Preface

THE New York State Conference of Religion is an outgrowth of the National Congress of Religion, which itself was the child of the Parliament of Religions held in connection with the World's Fair, in Chicago, in the year 1893.

The Parliament of Religions was the first gathering of its kind in the history of the world an assemblage of representatives of the various religions on earth, meeting together for a free and frank statement of their thought; with the view of promoting, not only kindlier tolerance, but a juster understanding by each of the others' faiths, a mutual recognition of the common truths embodied in all their religions, and the awakening, thus, of the spirit of brotherliness among the children of the All-Father. The remarkable impression of that Parliament on those who attended it has been only equalled by the quiet influence which has followed it in the direction of such universality in religion.