No existing civilization from the East to the West, the North to the South has developed independently of “faith,” “spirituality” or “organized religion.” Of the 7 billion people populating the planet, approximately 6 billion have a life or culture, or even governments, centered on faith or religious foundations.
Understanding the place of faith in the security landscape is a significant factor in our ability for an effective diplomacy and the capacity for problem-avoidance, solving, or managing in countries and regions of the world in order to lower tensions, heal divides and to see positive possibilities. The most salient example of positive outcomes in the last decade may be Ireland. Here, the hundreds of years of religious tensions within Christian groups seem to have genuinely diminished, an outcome shaped partially by the United States.
So what issues should be consider in understanding the role of faith and religion in the realm of international security in the next decade for the Unites States, its allies and its detractors? Is it possible to re-frame the world’s religious traditions, now sometimes perceived as drivers of conflict, and help transform them into positive agents and pathways for peace-building?
What will be the relationship between states and non-state religious institutions, organizations and individuals, and between nations and supra-national religious movements? What possible opportunities exist for the new U.S. administration and for the European Union and other key countries that seek to build a more peaceful, democratic and integrated global system?
This roundtable will explore possible U.S. policy in the realm of faith and international policy and will seek to understand potential futures and possibilities for positive impact not only for the U.S. but for the world at large
