There's religion, and then there's religion

Q: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is recommending that the U.S. government develop a strategy to make religion 'integral' to American foreign policy. Should U.S. foreign policy get religion?

It seems stunningly foolish to ignore the influence of religion in culture, government or society anywhere our foreign policy concerns take us -- and that, of course, is everywhere. But just as we ought to have a bright line between church and state in the United States, we ought rightly to maintain a distinction between the diplomatic relations we have with sovereign governments and the religious hierarchies that exist without regard to the responsibilities and limitations of those sovereign governments.

I challenge the Chicago Council on Global Affairs to name a single instance in history in which a religious authority put universal human rights ahead of the interests of its particular adherents. As long as the United States (and, for that matter, the United Nations) affirms that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness inhere in the human condition, then elevating the influence of religious hierarchies above any other influences is a betrayal of our core beliefs.

Perhaps it is politically incorrect, but I couldn't help but notice that the summary tries hard to say "it's not just about Islam," yet has more ink devoted to one tradition than any other. Moreover, the examples of nations in which our diplomats should have "expertise" in religious life does not include any European nations (except the Vatican), Japan or, close to my heart, Israel. If this report is a fancy way of saying, "We ought to be more concerned about Islam," it should come out and say it. But if there is a genuine sense that religious sensibilities influence society (as they do), then we need to understand breadth of faith traditions, especially among our allies, with the same diligence as we genteelly designate the source of our concern.

By Jack Moline  |  February 23, 2010; 12:39 PM ET Save & Share:                 
Previous: Practical religious contributions to policy | Next: Foreign policy + religion = recipe for disaster

Posted by: reformuscirf | February 26, 2010 9:32 PM
Report Offensive Comment

The comments to this entry are closed.