Representatives of the world's religions at the Chicago Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993 adopted the ""Declaration Toward a Global Ethic."" As drafted by theologian Hans Kung, it was a statement of a minimal ethic on which all could agree. But this declaration is only a beginning and much has to be done to explore its principles and to expand its scope. Hans Kung has drafted another text (also found in this volume) entitled A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities.
Leonard Swidler, Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue at Temple University, believes that experts from the world's major religious and ethical groups now need to reflect upon and respond to these texts in a spirit of global dialogue. His own draft of a Universal Declaration of a Global Ethic posits the Golden Rule as the basic principle of morality. The rest of this book contains reactions from religious scholars from Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, African, Chinese, and Baha'i traditions.