The first Parliament of the World's Religions was held in 1893 in Chicago, and a century later the Parliament again convened there. At the 1993 conference, participants wore buttons declaring: "There is One God. We Are All One."

But Miller said the Parliament doesn't have the goal of combining all the world's religions.

"Creating a megareligion is not the intent at all," she said. "That was never the intent. We do want to acknowledge that all religions find their foundations are in peace and in God and in tolerance and respect for one another."

The Parliament in 1993 was not without controversy. Some objected to the presence of Wiccans, a religion of self-proclaimed benevolent witches who base their faith on pre-Christian practices.

At the 1993 Parliament, representatives of 125 religious traditions signed a document, "Toward a Global Ethic," noting that most of the world religions have many moral and ethical teachings in common, such as commitment to a nonviolent way of living.