Although people have some understanding of what occurs in an inter-religious dialog, the meaning of the dialog itself is rarely made clear. This study examines what exactly is an inter-religious dialog by examining its origin in the first inter-religious dialog, the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, and considering why the organizer decided to conduct a “parliament.” The study provides current reasons for the examination of interreligious dialogs, followed by an outline of previous research on the reasons and meanings of inter-religious dialogs. Furthermore, the study examines how the World’s Parliament of Religions began by focusing on the organizer of the parliament. This examination of the World’s Parliament of Religions describes the organizer’s explanation of the importance of gathering the religions of the world, considering the background of the widely-held complaints and expectations against Christianity. This examination underlies a consideration of how future inter-religious dialogs may change in its aspects.
