Daejin University Hosts World Coexistence Forum... Exploring Solutions to Global Conflicts Through Religious Wisdom of "Reconciliation and Mutual Beneficence"

Daejin University Successfully Concludes the 4th World Coexistence Forum
Exploring the Path to Human Coexistence Through Religious Wisdom of Reconciliation and Mutual Beneficence

The "4th World Coexistence Forum International Academic Conference," hosted by the Daesun Thought Institute (Director Bae Gyuhan) of Daejin University (President Jang Seokhwan), concluded successfully at the Daejin Education Center in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, from October 24 to October 26, 2025.

Daejin University Daesun Thought Institute is hosting the "4th World Coexistence Forum International Academic Conference." Photo by Daejin University

This academic conference was held under the theme of "Reconciliation, Mutual Beneficence, and Religion," bringing together distinguished scholars from 36 academic institutions across 18 countries. The participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the "vision of coexistence through religious wisdom" as a means to overcome the crises of confrontation, conflict, and division in contemporary society.

Renowned scholars such as Eileen Barker, Gordon Melton, Livia Kohn, Jeong Jaeseo, Cho Hyunseol, and Nozaki Mitsuhiko participated in the forum, addressing a wide range of topics including "Reconciliation of Locality and Universality," "Comparison of Haewon Sangsaeng and the Pope's Social Compensation," and "Catholic Peace Discourse."

The subsequent five sections, comprising fifteen sessions, featured presentations on a broad array of subjects: the ethics of religion and coexistence; coexistence in the era of hyper-connectivity; the boundaries between religion and science; Buddhist culture and the philosophy of coexistence; and East Asian religious heritage and human rights discourse. The scholars explored the social role of religion and the ethics of human coexistence from new perspectives, traversing various dimensions of modern civilization such as religion, philosophy, science, ecology, and artificial intelligence.

Participants emphasized that "a civilization of coexistence and peace originates from the fusion of thought and faith," proposing the ethics of interreligious cooperation, intercultural understanding, and ecological coexistence. In particular, they agreed on the need to restore the fractured global order and establish the ethics of sustainable peaceful coexistence through the fundamental philosophy of "reconciliation and mutual beneficence" inherent in religion.

At the closing ceremony, Director Bae Gyuhan stated, "I hope that the discourse on coexistence discussed at this academic conference will become a beacon that guides a new direction for human civilization," adding, "We will strive to realize a civilization of coexistence in which the global community lives together, based on religious wisdom."

Meanwhile, since its inception in 2017, the World Coexistence Forum International Academic Conference has established an academic foundation for sustainable human civilization with "reconciliation and coexistence" as its core values. This year, through its fourth conference, it was recognized for expanding the reconciliatory function of religion and the possibilities of coexistence into a global academic discourse.

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