How Davos 2025 uncovered three big moments for religion, spirituality and values

The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos has always been a melting pot of ideas. It's where global leaders from diverse sectors come together to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Among these voices, religious and spiritual leaders have long played a pivotal role, offering moral guidance and ethical frameworks that resonate deeply with the 85% of the global population adhering to a faith or spiritual tradition.

At Davos 2025, these influential voices took centre stage. Several transformative moments underscored the critical role of religion and spirituality in shaping a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.

One of the most anticipated moments of the 2025 meeting was the message from Pope Francis, delivered by His Eminence, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson. The address focused on the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for humanity.

Cardinal Turkson, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, emphasized the need for intergenerational solidarity, stating: “The world belongs not only to us. We inherited this, and we need to pass it on to those who come after us — not as a desert, but as a thriving ecosystem.”

While the Catholic Church supports technological progress, it also warns against the risks of AI exacerbating inequalities and conflicts.

The Pope’s message concluded with a call to action: “Artificial intelligence is a tool created by human intelligence and it requires human guidance to promote ethical and responsible use.”

This perspective resonated deeply with the theme of this year’s Annual Meeting —Collaboration for the Intelligent Age – reminding world leaders of the moral imperatives that must guide technological advancement.

The annual multi-faith dinner brought the foremost Davos participants across religions, government, business and civil society to discuss common values across faiths and ideologies. Leaders spoke about how faith-based frameworks can mobilize efforts for social change and accelerate partnerships in an increasingly polarized world.

Reverend Johnnie Moore, a prominent American evangelical leader at the dinner, captured the essence of this gathering: “The currency of religion is trust. Religious actors are uniquely positioned to help rebuild what’s broken in our societies because they have an abundance of a commodity that the world’s largest corporations and most influential governments have paid too little attention to: trust.”

The dinner focused on three key outcomes: identifying common values across religious and industry backgrounds, sustaining dialogue among people with differing perspectives, and forging partnerships for the common good.

The daily meditation session, a beloved tradition in Davos, took on a new dimension in 2025 with the introduction of immersive virtual technology. Led by Buddhist Monk Shoukei Matsumoto, 40 participants engaged in guided meditation within the Global Collaboration Village, an innovative virtual environment designed to foster real-time collaboration on global challenges.

The meditation invited participants to envision a future where collective actions have successfully preserved the planet’s ecosystems. By blending cutting-edge technology with ancient spiritual practices, the session offered a unique opportunity for reflection and renewal.

The Annual Meeting underscored the indispensable role of religion and spirituality in addressing global challenges. It reminded us that faith traditions are not only repositories of ancient wisdom, but also living, dynamic forces for change in a rapidly evolving world.

As we navigate the complexities of the year ahead, the insights and values offered by religious and spiritual leaders will be more important than ever. In the words Cardinal Turkson, “We must ensure that our progress is guided by the moral compass of our shared humanity.”

At Davos, this message resonated louder than ever, inspiring leaders to build a future that is prosperous, as well as just, inclusive and sustainable.

Moving beyond the meeting, Forum leaders will continue these discussions throughout the year. As part of its network of Global Future Councils (the world’s foremost multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary knowledge network), the Global Future Council on Faith in Action will focus on religion, spirituality and values in today’s polarized world and opportunities for collaboration and prosocial impact. The Council will bring together religious leaders, business executives, civil society voices and experts to advance values-driven approaches to social cohesion and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

As part of its Civil Society Communities and across our Centres, the World Economic Forum continues to engage over 100 religious leaders, faith-based organizations, interfaith groups, multi-faith networks and experts of religion from over ten of the world’s major religions and spiritual traditions. Following the launch of last year’s Faith in Action report, the Forum continues to bring together key global faith representatives, experts and community leaders on the key areas of the report in its Faith in Action community.