As Chicago hosted the iconic 1893 World’s Fair (Columbian Exposition), social movements capitalized on the event to launch ideas into the public sphere that still exist today. A group of the world’s religious leaders used the opportunity to begin an organization for ecumenical dialogue. For our World History Moment, historian John Schmidt tells us about the inaugural meeting of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. On a side note, at the meeting, Yoga philosophy was introduced to the Western world through a speech by Swami Vivekananda.