Report of the Georgetown Symposium on Religion, Democracy, and the Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration

December 1, 2009

Among the critical foreign policy issues facing the Obama administration, few are more important than the questions surrounding democracy promotion. On November 3, 2009, the Berkley Center gathered scholars, activists, and officials from across the American political and religious spectrum to explore some of these issues. To what extent, and how, should the United States attempt to encourage the emergence of democratic institutions and habits around the world? What can be said about the relationship between religion and democracy? How should U.S. democracy promotion take into account the worldwide resurgence of religion? What are the challenges to the emergence of democratic institutions and habits in Muslim-majority countries? What are the challenges to American diplomacy with respect to democracy and religion? These and other questions are addressed by a wide-range of experts in this symposium report.

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