Report of the Symposium on Evangelicals and Foreign Policy

March 28, 2007

The Report of the Symposium on Evangelicals and Foreign Policy is part of the Berkley Center's Religious Literacy Series and documents a symposium on a similar topic that took place at Georgetown University on March 28, 2007. Both the event and the publication highlighted the opinions and concerns of leading representatives of evangelical associations and prominent policy experts. The report addresses crucial questions about the increased evangelical agenda in development and foreign policy issues over the last decade, as well as the specific issues that have most galvanized the evangelical community. Lively discussion ensued about the nature of religious freedom, evangelical support of Israel, the meaning of "family values," and evangelical organizations' work to prevent human trafficking, poverty, and genocide. Across the range of issues, participants explored how evangelical leaders mobilize public support for their positions and collaborate with other religious-and secular-advocacy organizations.

The first panel used core questions like "To what degree has evangelical engagement around development agendas increased over the last decade, and how do you account for the increase?", "What issues and priorities do evangelical groups bring to global development policy, and how do they arrive at them?", and "What form of advocacy coordination exists across evangelical groups, and in collaboration with other religious and non-religious organizations?" to prompt discussions. Panel two considered "When did evangelicals begin to make foreign affairs a priority, and why?", "What specific issues have most galvanized the evangelical community (religious freedom, support for Israel, family values, human trafficking, poverty, genocide, etc.), and why?", and "How do Evangelical leaders mobilize public support for their positions and collaborate with other religious-and secular-advocacy organizations?".

Table of Contents
Introduction
Panel 1: Relief, Development, and Evangelical Engagement
Panel 2: American Foreign Policy and the Evangelical Moment
About the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs

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