Religion and Global Institutions

By: Katherine Marshall

April 10, 2013

Tony Blair Faith Foundation Blog, April 10, 2013

Faith and globalization are two of the world's most powerful contemporary forces; the dynamics and contours of religion form today an integral part of international relations. Yet how much do we understand about how religions work as global institutions?

Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, in her recent book Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers discusses how religions work as global institutions, considering their role in world affairs. She recently took the time to share her insightful analysis with us.
Why did you write this book?

The extraordinarily informative and rich Global Institutions series, edited by Professors Thomas Weiss and Rorden Wilkinson and published by Routledge, has 75 books already and counting. Religion, however, was invisible, almost completely absent from titles and content. Yet these institutions are certainly the most ancient, and possibly the most numerous of institutions that cross national boundaries and influence world affairs. When I pointed to the omission, I found myself invited to remedy it. This book, which I view as a first step since it barely scratches the complex kaleidoscope of institutions with faith links, is the result.

In your work with World Faiths Development Dialogue and at Georgetown University, how much and what level of knowledge did you find about global religious organisations at the World Bank?

When Lord Carey and James D. Wolfensohn embarked in 1998 on a dialogue whose aim was to bring together faith and development thinking and leaders, to serve the cause of fighting poverty, a storm of objections was the result within the World Bank’s senior management and, still more, its governors, who represented 184 states. As we addressed the concerns and made a stronger and stronger case that it was foolhardy to ignore religion in thinking about humanitarian and development objectives, we met two other obstacles: ignorance and indifference. Lack of knowledge about the diversity of religious institutions and activities leads even to difficulties in finding words to advance dialogue. Libraries of international organizations lack even proper library categories. So enhancing “faith literacy” has primordial importance. Indifference and low priority are the parallel enemies of constructive reflection as to why religion matters for development. There, mustering solid evidence and meaningful exchange are the only ways to move ahead.

What concrete steps can be taken to help leaders of world religious organisations understand key international organisations and engage with them more effectively?

There is no substitute for human contact and building relationships and, by that means, understanding and trust. Both development and faith leaders who have participated in dialogue events describe the experience as transformative. It brings new knowledge of how poor communities view the world and priorities (on both sides), new questions, new insights, and new challenges.

On the side of international organizations, two lessons stand out for me. The first is the urgent need to present issues and self descriptions in more coherent, human, understandable ways that go far beyond sound bytes and “messages”. And second, the complex ethical issues that development and humanitarian relief raise should not be buried in technocratic and non-ethical language, however noble the effort to be balanced, neutral, and fair. We need a robust debate about issues like the meaning of growth, the perils of land ownership, competition versus solidarity, and the implications of the revolution in family structures and values that equality of men and women implies.

In what sense are religious organisations "globalized"?

That the Catholic Church is a global institution is obvious. It is present in all corners of the world but also has a common language, common rites, and, in many respects, a common narrative that speaks to life’s most fundamental questions. What is less obvious to most observers is the host of other institutions with faith links that are similarly globalized. There’s no real count but they may well number in the millions. Many faith institutions were transnational eons ago and remain so today. Equally significant, however, is the parallel history of changes in religious institutions, communications, understandings of community, and even beliefs that are part and parcel of the globalization process, and especially technology and movement of peoples. What has not kept pace is the level of knowledge about other religions and world views.

How do religious organisations differ from transnational commercial bodies and what do they bring uniquely to the problems you mention?

I am hesitant always to use the word unique, because of the extraordinary diversity of religious institutions, leaders, and beliefs. There are many porous and complex borders, including those that link transnational commercial and religious bodies. But one tentative distinction I would hazard is the emphasis on ethics in most faith traditions as a foundation for activity and the hope of contributing to human flourishing and human dignity. It would be untrue to claim that religious institutions are more ethical than others but I would argue that they do tend to think more explicitly in values and ethical terms. This is a vital contribution, made more so with the dynamic of social change in our globalized world.

In your book you suggest there is a renewed focus on religion, particularly for policy makers in the international arena – but you also note the years of neglect of religion and its influence. Where would you advise policy makers or future policy makers to begin?

We need to focus on two main avenues. The first is in preparing the next generation of policy leaders, and here integrating faith in meaningful, sensible, demanding ways into the curricula of many educational programs is vital. We can debate the priorities: higher, secondary, or primary education? General or specific to disciplines? My suggestion: the international baccalaureate level has special importance in sparking excitement and building a foundation for understanding, as does university and professional education. The need to enrich curricula applies equally to “secular” and “religious” education, including seminaries and their equivalent.

And second, given that lifelong learning is a privilege and obligation of our longer living generation, hefty programs of executive education are essential. Institutions like Georgetown University have a special advantage here, with their faith history and present links (to the Jesuit order) but many others need to take part. We need to be bold in experimenting with different forms of dialogue and training including the new power of online courses as well as face to face encounters. Often there’s nothing like exchange programs, among institutions, and direct experience in working together to solve common problems. Here interfaith programs offer a special promise when they work well, for example on housing, immunization, or fighting malaria.

Can you discuss the importance religion plays in legal frameworks and how this book may help develop political structures that take religion into account?

Diversity is the very first word that comes to mind. Each nation, even subnational entities, has a different legal regime that enters into vital political and social issues, and even economics. Family law, property rights, basic standards of governance, all are involved. This book aims to outline and describe an architecture that will help in understanding both the complexity and the significance of these dimensions of global affairs. Given the sensitivity of religious issues, which touch emotions far beyond the norm of international affairs discourse, careful but purposeful engagement is needed. Each society will obviously have distinctive political structures, but for most, especially if a core belief in human freedom and human rights is a central lodestar, religion needs to be part of the mix, because it is so important to people and to their lives, from start to finish.

The practical issues are many. They include family laws: how marriage and family are defined, the meaning of women’s rights which are often profoundly influenced by religious beliefs and teachings. They involve the degree and ways that religious institutions are part of political parties. Are faith voices part of social discourse on issues like poverty and measures to support the marginalized? And as to education, the question is far less whether values are part of education, because inevitably they are. It is how those values are treated, and how today’s students are truly prepared for the intellectual and emotional challenges of living in a diverse and dynamic globalized world.

What three things would you like globalized faith communities to focus on in the near future internally and externally?

It’s no easy matter to narrow the field to three but here’s my proposed trio:

First, the challenges of fighting poverty and working for more equitable societies is the issue of our era and it is one where faith communities can and should be vital players. It’s the issue of our era because we know that we can build a global society that offers each person the chance to flourish. This is utterly novel in the human experience because poverty was always an inevitable norm. That’s no longer true and because we can achieve the kind of fair and just world the greatest spiritual leaders have long imagined, we have a responsibility not only to work in that direction but to make it our lodestar, our anchor, our top priority.

Second, the challenges of climate change demand concerted and urgent action. It’s about capturing imaginations and mobilizing energies to act. And with a plethora of deep parables, creation stories, teachings, and artistic gifts (music, visual arts, drama and so forth), faith traditions and communities are pivotal actors.

And third, faith communities need to focus, at every level, and internally and externally, on the largest opportunity and challenge of our time: turning equality and especially equality of men and women, into reality in daily lives everywhere. Nothing so affects lives of people, rich and poor, as much as gender relations because it is part of life. And modernity and the promise of equal rights brings challenges, most significantly in raising children with love and protection. Religious communities are seen by many as standing in the path of equality. This is a travesty, even though it’s one with grains of truth. It’s time to bring the real issues involved as well as an understanding of the common ideal into the forefront, into the center of debates about religion’s roles in modern life and in our dreams for the future.

This interview originally appeared on the Tony Blair Faith Foundation website.

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