Religion International Relations & Development Cooperation

Religion is high on the agenda of international politics today. Though there has been a retreat from religion in Europe, the international debate on the meaning and relevance of religion intensified after the Iranian revolution and has gained new strength with the recent terror attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proliferation of intrastate conflict, and the process of European integration. The global resurgence of religion, however, is a reality that is much wider than terror, conflict and integration. This book critically reflects the issues of identity and belonging; cultural and religious pluralism; the continuing transformation in the perceptions of the divine; the future of democracy; the increasing role of religious actors in world politics; and the search for an overlapping consensus. It brings to mind the realities of transcendence and the ultimate; poverty and development; global justice and universal humanity; fundamental freedoms and human rights. The book also explores different ethical views on the good life and how we should live together. How to make sense of religion and public reason in new forms of political life? Questions like these have become increasingly exciting in recent years. Paradoxically, the global resurgence of religion appears to be rooted in basically the same processes of modernisation and globalisation that had long been assumed to go hand in hand with secularisation. How to rethink such grand narratives? Do political institutions need to be organised independently, free of religion, in a neutral political realm? Is secularism a precondition for democracy? Different views in this book resist the strict separation of religion and politics that has become associated with secularism. This book is most relevant for politicians, policymakers, academic researchers, non-governmental organisations, peace and development practitioners, as well as the media. It poses one of the most important challenges to foreign policy and development cooperation in the 21st century: to critically reflect new forms of religious identification. It also deals with the practical and policy-related consequences of the debate for development organisations and their views on poverty, religion and conflict. The Society for International Development (SID) has brought together eminent international writers and leading authorities in the field of religion, coming from different backgrounds and regions. Among the contributors are Karen Armstrong, Peter Berger, Olivier Roy, Abdullahi An-Na'im, Riffat Hassan, Thomas Pogge, Scott M. Thomas and Jonathan Fox