The 3rd World SangSaeng Forum International Academic Conference was held successfully at the Lotte Hotel World in Seoul from October 4 to 6, 2023, under the theme of "How Can Religions Help the World Solve Its Civilizational Crises?" The conference was hosted and organized by the Daesoon Academy of Sciences of Daejin University, sponsored by the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), the International Taoism Association, and the Daesoon Jinrihoe Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex.

Over 200 domestic and international scholars and religious leaders from 12 countries participated in the three-day conference, sharing their wisdom on how to overcome and solve the modern civilizational crises that humanity is facing. In the first and second sessions, eight keynote speeches were delivered by Eileen Barker, Honorary Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Massimo Introvigne, President of CESNUR, Bae Gyu-han, Director of the Daesoon Thought Research Institute, Livia Kohn, Honorary Professor at Boston University and President of the International Taoism Association, Sung-min Ryu, Honorary Professor at Hanyang University and former President of the Korean Association for Religious Studies, Jung-ja Seo, Honorary Professor at Ewha Womans University and former President of the Korean Association for Taoism Studies, Kim Hun, Professor at Peking University and Executive Director of the China Religious Culture Research Institute, and Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, Honorary Professor at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne and Director of the European Institute for the Study of Religion and Secularism.

In the third to ninth sessions, scholars of international renown, including Holly Folk (United States), Michael Walsh (United States), Terry Clemans (United States), Huang Fuqi (Taiwan), Edward Irons (United States), Cha Seon-geun (South Korea), and David Kim (Australia), presented and discussed various academic perspectives on religion, philosophy, and science to address the world civilizational crisis.

In particular, Eileen Barker, a world-renowned scholar of new religious movements, emphasized the need for a paradigm shift from "what religions should do" to "what religions should not do" to solve the crisis of human civilization. Bae Gyu-han, Director of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences, argued that global practice of Haewon Sangseon is necessary for humanity to move towards a permanent world of peace in which humanity and nature are in harmony. Sung-min Ryu, former President of the Korean Association for Religious Studies, suggested that religion should be on the curve where peace is more important than war on the hyperbola of war and peace.

Massimo Introvigne, President of CESNUR, said that the World Sangsaeng Forum International Academic Conference has now become a major international academic conference. Livia Kohn, President of the International Taoism Association, evaluated that the World SangSaeng Forum has played a role in the time when scholars and religious leaders from various countries and cultures need to meet and discuss in person to solve the world civilizational crisis.

Participants said that the conference was a precious and meaningful time to examine the accumulated conflicts, clashes, and civilizational crises in the world, and at the same time, to newly examine and discuss various ideologies and theories that resolve them.

In his welcome address, Yoon Eun-do, President of Daejin University (President of Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex of Daesoon Jinrihoe), said, "This World SangSaeng Forum was a meaningful occasion to discuss the essential role of religion in coping with the various crises that threaten human civilization today. It has become an international academic conference where scholars and religious leaders from home and abroad gather in one place to communicate and exchange ideas under one theme."

In his closing remarks, Bae Gyu-han said, "The 3rd World SangSaeng Forum was a meaningful time to academically discuss the ideas and wisdom of humanity on the civilizational crisis beyond the meaning of the conference theme. It was a timely academic conference that explored serious and interesting topics to find ideas, logic, and wisdom that would help overcome and solve the global complex crises that humanity is facing."