Parliament of the World's Religions survives financial crunch

c. 2013 Religion News Service

 (RNS) With the help of pagans, Jains and people of a range of other faiths, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions has raised more than $144,000 in two weeks using a crowdsourcing campaign in a desperate bid to survive a financial crisis.

    The Chicago-based interfaith network was recently ordered by a U.S. court to pay $276,000 in expenses related to its 2004 meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Deadly train bombings in Madrid months beforehand prompted a drop in expected attendance. The council took out a loan and was involved in a lengthy dispute about how to make up for lost revenue.