Religion Cannot Justify Terror, Concludes World Religions Summit

Religious leaders at the World Religions Summit in Moscow issued a final statement on the closing day declaring that religion cannot justify terrorism.

Some 300 religious leaders from 49 countries have called for religion to be used as a basis for peace and dialogue rather than a source of conflict, reported the Russian news & information agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

“Religious freedom is important in the contemporary world,” read a final statement from the World Religious Summit following a three-day forum, according to the news agency Interfax. “People and groups should be free of coercion. The rights of religious and national minorities should be taken into consideration.”

Summit participants condemned all forms of extremism and terrorism as well as efforts to justify violence using religion as stated in the Resolution.