference and the Society for the Study of Religions and then of the World Fellowship of Faiths. It was, however, to the World Congress of Faiths that he devoted the main energy of his final years.

Sir John Squire wrote that to define Younghusband's religion would be hopeless.

K.D.D. Henderson, who was secretary of the Spalding Trust, wrote,

Younghusband's basic conviction was that joy was the ground and crown of all religion. Joy, he claimed, was at the heart of Christ's message. Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim saints had also declared the same; and the Psalms were full of its expression. Although love was usually regarded as more fundamental, he held that joy was both deeper and higher. This emphasis did not mean that he disregarded evil and suffering. He believed, however, that the joy of life not merely counterbalanced the suffering and wickedness but could transform it into good.

This emphasis on joy is clear in the review he wrote, during the last year of his life, of Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine.

It is important to recognize that Younghusband's conception of a fellowship of faiths sprang from a mystical sense of the unity of all people. As George Harrison put it, 'Sir Francis believed in divine fellowship. Every single man is bound up with every other man and with all living creatures, and with the entire physical universe in one mighty whole' (29). The 'brotherhood of man' was for Sir Francis not a religious slogan but a truth realized in religious experience. In such an experience, a person is 'lifted right out of himself and wafted up to unbelievable heights. He seems to expand to infinite distance and embrace the whole world' (30).

'The ultimate aim of the Fellowship can only be to intensify our sense of kinship with the universe to the mystic degree - to that point when the individual feels as if he and the universe were madly in love with one another', Younghusband said in a talk at Westerham in Kent (31).

In his later working for the World Congress of Faiths, Sir Francis made it clear that there was no intention of formulating another eclectic religion. It was rather to help members of all faiths to become aware of the universal experience which had been his. The Congress, he hoped, 'would awaken a wider consciousness and afford men a vision of a happier world-order in which the roots of fellowship would strike down deep to the Central Source of all spiritual loveliness till what had begun as human would flower as divine' (31). The human fellowship that he sought to promote was inextricably linked to communion with the divine. The Congress, therefore, was an attempt to give practical expression to the mystic's vision of unity.

1. Beginnings.

. . . I dream’d

That stone by stone I rear’d a sacred fane,

A temple, neither Pagod, Mosque nor Church,

But loftier, simpler, always open-door'd,

To every breath from heaven, and Truth and Peace

And Love and Justice came and dwelt therein.(1).

The dream that the religions of the world might become one in spirit or at least forgo prejudice and hostility and work together for a happier world is an ancient one.

One attempt to realize this vision is the World Congress of Faiths, of which this book is the story. The World Congress of Faiths, however, is built on earlier efforts to translate this dream into a reality.

There are several roots from which the World Congress of Faiths (WCF) was to grow. One was the World's Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago in 1893. This inspired a (Second) Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1933, which was organized by the Fellowship of Faiths. A second root was the Religions of Empire Conference, held in London in 1924 - sometimes called a Congress of Religions - in connection with the British Empire Exhibition. A third root was the unusual spiritual experiences enjoyed by Francis Younghusband in a long and varied career.

Religions of Empire Conference.

British society has been transformed in the sixty years during which the World Congress of Faiths has been in existence. In 1936, London was the centre of an Empire, which included people of many races and religions. Some thirty years later, Britain itself was starting to become multi-ethnic and multi-faith.

Queen Victoria, in a proclamation issued in 1858, after the Indian Mutiny, outlined the imperial policy of respect for all religions:

It was during the period of Empire that a number of people in Britain began to become interested in religions other than Christianity. A considerable number of British people lived and worked in different parts of the Empire. Many took little interest in the 'natives', but some learned a lot about the languages, cultures and religions of the people amongst whom they lived. Interest was also aroused amongst supporters of the missionary work of the Church. Some Christians regarded other religions as the sphere of darkness, but some missionaries made careful studies of the religions of Asia (3). Missionaries on furlough spoke to a large number of congregations, many of whom gave money to support missionary work. Both the imperial and missionary interest were often from a vantage point of assumed superiority - but at least there was an interest.

The imperial context is also relevant because Francis Younghusband, who was to found WCF, has been described as 'the last great imperial adventurer' (4). Indeed, in his opening address at the Religions of Empire Conference, Younghusband claimed that the ultimate basis on which the Empire would stand was religion. Indians, he said, respected Queen Victoria, because she stood for religion (5).

The Religions of Empire Conference clearly illustrates the importance to the Empire, in some people's minds, of mutual understanding between members of different religions. Ramsey MacDonald, the Prime Minister, sent a message to the conference, saying, 'Many religions and many creeds live in amity within our Empire, each by their different way leading our peoples onward toward some ultimate light. I welcome cordially the objects of the conference and the knowledge which surely it spreads amongst us that our peoples, in the aspiration of the Spirit, "walk not back to back, but with an unity of track"' (6). Publicity for the conference made much of the fact that Christians were in a minority in the Empire. They accounted for about one sixth of the Empire's population. Of the Empire's 460 million people, about 210 million were Hindus, about 100 million were Muslims and about 12 million were Buddhists.

The Conference was sponsored by the School of Oriental Studies and the Sociological Society. The organizing committee was chaired by Sir Denison Ross, the Director of the School of Oriental Studies in London, who was an expert on Oriental languages and joint author of The Heart of Asia. He insisted that the 'spokesman of each religion should be one who professed such religion'(7). This gave a distinctive character to the conference and was to be copied at the World Congress of Faiths in 1936. At the Conference, Sir Denison explained that 'Up to the present if you want to know about Buddhism or Mohammedanism (the term used throughout the conference) you inevitably went to a European authority for knowledge. You may have read deeply in these religions and yet never heard a native explain the tenets of his belief and what they mean to him and the life of his people. At this conference the believer himself will lecture on his own religion' (8). European scholars took the chair at different sessions, but were not the main speakers.

The speakers, who travelled to London from different parts of the world, were all of a high calibre. The Buddhist speakers, for example, were Dr de Silva and Mr G.P. Malalasekera, who later became a Vice-President of WCF, who both came from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Shoson Miyamoto who came from Japan. Speakers included a Parsee (Zoroastrian), a Jain, a Sikh, Hindus, including both a member of the Arya Samaj and the Brahmo Samaj. There was a Sunni Muslim and also a Shi'ite Muslim speaker. The person who attracted greatest press attention was His Holiness Khalifa-Tul-Masih, who was head of the Ahmadiyya movement in India. On arrival at Victoria Station, as he got out of the boat train, he prayed on the platform and his call 'Allah-o-Akbur' echoed round the station. He spoke good English and gave various newspaper interviews. Whilst in Britain, he laid the foundation stone for the first Mosque to be built in London, at Southfields. The Baha'i representatives also attracted attention and there was considerable interest in this 'new' religion. It was originally hoped that Shoghi Effendi, the head of the religion, would himself come to London. In the event, he sent a paper which was read for him. The grandson of Abdul Baha, however, Ruhi Afnan did come. Mr St Barbe Baker, who was later to found 'The Men of the Trees' and was also to become a Vice-President of WCF, spoke about the religion of East Africa.

The conference, as the Evening News put it, was for 'The Queer Religions of the Empire' (9). There were no speakers for Judaism nor Christianity. This was a deliberate decision because the organizers 'considered that their function was chiefly to familiarize those attending the lectures with the religions of the Empire relatively little known in Britain' (10)'.

There was no public discussion. Sir Denison Ross had insisted that the Congress should not take 'a controversial form' (11). All speakers from the platform were accorded an equal status. They were not allowed to introduce matters that were religiously or politically controversial. All papers had to be submitted to the committee in advance.

Yet there was some controversy, partly about Younghusband's opening speech. In it, he said that 'God revealed himself in many ways, and to the followers of other religions than our own may have been revealed much of value to us' (12). He denied preaching the equality of religions, accepting that there would always be clashes of opinion and different ways of worship. Yet he believed that all would feel actuated by a common impulse. His remarks strayed a little beyond the avowed aim of only giving information about religions and he would have liked discussion about religious truth itself. Yet providing sympathetic and accurate information, in the place of prejudicial ignorance, does itself indicate a respect for another religion. Younghusband's comments drew critical comment in some church papers. As the Record put it, 'Christianity is not a competing religion among many others. It is the one and only true religion'(13).

Following the Religions of Empire Conference, Sir Denison Ross and others formed The Society for Promoting the Study of Religions. In the years prior to the meeting of the World Congress of Faiths in 1936, Sir Denison was its Chairman and Sir Francis was Chairman of the Executive. Offices were opened at 17 Bedford Square. It was there that some years later the preparatory committee for the World Congress of Faiths was to meet and there also that for some years WCF was to have its office.

The World Fellowship of Faiths.

In some of the preparatory literature, the World Congress of Faiths was billed as the Second International Congress of the World Fellowship of Faiths. The World Fellowship of Faiths’ First International Congress was itself also called a Second Parliament of Religions. The Second Parliament, held in Chicago in 1933, was in conscious imitation of the World's Parliament of Religions held at Chicago forty years before - so one root of WCF leads back to that landmark event.

Memories of the 1893 Parliament, which for many years was largely forgotten, have recently again been revived by celebration of its centenary. As part of the World Fair held in Chicago to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the 'discovery' of America by Christopher Columbus, a World's Parliament of Religions was held, at the suggestion of Charles Bonney. The invitation to members of all major religions to participate made the event significant. The 1893 Parliament, which I have described in Pilgrimage of Hope is widely regarded as the beginning of the interfaith movement, although no continuing body was established (14). The organization now known as the International Association for Religious Freedom, was formed in 1900, although at that time it drew most of its support from Unitarians and Universalists and was only in embryonic form an interfaith organization. The International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) held its first Congress in Paris in 1901. This was devoted to the scientific and historical study of religions and at the time was for European scholars in this field.

The 1933 Parliament, which is still a forgotten event, was initiated by Charles Weller and Mr Das Gupta. Weller, a social worker, in 1918, started the League of Neighbours, which, in his words was intended to help alien groups such as negroes and foreign born citizens relate to American life. Das Gupta had come in 1908 from India to England, where he found little understanding of Indian culture. To help remedy this, he organized The Union of East and West, which staged a number of plays about Indian life. In 1920, Das Gupta decided to accompany Rabindranath Tagore to the United States. Das Gupta stayed on in the USA and started his Union of East and West there. Early in the 1920s he met Weller. Together they decided to merge the League of Neighbours and the Union of East and West to create The Fellowship of Faiths. This arranged, in several cities, meetings at which a member of one faith paid tribute to another faith. The Fellowship also for a while published a journal called Appreciation.

In May 1929, the Fellowship of Faiths arranged a meeting in Chicago on 'Peace and Brotherhood as Taught by the World's Living Faiths'. This event revived memories of the city's 1893 World's Parliament of Religions. The suggestion was made that a second parliament should be held to coincide with the Second World Fair, which was already being planned for 1933 to mark a 'century of progress'.

At the 1933 Parliament, which Younghusband attended, twenty seven gatherings were held in Chicago, with a massive total attendance of 44,000 people. Some Preliminary meetings were also held in New York. Indeed from November 1932 to May 1933, preparations centred on the New York office. The national chairman was Bishop Francis J McConnell of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Some three hundred people agreed to serve on the national committee of what had now become The World Fellowship of Faiths. Weller and Das Gupta were the General Executives. The World Fellowship of Faiths described itself as 'a movement not a machine; a sense of expanding activities, rather than an established institution, an inspiration more than an achievement. It has never sought to develop a new religion or unite divergent faiths on the basis of a least common denominator of their convictions. Instead, it believes that the desired and necessary human realization of the all-embracing spiritual Oneness of the Good Life Universal must be accompanied by the appreciation (brotherly love) for all the individualities, all the differentiations of function, by which true unity is enriched ' (15).

Bishop McConnell claimed that the 1933 Parliament was an advance on the 1893 Parliament, although in my view he is not entirely fair to the latter. 'The first difference', he said, 'is that instead of a comparative parade of rival religions, all faiths are challenged to manifest or apply their religion by helping to solve the urgent problems which impede man's progress. The second difference is that the word "faiths" is understood to include, not only all religions, but all types of spiritual consciousness or convictions which are determining the actual lives of significant groups of people. Educational, philanthropic, social, economic, national and political "faiths" are thus included. The effort is to help mankind to develop a new spiritual dynamic, competent to master and reform the world' (16). At the time the word 'faith' was used in a wider sense than 'religion', although today sometimes the two terms are used as synonyms.

Sir Francis Younghusband, in an address to the Parliament, stressed that 'the spirit of active good-will had now to be applied on a far larger - on a world wide - scale. Out of the very agony of war and out of the despair of economic problems we have, of set design, to make good come. Otherwise, we shall be no worthy agents of the World Spirit' (17).

Younghusband seems to have been encouraged by the organizers to arrange the World Fellowship of Faiths' second international congress in London. Mr Das Gupta returned to Britain and regularly attended meetings of the Preparatory Committee for the London Congress. He soon discovered that Younghusband was used to being in charge. Indeed one minute records that Younghusband explained that the usual practice for an international body was that whilst the general principles were adhered to, the organization was the responsibility of the national committee. This certainly was the practice until after the Second World War of the International Association for the History of Religions. It is only quite recently that air travel has made possible genuinely international planning committees.

The World Congress of Faiths of 1936 did indeed maintain the objects of the World Fellowship of Faiths. The name of the Fellowship's International President, HH The Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda, is shown on the literature. Subsequently, the World Congress of Faiths Continuation Movement was established and WCF became an independent body. It is evident from the minutes that this caused some friction and ill feeling.