About URI

United Religions Initiative (URI) was founded in 2000 by an extraordinary global community committed to promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation and to ending religiously motivated violence. Today the URI includes thousands of members in over 65 countries representing more than 100 religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions...

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URI is Organized Locally, Regionally and Globally

The heart of URI is the global network of locally organized “Cooperation Circles.” The Regional teams, made up of Global Council trustees and regional coordinators, work in eight regions to sustain local Cooperation Circle (CC) membership groups, provide communication links, and develop URI through interfaith partnerships...

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History: Creating the Initiative

The seed for the URI was planted in 1993 when the United Nations invited William Swing, Episcopal Bishop of California, to host an interfaith service in San Francisco. That night the Bishop found it hard to sleep … he told himself, “If the nations of the world are working together for peace through the UN, then where are the religions of the world?”...

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Organizational Design

The URI is a membership organization whereby members agree to act in accord with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles of the URI Charter. Each Cooperation Circle (CC) is a Member of the URI and defines its unique purpose and directs its affairs in accord with the Charter and Bylaws of the URI...

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