William E. Swing is a man whose quiet yet powerful presence has shaped the landscape of interfaith cooperation across the globe. As the founder of the United Religions Initiative (URI), he has dedicated his life to the idea that faith, far from being a source of division, can be a catalyst for peace, justice, and understanding. Swing’s work has created lasting changes in the way the world’s religions interact, bringing together people from diverse traditions to work toward common goals. His influence, while subtle, is profound, and his vision has given rise to a movement that continues to grow today.
Born on August 26, 1936, in Huntington, West Virginia, William Swing grew up in a family where intellectual curiosity and spirituality were highly valued. His father, a professor at the University of California, encouraged him to pursue both academic and spiritual endeavors, setting the foundation for his later work. Though Swing initially embarked on a career in law, he felt a deep, inner calling to the church. It wasn’t long before he joined the Episcopal seminary and was ordained as a priest, eventually rising to the rank of bishop.
In 1979, Swing became the Bishop of California. His tenure in this role would prove to be a pivotal moment in both his personal life and the broader interfaith movement. During his time as bishop, Swing became increasingly aware of the divisions between religious communities, even in his diverse home state. California, known for its melting pot of cultures and faiths, was a microcosm of the global religious landscape, where conflict and misunderstanding between faiths were often more pronounced than unity. He recognized that the world’s faith communities had the potential to be a force for good, but that they needed to find a way to break down the walls of intolerance that divided them.
The key turning point in Swing’s life came in 1993, when he was invited by the United Nations to organize an interfaith service at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. It was during this service that Swing had a profound epiphany: he realized that the world’s religions needed a unified platform for cooperation—one that could work to address global issues such as war, poverty, and human rights, and unite faith communities for the common good.
This insight led to the creation of the United Religions Initiative (URI), which was officially founded in 2000. The organization’s mission was simple yet profound: to promote peace, justice, and healing through interfaith cooperation. Swing envisioned URI as a global network of people from diverse religious backgrounds, coming together not only for dialogue but for action. The goal was not simply to talk about peace, but to work together to make it a reality.
What distinguished URI from other interfaith organizations was its grassroots approach. Rather than being a top-down organization run by a few central figures, URI was built on the idea of “cooperation circles”—local groups of people from various religious traditions who would come together to tackle common problems in their communities. These circles would focus on local issues such as environmental protection, poverty alleviation, and conflict resolution, and would serve as the backbone of the URI movement. By empowering people at the local level, Swing created an organization that was both decentralized and adaptable, capable of responding to the unique needs of different regions while still maintaining a unified vision.
Under Swing’s leadership, URI quickly expanded, growing into a global movement with thousands of cooperation circles in more than 100 countries. Swing’s vision resonated with religious leaders and individuals from all walks of life, from Buddhists in Asia to Muslims in the Middle East, from Christians in Africa to Hindus in India. Through URI, Swing gave people a platform to not only talk about their differences but to celebrate their shared values, working together to address the common challenges facing humanity.
One of the defining features of Swing’s leadership was his commitment to inclusivity. He believed that all religious and spiritual paths—whether rooted in formal religious traditions or in indigenous spirituality—were valid expressions of the divine. This openness became a hallmark of URI, as the organization sought to create a space where people from different faiths, secular humanists, and spiritual but not religious individuals could come together as equals. In his view, it was essential to foster an environment where no faith was considered superior to another, and where all paths were honored as legitimate routes to understanding the divine.
Swing’s leadership also took him into the heart of global religious dialogue. He worked to bring together religious leaders from communities long at odds with one another. For instance, in the Middle East, he facilitated conversations between Christian and Muslim leaders, helping to build bridges in a region where religious conflict had led to generations of strife. Similarly, in Africa, he worked to create dialogue between Christian and Muslim communities in regions plagued by sectarian violence. Swing’s approach was always based on the principle of mutual respect, and he emphasized the importance of listening to one another’s experiences and understanding the common ground that existed between different faiths.
While URI’s work had a profound impact on the global religious community, it was not without its challenges. In many parts of the world, religious leaders and communities resisted the idea of interfaith cooperation, seeing it as a threat to their own religious identity. Swing was often met with skepticism and opposition, especially from those who saw dialogue as a dilution of faith rather than a way to strengthen it. But Swing remained undeterred, seeing resistance as part of the process. “The road to peace is never easy,” he often said. “But it’s the only road worth traveling.”
In 2016, after nearly two decades of leadership, Swing stepped down as president of URI. Though he retired from his official role, his work did not end. Swing continued to lecture, write, and advocate for interfaith cooperation, believing that the work of religious unity was a long-term effort that would take generations to fully realize. His impact on the interfaith movement remains immense, and his vision for URI continues to guide the organization today.
Swing’s belief in the power of religious cooperation is perhaps best summed up in a remark he made in one of his final speeches as president of URI: “If we are to survive as a species, we must find ways to work together. And faith can be the foundation for that cooperation.” In a world often torn by religious and cultural divisions, Swing’s work serves as a powerful reminder of the potential for faith to be a force for unity rather than conflict.
Through his leadership of URI, Swing has helped to create a legacy of peacebuilding and religious cooperation that will outlast his tenure. His vision—that faith can be a powerful tool for promoting understanding and building a more just and peaceful world—continues to inspire people across the globe. William E. Swing has shown us that when we come together, not in spite of our differences, but because of them, we can create a world that is far stronger and more compassionate than any one of us could ever hope to build alone.
