The annual World Religion Day celebration was held on Saturday, aimed at promoting interfaith understanding and social harmony through an art exhibition, workshops, and dialogue salons*.
The one-day event took place at the School of the Nations in Taipa, gathering six local religious communities, comprising the Bahá’í Faith**, Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism and Taoism, showcasing the potential of religious values to translate into positive action, and highlighting their crucial role as a cornerstone for social harmony and progress.
Hundreds of residents and representatives from various sectors attended the festival.
According to Wikipedia, World Religion Day is an observance that was initiated in 1950 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, which is celebrated worldwide on the third Sunday in January each year.
The event featured a religious art exhibition, along with calligraphy and painting workshops, handmade bead stringing, and children’s mosaic creation activities, as well as multiple salons, which aimed to foster in-depth dialogues on topics such as work and wealth, education and excellence, and religion and development, exploring how to drive progress by balancing the spirit of service with rational spirituality.
Macao Bahá’í Community Chairman Kong Siew-Huat said in a speech that the event themed “Art Embracing Diversity, Uniting Macau: Dialoguing Through Art to Explore the Essence of Life” was a sincere invitation, aiming to pause briefly amidst the “busyness of life”, to reflect and engage in dialogue together, “focusing on several themes deeply relevant to us all: work and wealth, education and excellence, religion, and development”.
Kong noted that although the practices of various faiths may differ, their fundamental goal remains one: “to awaken the nobility within human nature and to promote the shared prosperity of society, adding that through dialogue and collaboration with science, religion fosters the growth of individual lives, propels the progress of society, and guides the train of our times toward a brighter future”.
Kong is an associate professor in Management at the University of Macau (UM).
*In a historical and cultural context, a “salon” was a pivotal social institution, especially during the Enlightenment in 17th and 18th century Europe. Usually hosted in private venues, brought together writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, and politicians for conversation to discuss and debate ideas on literature, philosophy, politics, and art. - DeepSeek
**The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion founded in the 19th century that emphasises the spiritual unity of all humanity. Its core teachings revolve around the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humankind. - DeepSeek
Macao Bahá’í Community Chairman Kong Siew Huat addresses Saturday’s one-day “World Religion Day” event at the School of the Nations in Taipa.
A ‘Word Religion Day’ art exhibition themed ‘Silent Radiance of Unity – Macao in Harmony’ displays a Chinese painting on Saturday at the School of the Nations in Taipa. – Photos: Ida Cheong
