Parliament

At a press conference following her talk at the Parliament of the World's Religions on Saturday, Jane Goodall spoke to a room full of reporters about the environment and the importance of coming together to create change.

Violence is a thread in sacred texts, but panelists Saturday at the Parliament of the World’s Religions said context, tradition and reason outweigh the brutality that often divides people in the name of religion.

Parliament of the Worlds Religions is like the Olympics — the Olympics of the heart stretching to create compassion, understanding, unity and peace in a world plagued in violence and fear.

Premiered for the first time at the 2015 Parliament of World's Religions, the resulting play "Caravan - a Happy Journey Through Wisdom Tales of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam," creates understanding of the shared experience and a deeper knowledge of the stories of these three faith traditions.

The overarching message at the opening ceremony of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Thursday evening was that people of all religions need to work together to stop oppression, end violence and mend the planet.

More than 8,000 people kicked off the first day of the 2015 Parliament of World's Religions Thursday by listening to fervid discussions on feminism, the environment and the importance of interfaith work.

When the World’s Parliament of Religions first met in Chicago in 1893, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and even Spiritualists prayed together.