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#WayBack Wednesday – Celebrating the Historic Women of the 1893 Parliament

March 27, 2019

The 1893 World Parliament of Religions is historic for many reasons. It marked the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions and today, it is recognized as the birth of formal interreligious dialogue worldwide. As we celebrate Women’s History Month during the month of March, we must also acknowledge and celebrate the groundbreaking work and legacy of the women at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions.
An unprecedented number of 19 women spoke at this Parliament from various spiritual backgrounds, signaling the beginning of a global interfaith movement.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton is amongst the most well-known today but it was four key figures that represented women as major speakers in the 1893 Parliament. This #WayBackWednesday, we invite you to learn more about the beliefs of these groundbreaking women in their own words.

A New Testament Woman
by Miss Marion Murdoch

The Influence of Women in Religion
by Rev. Mrs. Annis F.F. Eastman

What Judaism Has Done For Women
by Miss Henrietta Szold

Importance of the Study of Comparative Religion
by Dr. Eliza R. Sunderland

Read more about the impact of the women of the 1893 Parliament from Rev. Allison Stokes the Founding Director of the Women’s Interfaith Institute of the Finger Lakes in the article, The Founding Females of Interreligious Leadership, Scholarship, and Service