Faith Leaders Unite in Seoul: Advancing Peace and Defending Religious Freedom
Seoul, South Korea — August 19–22, 2025. The Universal Peace Federation (UPF) hosted the World Conference of Religious Leaders, convening 60 international faith leaders, scholars, and peace advocates from 16 nations. The gathering underscored dialogue, mutual respect, and shared responsibility as essential tools for peacebuilding, while highlighting urgent themes of religious freedom, interfaith solidarity, and the vision of one family under God.
Over the course of four days, the program wove together interfaith prayers, keynote addresses, panel discussions, and cultural programs. Representatives of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, indigenous traditions, and other faiths joined in a symbolic Water Ceremony, affirming humanity’s common origin and shared destiny. Delegates also addressed the growing need to safeguard religious freedom as a universal value and foundation for lasting harmony.
In his keynote address, Dr. Tageldin Hamad, International President of UPF, emphasized the sacred responsibility of faith leaders in an era of global instability.
“Peace and unity are urgent as humanity stands at a critical juncture facing profound challenges that will shape our shared future. Faith leaders are entrusted with a heavenly mission to guide humanity. We are gathered here not to debate, not to divide, but to declare: We are brothers and sisters before God. We are guardians of truth. We are defenders of the freedom of faith.”
Regional sessions shed light on peacebuilding efforts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with special focus on youth mobilization, reconciliation across divides, and building bridges across cultures.
Among the notable contributions:
Dr. Michael Jenkins, President of UPF-USA, presented a case study on religious freedom in Korea.
Attorney Patricia Duval, keynote speaker, highlighted global trends and challenges in protecting liberty of conscience.
Panelists including Pastor Mark Burns (USA), Jatinder Singh Birdi (UK), Rev. Richard Greene (USA), Pandit S.R. Tewarie (Netherlands), Rev. Prescott Butler (USA), Imam Shahid Tameez (UK), and Dr. Surinder S. Gill (USA) underscored the urgent role of interfaith cooperation in overcoming global crises.
The conference concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration on religious freedom, affirming universal values and a collective pledge to advance interreligious cooperation, reconciliation, and respect for human dignity. Delegates departed with a renewed determination to work together beyond the conference, strengthening interfaith unity and advancing peace worldwide.
2025 Statement by World Religious Leaders
for Religious Freedom and Universal Values
Today, civilization stands at a historic and critical crossroads. Advances in science and technology and institutional sophistication are precisely organizing society, yet increasingly narrowing the space for religion and spirituality.
Human civilization, however, has never been sustained by laws and institutions alone. At its very foundation lie religious contemplation and spiritual wisdom.
If laws have provided the framework of society, religion has served as its guiding spirit and moral compass. Religious freedom is not merely an individual right—it is a fundamental value that upholds the conscience and dignity of a person, as well as the moral integrity and cultural identity of a community. From this perspective, the true Sovereign of this world is God, our Creator. We must recognize that the civilizations and laws that people create have their origin in God, in religion, and in the human conscience and original good mind.
Yet we are witnessing a growing number of cases throughout the world in which religious practice and spiritual expression are being restricted or suppressed. Law is meant to serve the cause of order and peaceful coexistence; it must never become a tool to infringe upon the freedom of the human spirit.
If our culture of spirituality, its values, and religious freedom are curtailed under the rule of law, this will undermine the very foundations of civilization.
Religious freedom and universal values are a shared heritage that all humanity must protect. Therefore, we, who are participating in the 2025 Conference for World Religious Leaders, strongly urge the following:
1. We solemnly pray that religious freedom be absolutely guaranteed.
Religious freedom is a universal and inalienable right of humanity that must be guaranteed without exception. Discrimination or persecution based on religious beliefs, as well as hatred and distorted narratives directed toward religion, undermine the trust that sustains our global community. We earnestly pray that all nations will respect and uphold religious freedom in accordance with their constitutions and with international norms.
2. We promise to stand in solidarity beyond the boundaries of our respective faiths and doctrines, based on the higher dimensions of truth, conscience, and spirituality.
Mutual respect and cooperation among religions are essential conditions for the sustainable peace and coexistence of humanity. As religious leaders, we will continuously raise our voices and take action to help humanity restore its spiritual and moral dignity, overcoming discrimination and oppression.
3. We declare our commitment to safeguard the universal values of truth, love, justice, and peace.
Universal values are our religious heritage and form the ethical foundation of humanity. It is religion that protects and implements universal values that open the way to solidarity and coexistence. We call upon political, social, and religious institutions to cooperate in upholding and realizing universal values, which serve as the spiritual norms for all humanity.
We, the participants of the 2025 Conference of World Religious Leaders, hereby declare that religious freedom and universal values form the bedrock of a civilization worthy of humanity’s future. We declare our resolve to end all forms of discrimination and hatred and pledge to forge a new era of peace through global spiritual solidarity.
