Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Paul Carus Award

The Paul Carus Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Interreligious Movement

"The Parliament of Religions is undoubtedly the most noteworthy event of modern times. What are the World's Fair and its magnificent splendor in comparison with it?...It is evident that from its date we shall have to begin a new era in the evolution of man's religious life...Whether or not the Parliament of Religions be repeated, whether or not its work be continued, the fact remains that this congress at Chicago will exert a lasting influence upon the religious intelligence of mankind. It has stirred the spirits, stimulated mental growth, and given direction to man's further evolution. It is by no means an agnostic movement, for it is carried on the wings of a religious faith and positive certainty."

On December 1, 2001, in partnership with the M. Blouke Carus Family, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions announced the establishment of the Paul Carus Award for Interreligious Understanding.



The first Paul Carus Award was presented to Bishop McLeod Baker Ochola II and the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative at the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona.Members of the Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions' International Advisory Committee have advised the Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions on criteria and selection of the current and future recipients of this prestigious award.


A Brief History of Paul Carus

Paul Carus was born in 1852 in Ilsenburg, Germany, descending from a family of scholars. In 1887, he moved to the United States of America to become Editor-in-Chief of Open Court Publishing. In that role, he corresponded with and published the works of leaders in the fields of mathematics, philosophy, world religions, and related disciplines.In 1893, Carus offered a thirty-minute paper at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. As he wrote later, he never expected to be so moved by this event, which served to redirect his lifework towards building awareness and understanding of Eastern philosophies and religions in the United States. In 1894, Dr. Carus wrote The Gospel of Buddha, the classic text on Buddhism that first introduced many Westerners to Buddha and his teachings. Because it resembled a Christian "gospel," it was easily understood by Christian audiences unfamiliar with Buddhist teachings.Dr Carus' passion and commitment to the quest for religious and spiritual understanding was illustrated by his lifelong dedication to providing an open forum for the ideas of such diverse scholars as Pierce, Russell, Mach, Dharmapala, Swami Vivekananda, Shuku Soyen, D.T. Suzuki, and thousands of other great thinkers. As a thinker, writer and publisher, Carus became a bridge-builder between religions and science, philosophy and society, the Occident and the Orient, and Buddhism and Christianity.


The Carus family maintains the legacy of Paul Carus through Open Court Publishing, which specializes in scholarly and trade non-fiction, with an emphasis on philosophy, social issues, Eastern thought, education, psychology, Jungian analysis, and religion and science. In 2004, Open Court published a new edition of The Gospel of Buddha with 25 recently rediscovered paintings by the renowned Buddhist artist Yamada.

A short film discusses the legacy of Paul Carus and the impact he left on the interreligious movement.
Click here to watch the low bandwidth version.
Or, click here to watch the high bandwidth version

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