Each year, the third Sunday in January is observed as World Religion Day.
For this year's World Religion Day, the Greater Waco Interfaith Conference Central Texans for a panel discussion to celebrate the day.
The group gathered with people in the community to discuss how culture and politics play parts in splitting up people who follow different religions. Kris Cervantes with the Interfaith Conference said she could not imagine a better topic to discuss on this World Religion Day, considering our current cultural and political environment.
"Meetings like this allow us to get to know people who might have different perspectives than us," Cervantes said. "When you get to know someone through relationship, you get to bridge that gap of misunderstanding," she added.
Cervantes said that her own experiences as a Unitarian Universalist encourages her to make sure she doesn't allow the current cultural or political environment to sway how she treats people of different religions.
"I think one of the most precious things we have in America is freedom of religion," she said. "Events like this protect that and teach us how important that is, and how we're stronger together than we are apart."
World Religion Day has been observed by some people in the United States since 1950.
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