Our Interfaith Vegan Coalition made waves at the Parliament of the World’s Religions this summer from August 14 - 18 in Chicago, Illinois! We tabled throughout the entire event, marched in the accompanying Parade of Faiths, and presented over 25 sessions on animal ethics and veganism. All told, we advocated for veganism with thousands of Parliament-goers!

The first Parliament of the World’s Religions convened in 1893 to cultivate harmony among the diverse religious traditions worldwide. Now the Parliament is heralded as the world’s premier interfaith conference with over 7,000 global attendees. We debuted our Interfaith Vegan Coalition at the Parliament in 2018 and returned in 2023 with a clear mission to spread the vegan gospel of compassion for all beings. We noted this year’s theme of human rights and asked participants to extend themselves one step further to acknowledge animal rights as well. 

During our first-ever World Peace and Freedom For All Ceremony, which included mask-making, spiritual readings, and original music, participants embodied Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s famous quote, “Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.” In our spiral dance, participants welcomed those wearing artisan animal masks into the circle and everyone chanted a lovingkindness prayer for all beings.

For the next Parliament in 2026,  our coalition is determined to advocate for a set of discourses on animal ethics and all-vegan meals. We’re sending a coalition letter with our feedback from this Parliament along with some requests for future events. 

If you want to help, please join our Interfaith Vegan Coalition by sending an email to us at interfaith@idausa.org. 

Together we can wake the “sleeping giant of religion,” as the late great animal rights philosopher Tom Regan once said, to include other animals within our circle of compassion. 

Please try our religion-specific vegan advocacy kits and support our interfaith vegan advocacy by making a donation today!