http://www.forum2000.cz/en/projects/forum-2000-conferences/2010/summaries/religion-and-foreign-policy/
Religion and Foreign Policy
Moderator: Pierre Lévy
Panelists: Jiri Schneider, Joseph Maïla, Michael Melchior, William Cook
October 11, 2010, Institut Francais
The panel discussed the issue of religion and the role that it plays in an increasingly globalized world. How much should religion affect the foreign policy of a nation-state? The themes introduced by the moderator were Islam and the role of religion in conflicts, Western culture and the role of Christianity, and religion in international affairs.
Joseph Maïla elaborated on the sequence of ideology and religion seen in post-totalitarian countries. He regarded religion as something mobilizing the human spirit and heart of the people of the former USSR and Yugoslavia, which fell apart. He illustrated it by saying, "We no longer live in Thomas Hobbes’ situation." States are not entities we can rely on in this context. A new conflict is coming forward, the conflict of identities where no strong idea of citizenship has evolved, and religious and ethnic identities are now taking over. Where governments are falling apart, religion now has the chance to play a major role.
Jiří Schneider highlighted the role of religion in international affairs. He began by painting religion as a facet of international relations that needs to be taken seriously by diplomats. “What is at stake is how to teach, not only diplomats but everyone, to look at conflicts in the context of religion.” He provided examples of international events where awareness of religion is vital to understanding them: occurrences such as the fanaticism behind 9/11, the influence of the Theology of Liberation in Latin America, the optimism during the papacy of John Paul II and more recently the Tea Party movement in the U.S. today. In conclusion, Mr. Schneider said that he was pleased that his French colleagues have begun this mission by creating an institutional framework for religion in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
William Cook, who "educates citizens" at the State University of New York, focused on the human memory. He provided a division of this memory into three kinds: remembering the moments of greatness in a nation's history, remembering wrongs inflicted on us, and finally the suffering that we have caused others. He says that world leaders and the media need to help us to remember well and fully while at the same time teaching us to “forget constructively.” He concluded with a quote from the book of Isaiah saying: "Forget the former things; See, I am doing a new thing!”
Rabbi Michael Melchior slightly disagreed with Mr. Cook's Biblical interpretation and emphasized the role of religion in the modern world. One of the problems of the Middle East peace process has been its avoidance of the element of religion. Ignorance of this element frees the way for totalitarian elements to emerge. He provided counter-examples to this by examining the tolerance that can be seen in places of conflict such as in Jerusalem and suggested that it is vital to current international affairs. “This is not a fringe issue. It is a question of life and death of the future of humanity.”
Although no common conclusion was reached, there was an acknowledgment that the importance of religion in foreign policy needs to be recognized. This could be achieved by recognizing the power of religion in society. As Rabbi Melchior put it, “Religion is not just something for religious places. Religion is now on the center of the platform whether we like it or not.”