The world will celebrate Golden Rule Day on Saturday, April 5. The proclamation was established by the Interfaith Peace-building Initiative, a United Religions Initiative Cooperation Circle in Ethiopia. Mussie Hailu, Regional Coordinator of URI Africa, encourages the rest of the URI community and world to proclaim a Golden Rule Day in local communities, schools, and places of work.  The Golden Rule, the idea that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us, is an ethic that emerged almost universally during the Axial Age (800 – 200 BCE) and continues to be proclaimed in these Sacred Scriptures:

Judaism (Leviticus 19:18): You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Christianity (Matthew 7:12): Whatever you wish others would do to you, do so to them.

Islam (Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13): Not one of you is a believer until your love for others is what you love for yourself. 

Jainism (Sutrakrtanga 1.11.33):  One should wander about treating all creatures as you yourself would be treated.

Confucianism (Mencius VII A.4): Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.

Hinduism (Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 113.8): One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself.

Confucianism (Analects 15.23): Tsekung asked, “Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?” Confucius replied, “It is the word shu–reciprocity: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”

Buddhism (Sutta Nipata 705): Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I.

African Traditional Religions (Yoruba proverb, Nigeria): One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on themselves to feel how it hurts.

About The United Religions Initiative (http://www.uri.org/about_uri)

The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings. URI envisions a world at peace, sustained by engaged and interconnected communities committed to respect for diversity, nonviolent resolution of conflict and social, political, economic and environmental justice. URI is a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world. They implement our mission through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of our more than 600 member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles, to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women’s and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.